"Don't Come to Work Starting Tomorrow" Do You Know About Ultra-Short-Term Workers and Day-Labor Employment?

'Ultra-Short-Hour Workers' Working Less Than 15 Hours a Week
No Place to Complain Despite Unfair Dismissal and Unpaid Weekly Holiday Allowance

Part-time worker. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] #Recently, university student Kim Mo (25) was suddenly notified of dismissal while working part-time for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, at a restaurant selling pork cutlets. The reason was that a former employee wanted to return to work. Kim Mo said, "It was already difficult to find a part-time job due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), so being told not to come in overnight was shocking. Moreover, I was dismissed not because I was incompetent but because the former employee wanted to come back. It was absurd. Yet, I have nowhere to appeal. The reality for me and my friends is that if they say 'don't come in,' we get fired."

As the number of 'ultra-short-time workers,' who work only about 3 hours a day on average, increases, they work less than 15 hours per week and thus are not protected under the Labor Standards Act. Consequently, there are concerns that it is difficult to seek redress even when unfairly dismissed.

Another issue is the growing number of ultra-short-time workers who do not receive proper legal protection. According to the Economically Active Population Survey released by Statistics Korea, the number of ultra-short-time workers increased fivefold from 191,553 in February 2000 to 959,631 in February 2020.

Especially young people struggling to find employment are working as ultra-short-time workers to earn pocket money. According to the '2020 Part-time Minimum Wage & Weekly Holiday Allowance Survey' released by the Youth Union on the 9th of last month, 52.7% of the total respondents (660 people) were ultra-short-time workers.

The data shows that while violations of the part-time minimum wage have improved, the so-called 'split employment' situation with ultra-short-time work is actually increasing. Split employment refers to replacing one employee who worked 8 hours a day with 2 to 3 part-time workers working 2 to 3 hours each, splitting the hours so that the total does not exceed 15 hours per week. If the weekly hours do not exceed 15, employers are not required to pay weekly holiday allowances, reducing labor costs.

The Youth Union announced the '2020 Part-time Job Minimum Wage and Weekly Holiday Allowance Survey' on the morning of the 9th of last month at the stairs of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

Given this situation, job seekers (chwijunsaeng) are voicing complaints. It is criticized as a blind spot in the application of the Labor Standards Act. Job seeker Park Mo (26) said, "While preparing for employment, I feel sorry to my parents for just staying at home, so I work part-time. I work 2 hours a day during lunch peak time at a cafe near my house." He added, "Last month, I injured my hand while working, but because I did not sign a labor contract, I had to bear the full cost of treatment."

Park Mo said, "Working 2 hours a day for 5 days a week, my monthly salary is about 300,000 won. But after injuring my hand, I spent 200,000 won just on hospital bills. Does this make sense?" He expressed frustration, saying, "Even if I feel wronged and angry, there is nothing I can demand. I am a worker who is not covered by the Labor Standards Act's protection net."

Experts suggest that the Labor Standards Act should be universally applied to all workers to fundamentally resolve this situation.

Jung Moon-ju, head of policy at the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, pointed out in a radio interview, "The law should be universally applied to all workers, but the scope of application of the Labor Standards Act is narrow. Even for ultra-short-time workers, paid weekly holidays should be proportionally applied according to working hours, and annual leave should be guaranteed."

He added, "Ultra-short-time workers who work less than 15 hours a week are considered precarious workers. Their proportion is continuously increasing. The reason is that the law is designed so that employers do not have to pay weekly holiday allowances to workers working less than 15 hours per week, even though the Labor Standards Act requires weekly holiday allowances."

Meanwhile, the Youth Union has been conducting a signature campaign since the 22nd of last month to 'eliminate discrimination against ultra-short-time workers.'

The Youth Union stated, "Labor rights should be equally guaranteed to everyone. The Youth Union plans to inform the public about the legal discrimination against ultra-short-time workers and deliver the voices of citizens opposing it to the National Assembly."

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