Fixed-term and In-house Subcontracting Guidelines... KCCI Warns "Non-legal Obligations and Recommendations May Cause Confusion"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Regarding the government's announcement on the 19th of the 'Guidelines for Employment Stability of Fixed-term Workers' and the 'Guidelines for Protecting Working Conditions of In-house Subcontracted Workers,' the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) stated, "These guidelines include recommendations for companies to comply with obligations not stipulated by law and contain content that conflicts with precedents, raising concerns about confusion in the industrial field."

KEF released a statement on the same day, commenting on the fixed-term guidelines: "They recommend concluding indefinite-term employment contracts for continuous and regular work and specify efforts to utilize fixed-term employment mainly in cases where the Fixed-term Employment Act allows continuous use of fixed-term contracts exceeding two years," adding, "They impose administrative regulations on reasons for use that are not restricted by the Act on the Protection of Fixed-term and Part-time Workers."

They also argued, "Regarding working conditions and welfare matters unrelated to the nature of work, the guidelines urge efforts to avoid discriminatory treatment of fixed-term workers regardless of whether they perform the same or similar tasks," and "They expand the scope and criteria for judging discriminatory treatment against fixed-term workers."

Concerning the in-house subcontracting guidelines, KEF stated, "They recommend that the contracting business owner directly intervene and make efforts regarding the employment, wages, education, and overall matters of subcontracted workers, which conflicts with the Supreme Court's criteria for illegal dispatch," and warned, "The conflict between the court's criteria for illegal dispatch and the government's guidelines may create a paradoxical situation where companies that faithfully follow the guidelines risk being judged as illegal dispatch by the courts."

KEF emphasized, "Guideline contents that exceed the scope of legal interpretation and delegation or conflict with court judgment standards must be urgently improved," and stressed, "Sufficient discretion for companies to choose and utilize the guidelines should be recognized to ensure that these voluntary recommendations do not function as mandatory regulations."

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