If your housing is cold or inside a vinyl greenhouse: you can ask for heating repairs, and you can also change workplaces

When does this apply?

• There is no boiler or heater in your housing, or it is broken and they do not fix it
• You sleep in a container or prefab panel building placed inside a vinyl greenhouse
• There is no fire extinguisher or fire alarm in your housing
• The housing photos you got when you signed the contract are different from the real housing

Dormitory standards that are especially important in winter (근로기준법 시행령 Articles 55 and 56)

1. The dormitory must have proper cooling and heating equipment or devices
2. It must have equipment or devices to prevent fire and for safety measures during a fire
3. It must have proper equipment for light and ventilation
4. The dormitory must not be in a place that is very damp or at risk of flooding

The Enforcement Decree does not give a number like "at least X degrees." For reference, 질병관리청 (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) says the right indoor temperature in winter is 18~20℃.

This also applies to small farms with 4 or fewer workers. The dormitory rules in the 근로기준법 (Labor Standards Act) do not directly apply to workplaces with 4 or fewer workers. But Article 22-2 of the 외국인고용법 (Foreign Workers Employment Act) says an employer who gives a dormitory to foreign workers must follow the standards in Article 100 of the 근로기준법 and must protect the workers' health and safety. This article has no exception based on the size of the workplace.

All dormitory standards and the rules for deducting housing and food costs are in Dormitory standards and rules for deducting housing and food costs.

Housing inside a vinyl greenhouse is still not allowed

• Article 5-5 of the current notice 「외국인근로자의 책임이 아닌 사업장변경 사유」 (Reasons for Workplace Change Not Caused by the Foreign Worker) includes "when the employer provides a vinyl greenhouse, or a temporary building that breaks Article 20 of the Building Act, Article 34 of the Farmland Act, etc., as housing."
• Since January 1, 2021, 고용노동부 does not give employment permits to workplaces that provide containers, prefab panels, etc. inside a vinyl greenhouse as housing.
• Container or prefab housing outside a vinyl greenhouse is different. If it has a 가설건축물 축조신고필증 (certificate of temporary building report) from the local government, and an on-site check confirms that it meets dormitory standards, it may be allowed as housing.
• In March 2025, 고용노동부 announced that in a survey of farm housing, it found 915 places that broke dormitory rules or used temporary buildings that were not reported. It ordered them to fix the problems and took follow-up steps, such as letting workers change workplaces.

Winter safety rules for your housing

Carbon monoxide (gas poisoning)

• Carbon monoxide has no color and no smell. If you use charcoal for heating in a closed room, you can easily be poisoned. It can also form when fuel like oil or coal burns in a place without enough oxygen, or when the boiler exhaust pipe comes loose.
• If you get a headache, feel sick, vomit, or have trouble breathing, open the windows, leave the place, and call 119.
• Check that the boiler exhaust pipe has not come loose or been crushed. 행정안전부 (Ministry of the Interior and Safety) recommends putting a carbon monoxide alarm indoors.

Electric blanket and electric heater fires

• Turn off the power when you go out and after you finish using it. When you go out for a long time, unplug it.
• Do not fold the electric blanket or press it down with heavy things. Do not use it with many layers of blankets on top.
• Do not put clothes, towels, or paper next to an electric heater.
• Do not plug several big electric devices, like an electric blanket and a heater, into one power strip.
• If a wire or plug is damaged, do not use it. Ask for a new one.

Hypothermia and frostbite

• Hypothermia is when your body temperature drops below 35℃. If a person cannot speak well and their mind becomes unclear, call 119 for help and move them to a warm place. Take off wet clothes and change into dry clothes.
• If you think you have frostbite, go to a hospital quickly. If you cannot go right away, put the area in warm (not hot) water. Do not rub it with snow or hold it directly in front of a heater. You can get burned.
• Alcohol can make your body lose heat quickly.

For cold and safety when working outside, see Workplace safety: your rights and what to do after an accident.

Steps

1. If it is dangerous, get away first. If there is a gas smell, a headache, or smoke, go outside and call 119.
2. Keep records. Take photos of the inside and outside of the housing, the heater, where the fire extinguisher is, and the windows, with the date showing. If it is inside a vinyl greenhouse, take a photo from outside that shows the whole greenhouse. It is good to keep a thermometer in your room and take photos of the temperature in the morning and at night.
3. Ask your boss by text message. Example: "The heater in the housing has been broken since ○month ○day. Please fix it." If you asked by talking, send the same message again by text.
4. Get advice. Call 1577-0071 (Nepali available) or 1350 and explain your situation.
5. Tell the 고용센터. The 고용센터 can tell the employer to fix the problem. If the employer does not fix it within the set period, it becomes a reason for workplace change that is not the worker's fault (Notice Article 5-2).
6. If your housing is inside a vinyl greenhouse, you can go straight to the 고용센터 to get advice and apply for a workplace change (Notice Article 5-5). Before you apply, first ask the 고용센터 or 1577-0071 if there are jobs you can move to in your area and industry. The application deadline is in 'Things to be careful about' below. The detailed process is in Workplace change – reasons, process, and number of changes.
7. Check the new company's housing in advance. When you sign the contract, the company must give you dormitory information, including photos of the cooling/heating and fire safety facilities.

What to prepare

• Photos and videos of the housing (with the date showing), photos of temperature records
• Screenshots of the text or KakaoTalk messages you sent to your boss asking for repairs
• 근로계약서 (employment contract), dormitory information you got when you signed the contract (foreign worker dormitory facility sheet, housing photos)
• 외국인등록증 (Alien Registration Card), passport
• Names and contact details of coworkers who live with you

Things to be careful about

• Do not quit work and leave just because you do not like the housing. If you are absent for 5 days or more without proper procedure, or nobody can contact you, the company will report you to the 고용센터.
• There are deadlines for workplace change. If you do not get permission to change to a new workplace within 3 months from the day you applied for the change, you must leave Korea. If your employment contract has ended, you must apply for a change at the 고용센터 within 1 month from the day it ended (외국인고용법 Article 25, Paragraph 3).
• Even if your boss says "If you don't like it, leave," get advice from the 고용센터 or 1577-0071 before you sign a resignation letter.
• Keep evidence before it is fixed. If they fix it quickly later, it is hard to prove what it was like at first.
• The 고용센터 decides whether to accept it as a reason for workplace change. If your story is different from the employer's, or there is not enough evidence, the Foreign Worker Rights Protection Council (외국인근로자 권익보호협의회) can decide (Notice Article 6).
• If calling in Korean is hard, When it is hard to call in Korean has sentences like "The boiler is not working."

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is container housing outside a vinyl greenhouse also not allowed? A. Not every container is banned. If it is a temporary building outside a vinyl greenhouse, it has a 축조신고필증 (temporary building report certificate) from the local government, and an on-site check confirms that it meets dormitory standards, it can be used as housing. If it is a temporary building that was not reported, it can be a reason for workplace change. Ask the 고용센터 whether it was reported.

Q. At what temperature does it break the standard? A. The law does not give a number. It looks at whether the heating equipment or devices are "proper." That is why temperature records are important. The right indoor temperature given by 질병관리청 is 18~20℃.

Q. The heating does not work, so I use several electric blankets. A. If you plug several big electric devices into one power strip, it can cause a fire. Do not try to put up with it alone. Ask the company for heating equipment. Providing heating equipment is the company's job.

Q. Can the company take heating costs (electricity and gas) out of my pay? A. Under the 고용노동부 「외국인근로자 주거 관련 가이드라인」 (Housing Guidelines for Foreign Workers, in effect from November 27, 2023), if the company wants to take housing and food costs out of your wages in advance, it must get your written consent in your native language. Costs that change by season, like heating, and costs based on how much you use, like electricity and gas, should as a rule be settled later based on the real amount charged. If money you did not agree to was taken out, bring your 급여명세서 (pay slip) and get advice from the 고용센터 or 1350. More details are in Dormitory standards and rules for deducting housing and food costs.

Q. If I move because of housing problems, does it reduce my number of workplace changes? A. If you move because of vinyl greenhouse housing or a dormitory violation listed in the notice, it does not count toward your number of changes (외국인고용법 Article 25, Paragraph 4).

Q. Will I be treated badly if I report it? A. At workplaces with 5 or more workers, it is banned to fire you or treat you unfairly because you told 고용노동부 or a labor inspector about a 근로기준법 violation, such as a dormitory standard (근로기준법 Article 104). At workplaces with 4 or fewer workers, the dormitory standards in the 근로기준법 do not directly apply, so it may be hard to get protection from this article. In any case, if you are treated unfairly, write down the date and what happened, and get advice from the 고용센터 or 1350 right away.

Where to get help

Organization	Phone / website	What they do
Fire and ambulance	119	Emergencies: gas poisoning, fire, hypothermia (24 hours)
외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Worker Counseling Center)	1577-0071	Advice on housing and workplace change, Nepali available, 365 days 09:00~18:00
고용노동부 고객상담센터 (Ministry of Employment and Labor Call Center)	1350	Advice on dormitory standards and reporting, weekdays 09:00~18:00
외국인종합안내센터 (Immigration Contact Center)	1345	Questions about your stay, 20 languages including Nepali, weekdays 09:00~22:00 (after 18:00, only Korean, English, and Chinese)
고용센터	The 고용센터 in charge of your workplace's address (Which 고용센터 do I apply to?)	Requests to fix housing, workplace change applications