"Equal Pay for Non-Regular Contract Workers and Regular Employees"

Supreme Court, Ruling Applying the Same Employment Rules

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has ruled that fixed-term workers who have been converted to indefinite-term contracts must be granted seniority and allowances according to the same employment rules as regular employees.

The Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Dong-won) announced on the 14th that it overturned the lower court's ruling, which had dismissed the appeal of seven indefinite-term contract workers affiliated with Daejeon MBC, including Mr. A, who had sued Daejeon MBC demanding "the same wages as regular employees," and remanded the case to the Daejeon High Court.

Mr. A and others joined Daejeon MBC as fixed-term employees and were converted to indefinite-term contracts after about two years starting in 2010. However, the company continued to draft employment contracts in the same format as when they were fixed-term workers. As a result, Mr. A and others received about 80% of the base salary and bonuses compared to regular employees, and about 100,000 KRW less per month in self-driving allowances. No seniority allowance was paid. Since May 2012, regular seniority-based wage increases were not implemented. Consequently, Mr. A and others filed a lawsuit demanding "the same treatment as regular employees holding the same positions in the same department."

The trial focused on whether employment rules applicable to regular employees could also be applied to workers converted from fixed-term to indefinite-term contracts under the Fixed-term Employment Act. The first trial ruled in favor of the Daejeon MBC workers, but the second trial ruled against the plaintiffs, stating that the same standards could not be applied to indefinite-term contract workers and regular employees. The Supreme Court agreed with the first trial's judgment. The court stated, "For workers who have entered into indefinite-term employment contracts, the working conditions stipulated in the employment rules applied to regular employees performing the same type of work must be applied." It added, "Indefinite-term contract workers must be paid base salary, bonuses, seniority allowances, etc., according to the standards set in the employment rules for regular employees, and regular seniority-based wage increases must also be implemented."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.