TITLE : FAQ on FDI in Korea 2023 (Q147~Q150)
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■ FAQ on FDI in Korea 2023 (Q147~Q150)
Labor
Q147 | Is it a violation of the law if a regular labor- management council is not held because the workers' members have not been organized? |
Article 6 of the Act on the Promotion of Workers' Participationand Cooperation states that a council shall be composed ofthe same number of members representing workers andemployers, and each number of members shall be not lessthan three but not more than 10 persons. Also, Article 12 (1)of the same Act states that a council shall hold meetingsregularly every three months.
- The labor-management council meetings shall open with the attendanceof the respective majorities of autonomously elected (commissioned)workers' members and employers' members. If the meeting fails to beheld on the ground deemed not to be the fault of the employers, such asworkers' failure to elect workers' members, it does not constitute failureto fulfil the obligation to hold the labor-management council meeting setby Article 12 (1) of the same Act.
- Article 10 (1) of the same Act states that any employer shall neitherintervene in nor interfere with an election of workers' members. However,if the labor-management council is not organized for reasons such asworkers' reluctance to elect the workers' members, the employer shouldmake reasonable efforts to inform through internal communications andcompany notice boards the need of the labor-management council andautonomous election of the workers' members. If needed, the employershould make reasonable efforts such as asking the regional employmentand labor agency governing the concerned workplace to support theworkers' members' election.
Q148 | What is the specific scope of matters that are discussed and resolved by the Labor- Management Consultation Council? |
The matters discussed and decided by the Labor-Management Consultation Council are prescribed in Article 20 (Matters for Consultation), Article 21 (Matters for Resolution) and Article 22 (Matters for Reporting) of the Act on the Promotion of Workers' Participation and Cooperation.
< Agendas of the Labor-Management Consultation Council >
Matters for Consultation (Article 20)
- Improvement of productivity and distribution of attained results
- Recruitment, placement, education, and training of workers
- Resolution of workers' grievances
- Improvements in working environment such as safety and welfare; promotion of workers' health
- Improvement of human resources and labor management systems
- Adjustment of general employment rules, such as manpower repositioning, retraining, and dismissal for managerial or technological reasons
- Administration of work hours and break times
- Improvement of systems, such as wage payment method and structure
- Introduction of new machinery and technologies; improvement of work processes
- Establishment or amendment of work/operation rules
- Employee stock ownership plan and other assistance to build workers' assets
- Matters on remuneration for an employee invention, etc.
- Improvement of workers' welfare
- Installation of surveillance equipment for workers within a workplace
- Protection of motherhood for female workers; assistance inbalancing work and home life
- Prevention of sexual harrassment in the workplace or sexual harrassment by customers, as per subparagraph 2 of Article 2of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work Family Balance Assistance Act
- Other matters regarding cooperation between labor and management
Matters for Resolution (Article 21)
- Establishment of a basic plan for education/training and capabilitydevelopment of workers
- Establishment and management of welfare facilities
- Establishment of an in-house employee welfare fund
- Matters that are not resolved by the grievance handling committee
- Establishment of various labor-management joint committees
Matters for Reporting (Article 22)
- Matters concerning overall management plans and actual results
- Matters concerning quarterly production plans and actual results
- Matters concerning manpower plans
- Economic and financial conditions of the enterprise
Q149 | When a labor contract that has a defined work period is expired, does an advance notice of termination have to be made to the employee? |
The causes for terminating a labor contract are as follows: 1) Thetermination is made based on the will or intent of the employee(retirement: voluntary retirement, mandatory retirement); 2) Theservice is terminated without the consent, or against the intent, of theworker (dismissal: regular dismissal, dismissal as part of punishment,dismissal due to a management reason); 3) The employmentrelationship ends regardless of the intent of the employee andemployer (automatic dissipation: expiration of contract period,completion of project, death of worker, termination of company).
- For contracts with a defined period, or contracts with a term asprescribed in the subparagraphs of Article 4 (1) of the Act on theProtection etc. of Fixed Term and Part-Time Employees, when the termof the labor contract is terminated, in principle, the labor service isterminated unless there are special circumstances that render otherwise.
- Therefore, if the contract period expires, there is no obligation formanagement to send out an advance dismissal notice. However, makinga pre-notice may reduce the possibility of conflict between the parties,as it announces that the labor service shall be terminated with theexpiration of the work period.
Q150 | Can lunch time be used as recess? |
According to Article 54 of the Labor Standards Act, an employer shall allow employees a recess of not less than 30 minuteswhere work hours are four hours, and a recess of not less than one hour where work hours are eight hours. Recess hours may be freely used by employees.
- According to the Labor Standards Act, "recess" refers to break time,waiting time, etc., during which the employee leaves the sphere ofinstruction and monitoring by the employer and spends the time freely
- If the employee leaves the sphere of instruction and monitoring by theemployer and spends the break time as he/she wishes, lunch time canbe regarded as recess.