Hourly Pay, Sunday Money, Fewer Than 5 Workers: 8 Common Questions About Pay

Common Questions

Q. My contract says monthly pay, but after I arrived, the company pays me by the hour. A. If you did not agree in writing, the amount in the contract is the standard. The difference is unpaid wages. The time limit to claim is 3 years from each payday. Each month is counted separately, so the oldest months disappear first. 간이대지급금 (simple substitute payment) is money that 근로복지공단 (Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service) pays first when the company has no money. It has a shorter time limit. To qualify, you must file a complaint (진정) within 1 year. If you quit, count from the day after your last day of employment. If you are still working, count from the day after the last day you did not receive your pay. See Monthly pay in the contract, but paid by the hour.

Q. The company says it pays by the hour because it has fewer than 5 workers. Can I change companies for this reason? A. Even with fewer than 5 workers, the amount in the contract is the standard. 고용센터 (Job Center, the government employment office) decides whether you can change workplace, based on the standards in the government notice (고시). There are standards for unpaid wages. For example, the company did not pay 30% or more of your monthly wage for over 2 months or paid it late, or this happened 2 or more times. For 10% or more, the standard is 4 months or 4 times. Being paid less than the minimum wage also counts. Apply while the non-payment is continuing, or before 4 months have passed from the day the non-payment ended. If your contract has ended, in principle you must apply within 1 month from the day it ended and get the 근무처 변경허가 (permit to change workplace) within 3 months from the application date. If you miss these deadlines, you become subject to leaving Korea. If you could not do this because of a work injury, an illness, pregnancy or childbirth, the days are counted from the day that reason ended. 고용센터 decides whether this applies to you and how many days are left. The permit fee is 12만 원 (120,000 won), and you start work after the permit is issued. Take your evidence and get advice from 고용센터 or 1577-0071. Do not stop going to work without getting advice first. If you are absent for 5 or more days without following the proper process, the company can report you to 고용센터. But if you are in danger, for example from violence, first go to a safe place and call 112.

Q. The company does not pay Sunday money. What should I do? A. If you are paid by the hour or by the day, your contract says 15 or more hours a week, and you had full attendance that week, in principle you receive it. In farming, livestock and fishing, there is none by law, but if it is in your contract, the contract applies. If you did not receive it, take your contract, pay statement (명세서) and attendance records and get advice from 1350 or 1577-0071. You can also file a complaint (진정) through the 노동포털 (Labor Portal, labor.moel.go.kr) or at the 지방고용노동관서 (regional labor office) that covers your workplace. See Sunday money.

Q. The company gives me little work, so I do not reach 40 hours a week. It says there is no Sunday money because of this. A. 40 hours is not the condition. If you could not fill the hours because of the company's situation, this is not your absence, so you get 주휴수당 (except in farming, livestock and fishing, where the contract applies if it is in your contract). For the hours you could not work, at a company with 5 or more workers, this is a question of 휴업수당 (shutdown pay, money paid when the company stops your work). The 휴업수당 rule does not apply to companies with fewer than 5 workers. In that case, you can get advice from 1350 or 1577-0071 based on the work days and wages written in your contract. See If your monthly pay went down.

Q. The company pays only for the days I worked. It only sometimes pays for red days. A. If your contract says monthly pay, the monthly pay is the standard. Paid public holidays (red days on the calendar) apply to workplaces that regularly have 5 or more workers. For workplaces with fewer than 5 workers and for farming, livestock and fishing, they are not guaranteed by law, but if they are in your contract, the contract applies. Take your contract, pay statement and records of the days you worked, and ask 1350 or 1577-0071.

Q. If there are fewer than 5 workers, are there no rules at all? A. No. There are rules. Minimum wage, 주휴수당 (except in farming, livestock and fishing), 퇴직금 and payment of full wages still apply even with fewer than 5 workers. These things are not guaranteed by law: extra pay for overtime, night and holiday work, annual leave (연차), paid public holidays, 휴업수당, applying for a remedy for unfair dismissal (asking for help after being fired unfairly), the 52-hour weekly limit, and others. Allowances and annual leave written in your contract are given as the contract says. You receive basic pay for the hours you worked. If the company does not pay your wages, you can file a complaint (진정) in the same way. See My company has fewer than 5 workers.

Q. How do you count the number of workers? Do Nepali workers and Korean workers count together? A. Regular staff, contract staff, part-time workers and foreigners are all counted. Nationality does not matter. The owner is not counted. But the number is not decided by how many people are there today. Take the 1 month just before the day the problem happened (for example, the day you did not receive an allowance). Add up the number of people who worked each day, then divide by the number of days the business was open. For the detailed calculation, see My company has fewer than 5 workers.

Q. The company recorded it as leaving early (조퇴) and took money out of my pay. A. If the company sent you home because there was no work, it is not you leaving early. If the workplace regularly has 5 or more workers, in principle you receive 70% or more of your average wage (휴업수당). The 휴업수당 rule does not apply to workplaces with fewer than 5 workers. Do not sign an early-leave form (조퇴서). Keep a record by text message that the company sent you home, and then you can get advice from 1350 or 1577-0071. See No work, so go home.

Where to Get Help

• 고용노동부 (Ministry of Employment and Labor) customer counseling 1350 (Korean, weekdays 09:00~18:00)
• 외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Workforce Counseling Center) 1577-0071 (Nepali available, 365 days 09:00~18:00. On Saturdays and public holidays, only duty staff work, so there may be no Nepali counselor)
• 고용노동부 노동포털 (Labor Portal) labor.moel.go.kr
• Emergency 112/119