Korea's top court overturns govt claim contract worker liable to paid leave beyond 11 days

Contract-based workers in South Korea with less than one year in the job should be granted only up to 11 days of paid annual leave, the country’s top court said Wednesday, overturning previous interpretation of up to 26 days by the labor ministry.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld original ruling that favored the plaintiff in a damage lawsuit raised by an operator of an elderly care facility against a care worker and government. The court judged that the purpose of paid annual leave is under premise that the labor relationship is maintained in the following year. It does not apply to fixed-term workers with under one year contract whose labor contract isn’t maintained upon contract expiration.

The care worker who worked at the elderly care center for a year from Aug. 1 2017 used 15 days of annual paid leave.

In May 2018, the Ministry of Employment and Labor explained an amendment in the labor standards act and noted that an employer of an under one-year contract worker should provide extra pay for up to 26 days of unused annual leaves upon contract termination. The explanation was made after a revision in the country’s labor standard law in November 2017 that deleted a clause that states 15 days paid leave.

The care worker in August 2018 filed a petition with the Jungbu Regional Employment and Labor Administration that the worker did not receive 11 days worth of paid leave pay after using 15 of the 26 days. The labor supervisor acknowledged a violation in labor standards law and the employer had to pay 717,150 won ($610) to the care worker. The employer also raised a suit against the care worker and government demanding return and compensation for damage.

The first trial dismissed the suit noting that the labor ministry’s interpretation of the labor standard law is “valid.” The court in the second trial, however, favored the employer which was upheld by the top court.

“The government amended the labor standards law in 2017 to provide 11 days of paid leaves to workers that worked for one year,” it said. “This cannot be seen as ground to provide the same additional 15 days of paid leaves given to workers working in the next year.”

[ㄏ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]