MOEL Interpretation

Non-Regular Workers Act

Discrimination Correction System – Discrimination Correction System for Fixed-term and Part-time Workers


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24.According to Article 8(1) of the 「Fixed-term and Part-time Employees Protection Act」, an employer shall not discriminate against fixed-term employees compared to indefinite-term employees engaged in the same or similar duties. If there are no indefinite-term employees (comparable workers) engaged in the same or similar duties and only fixed-term employees are performing certain tasks, would a difference in benefits such as leave for family events constitute unreasonable discrimination compared to indefinite-term employees? Additionally, if the total salary is the same between fixed-term and indefinite-term employees engaged in the same work, but the indefinite-term employee receives a higher base salary and lower allowances, while the fixed-term employee receives a lower base salary and higher allowances, does this constitute unreasonable discrimination? Moreover, if the base salary is the same but allowance items differ (e.g., fixed-term employees receive less for on-site work allowance but more for other allowances, while indefinite-term employees receive more for on-site allowance and less for others, yet the total wage remains equal), would this be considered unreasonable discrimination?
23.If, through the provisions of a collective agreement, welfare benefits applied to regular employees—such as group employee insurance, flexible benefit programs, health check-up expenses, and support for middle and high school tuition—are provided to part-time (weekly contractual working hours of 36 hours) fixed-term employees in proportion to their working hours, can this be considered reasonable differential treatment?
22.If the prohibition of discriminatory treatment against fixed-term employees under Article 8(1) of the 「Fixed-term and Part-time Employment Act」 is violated, does this give rise to a civil obligation (e.g., the wage difference compared to regular employees) for the employer? Or is the effect of this provision extinguished upon imposition of an administrative penalty?
21.According to the amended law, there are exceptions that allow the use of fixed-term or other non-regular workers for more than 2 years if there are reasonable grounds. In this context, is discrimination in wages and other treatment also prohibited when employing elderly workers in comparison to regular workers engaged in the same or similar duties?
20.The company’s retirement age is set at 55 years old, and by agreement with the labor union, some retirees are rehired as contract workers (one-year fixed-term contracts) up to a certain age. * These contract workers perform the same duties as before retirement and the same duties as regular employees, but their wages are paid at 70–90% of the regular wage, and benefits such as tuition and medical expenses are not provided. * The Act on Employment Promotion and Vocational Rehabilitation of Older Persons allows wages for rehired retirees over 55 to be set differently than before. Does the prohibition of discrimination under the Fixed-term and Part-time Employment Act also apply to rehired workers aged 55 and older? Although the Act on Employment Promotion of Older Persons allows different wage setting for rehired retirees, since the Fixed-term and Part-time Employment Act does not provide otherwise, the Fixed-term and Part-time Employment Act takes precedence as a special law, so wage and welfare discrimination against rehired retirees over 55 is not permissible. The purpose of the Fixed-term and Part-time Employment Act is to protect fixed-term workers, whereas the Act on Employment Promotion of Older Persons aims to protect elderly workers. Therefore, even if the worker is fixed-term, wage and welfare discrimination against those over 55 is permitted under the Act on Employment Promotion of Older Persons.
19.When a non-regular worker is converted to an indefinite-term employee after passing a company-designated test or after completing a 2-year fixed-term contract as prescribed by the Fixed-term and Part-time Employment Act, can a large wage gap compared to existing regular employees still be regarded as discrimination against non-regular workers?
18.Are workers converted to indefinite-term employment before completing 2 years as fixed-term employees excluded from the scope of discrimination correction?
17.A non-regular employee working at a government-affiliated institution is not paid certification allowance and management evaluation incentives solely because they are non-regular. Does this constitute discriminatory treatment?
16.According to the guidance on the discrimination correction system, if working conditions such as “wages and other working conditions” are explicitly stipulated in the Labor Standards Act, collective agreements, or employment rules, discrimination applies; if not stipulated, it is not considered within the scope of “wages and other working conditions” and thus not subject to discrimination correction. In this context, if management incentives or bonuses are regularly paid approximately annually or biennially according to year-end business performance but are neither specified in employment rules or collective agreements nor have a fixed amount or ratio, do they fall within the scope of prohibited discriminatory treatment?
15.The employment rules state, “The company shall establish and operate all matters to promote the welfare and benefits of employees.” Does the operation of the following welfare programs constitute discriminatory treatment? a) Tuition support provided only to regular employees among current employees b) A welfare cafeteria system that grants welfare points to all current employees, including non-regular workers, based on years of service and position, but with differentiated points between regular and non-regular employees (non-regular workers receive lower points for the first 2–3 years to encourage long-term service, and points equal to regular employees after 3 years of continuous service)
14.From July 1 of this year, is discrimination prohibited against all non-regular workers regardless, or is the prohibition limited to cases where there exist workers performing the same or similar work within the business to whom non-regular workers must be compared without discrimination?
13.At ○○ Corporation, workers are classified and utilized as regular employees, continuous daily workers, and temporary workers. Regular employees are indefinite-term workers, continuous daily workers are fixed-term workers with 1-year contracts, and temporary workers are fixed-term workers with contracts of less than 1 year (1–10 months) depending on work needs. Continuous daily workers and temporary workers perform similar work but have different working conditions. Continuous daily workers are treated as regular employees and receive basic salary, statutory allowances, bonuses, meal allowances, holiday bonuses, transportation expenses, and subsidies, while temporary workers receive only basic salary and statutory allowances. * It is understood that comparison workers for discrimination correction of fixed-term workers are indefinite-term workers. Should continuous daily workers and temporary workers both be compared to regular employees performing the same or similar work, or should continuous daily workers be compared to regular employees and temporary workers to continuous daily workers? * Among temporary workers, some are part-time. Should these part-time workers be compared to workers performing similar tasks or to continuous daily workers performing similar tasks?
12.When hiring a replacement worker to perform the duties of an employee on maternity or parental leave, and paying the replacement worker a different and lower wage than workers performing the same or similar work (with the wage and treatment explicitly stated in the job announcement), does this constitute discriminatory treatment? ☞ Regular employee monthly average: 1,200,000 KRW / Replacement worker monthly average: 1,030,000 KRW
11.Operating a supermarket chain, employees at grade 7 or above are regular workers, while those at grade 8 or below are non-regular workers. Both work mixed within the same department, but grade 7 or above employees have authority and responsibility over sales methods, inventory management, ordering, display, and facing adjustment, while grade 8 or below employees assist under the directions of grade 7 or above staff. * In this case, can differential treatment based on the degree of authority, responsibility, and labor productivity be considered reasonable discrimination under the law? * If company welfare benefits (such as tuition support and congratulatory/condolence allowances) are provided only to grade 7 or above employees and not to grade 8 or below employees, does this constitute discriminatory treatment?
10.Company ○○ provides tuition support for children of regular employees quarterly based on employment rules but has not paid tuition for contract workers. Upon legal enforcement, when should the payment for contract workers begin? ☞ Employment Rule Article 38 (Payment Method) ① Tuition is paid for the quarter based on submitted tuition payment receipts or certificates at the beginning of each quarter (March, June, September, December). ② When tuition eligibility is acquired, payment starts from the next quarter based on the appointment date, but if the appointment is on the first day of the quarter, payment starts from that quarter. ③ If eligibility is lost, payment is adjusted based on the number of working days.
9.At the △△△ Comprehensive Counseling Center, national public official counselors and fixed-term (part-time) private contract counselors perform labor-related telephone consultation duties in the same workplace. In this case, whether the national public official counselors qualify as “workers with indefinite-term employment contracts” or “regular workers” for the purpose of discrimination comparison; and whether differences in working conditions of private contract counselors can be regarded as reasonable discrimination.
8.Whether differences in daily wages or allowances between fixed-term foreign workers and indefinite-term workers constitute discriminatory treatment.
7.Our company has introduced a separate personnel regulation and wage system based on an annual salary system for non-regular workers, distinct from the traditional seniority-based wage system for regular workers, well before the implementation of the Fixed-term and Part-time Workers Act. New hires have been systematically employed as fixed-term annual salary contract workers. * Inquiry 1: When wage systems and personnel regulations differ between regular and non-regular (annual salary contract) workers, what are the criteria for selecting comparable workers for judging discriminatory treatment? * Inquiry 2: After the Fixed-term and Part-time Workers Act came into effect, if a fixed-term annual salary contract worker is converted to an indefinite-term worker after 2 years, would wage or working condition differences from regular workers constitute discriminatory treatment?
6.According to Article 8 of the Fixed-term and Part-time Workers Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating without reasonable grounds in wages and other working conditions against fixed-term workers compared to regular workers performing the same or similar work in the same business or workplace. Does paying different bonus rates to regular workers and non-regular workers (both domestic and foreign) constitute discriminatory treatment?
5.I work at △△ Education Office. The “Customized Welfare Program” applied to public officials is given only to regular workers (indefinite-term/ordinary workers) but not to non-regular workers (fixed-term/part-time workers). Does this constitute discriminatory treatment under Article 8 of the Fixed-term and Part-time Workers Act?
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