E-9 Workers on Farms and Livestock Farms: Why There Is No Overtime Pay or Weekly Holiday Pay (Labor Standards Act Article 63), and What You Must Still Get

When does this apply to me?

• When you work on a farm, livestock farm, fish farm, mushroom farm or in a greenhouse
• When someone told you "farm work has no overtime pay" and you are not sure if this is true
• When your monthly pay is fixed at the contract amount, but you work many more hours than the contract says
• When you work early in the morning or at night, but get no night pay
• When you work on holidays and Sundays, but the pay is the same

What Article 63 takes away and what stays

Item	Manufacturing, construction	Agriculture, livestock, fishing (Article 63)
Limit of 40 hours a week, 12 hours overtime	Applies	No
50% extra pay for overtime	Applies	No (you still get the basic hourly wage for all hours you work)
50% extra pay for holiday work	Applies	No
Weekly holiday pay (paid weekly day off)	Applies	No (if it is in your contract, follow the contract)
Paid public holidays (5 or more workers)	Applies	No
Break time (30 minutes per 4 hours)	Applies	No (if it is in your contract, follow the contract)
50% night pay (22:00–06:00)	Applies	Understood to apply (check with 1350)
Minimum wage	Applies	Applies
Paid annual leave (5 or more workers)	Applies	Applies
Severance pay (1 year or more)	Applies	Applies
Industrial accident insurance, health insurance	Applies	Applies
30 days' notice before dismissal	Applies	Applies
Dormitory standards, rules for deducting housing and food costs	Applies	Applies
Reporting unpaid wages, changing workplaces	Applies	Applies

This is the key point. What you lose is the "extra pay (50% more)". You do not lose the "basic wage for the hours you work". If you worked 11 hours in a day, you must get 11 hours × the hourly wage.

How to check if your monthly pay is correct

Step 1: Write down the hours you really worked. Every day, write in a note on your phone the time you started work, the time of lunch and breaks, and the time you finished. Add up the whole month.

Step 2: Calculate the amount based on the minimum wage.

• Hours you really worked × 10,320원 = the lowest amount you must get
• Example: 9 hours a day × 26 days = 234 hours → 234 × 10,320원 = 2,414,880원
• Example: 10 hours a day × 28 days = 280 hours → 280 × 10,320원 = 2,889,600원
• If you worked after 10 p.m. or before 6 a.m., calculate those hours × 1.5 and add them (night pay).

Step 3: Compare with your contract. The standard labor contract for agriculture and livestock lists monthly working hours (for example, 226 hours a month) and monthly pay. If you really worked more hours than the contract says, you must get extra pay at the hourly wage for the extra hours (there is no 50% extra, but there is the basic hourly wage). If your contract says "paid days off ○ days a month" or "extra pay for overtime", you get that.

Step 4: Check deductions for housing and food. To take housing and food costs out of your pay, the employer needs your written consent in your own language. Costs that change with how much you use, like electricity and gas, should as a rule be charged at the real cost. A greenhouse or a shipping container cannot be a dormitory. See Dormitory standards and housing/food deductions and If your housing is cold or a greenhouse.

What to do if you are paid too little

1. Collect records for 2–3 months. Notes of your working hours, photos of your work (that show the time), 급여명세서 (pay slips), and bank deposits.
2. Calculate the missing amount and ask your boss for it by text message. "In ○ month, I really worked ○○ hours. Based on the minimum wage, ○○원 is missing."
3. Ask for a pay slip. Farms also must give pay slips. See How to make evidence without a pay slip.
4. If they do not pay, file an unpaid wage complaint with 고용노동부 (Ministry of Employment and Labor). Follow How to report unpaid wages. You can claim up to 3 years of wages.
5. If you are often made to work differently from your contract, this can be a reason to change workplaces (breaking working conditions). 고용센터 (Job Center) decides. See Changing workplaces.

What to prepare

• Standard labor contract (the parts on monthly working hours, monthly pay, days off, and housing and food costs)
• Notes of your working hours (start and finish time for each date)
• Pay slips, bank deposit records
• Consent form for housing and food deductions (if you have one)
• Photos of your housing (if it is a greenhouse or a container)

Be careful

• "There is no law for farm work" is wrong. Only 3 kinds of rules are missing: working hours, breaks and holidays. Rules on wages, annual leave, severance pay, industrial accidents, dormitories and the ban on violence all still apply.
• Annual leave applies on farms with 5 or more workers. On small family farms (fewer than 5 workers), there is no annual leave and no limit on dismissal, but the minimum wage, severance pay and industrial accident insurance still apply. See Rules for workplaces with fewer than 5 workers.
• Being sent to another farm owned by the same boss is work outside your contract. See You can refuse work outside your contract, even for the same boss.
• Accidents with pesticides or machines are industrial accidents. Even if your boss says "farm work is not covered by industrial accident insurance", farms that employ E-9 workers are automatically covered. See Applying for industrial accident compensation.
• Changing your industry (from agriculture to manufacturing) is limited as a rule. Ask 고용센터 or 1350 if it is possible.

Frequently asked questions

Q. I work 11 hours a day, but my monthly pay stays at 2,350,000원 as in the contract. Is this right? A. Look at the monthly working hours in your contract. For example, if the pay is based on 226 hours, then 11 hours × 26 days = 286 hours, which is 60 hours more. You must get 60 extra hours × 10,320원 = 619,200원 more (there is no 50% extra pay, but there is the basic hourly wage). If some hours are at night, those hours are paid at 1.5 times.

Q. I also work on Sundays. Is there no holiday pay? A. By law, there is no extra pay for holiday work. But you must get the hourly wage for the hours you work. If your contract says "1 paid day off a week", work on that day off can be checked based on the contract, so ask 1350.

Q. I milk dairy cows from 4 a.m. What about night pay? A. 04:00–06:00 is night time. Extra pay for night work is not one of the things Article 63 takes away, so it is understood to apply. But check with 1350 if it applies exactly to your case. If it applies, those 2 hours are paid at the hourly wage × 1.5.

Q. I worked for more than 1 year, but they say "farm work has no severance pay". A. This is wrong. Severance pay comes from a different law (the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act), not related to Article 63 of the Labor Standards Act. If you worked for 1 year or more, you get it. See How to calculate and get severance pay.

Where to get help

Organization	Phone	What they help with
고용노동부 고객상담센터 (Ministry of Employment and Labor Call Center)	1350	Farm working conditions, checking if night pay applies, unpaid wage complaints
외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Worker Counseling Center)	1577-0071	Many languages including Nepali, 3-way calls, 365 days 09:00–18:00 (on Saturdays and public holidays, staff on duty)
근로복지공단 (Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service)	1588-0075	Industrial accident claims for farm machine and pesticide accidents
My pay calculator	/ne/tools/pay	Hours × hourly wage calculation