Supreme Court: "Hyundai Wia Must Directly Employ Subcontracted Workers"

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that Hyundai Wia must directly employ workers who have been affiliated with in-house subcontractors for more than two years or have been performing tasks different from their contracts.

On the 8th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seonsu) upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of plaintiff A and other subcontractor employees in a lawsuit against Hyundai Wia regarding the expression of intent to employ.

A and others filed a lawsuit in 2014, arguing, "The outsourcing contract between the defendant and the in-house subcontractor corresponds to a worker dispatch contract. Since the defendant used the plaintiffs for more than two years or used them in tasks not subject to worker dispatch, the defendant has an obligation to directly employ the plaintiffs."

According to the Act on the Protection of Dispatched Workers, "If the user employer uses dispatched workers for more than two years" or "if dispatched workers are used in tasks not subject to worker dispatch," the user employer must directly employ the dispatched workers.

However, Hyundai Wia argued, "The plaintiffs belong to the in-house subcontractor and are not under the defendant's supervision or control, so a worker dispatch relationship does not exist."

The first trial ruled that workers affiliated with in-house subcontractors who have worked for more than two years or performed tasks different from their contracts must be directly employed, ordering the expression of intent to employ. The second trial also dismissed the company's appeal, siding with the workers.

The Supreme Court's ruling on this day was no different. The court stated, "The defendant gave binding direct or indirect instructions regarding the performance of work to workers affiliated with the in-house subcontractor, exercising considerable supervision and command, effectively incorporating them into its business," and ruled, "A worker dispatch relationship exists between the plaintiffs and the defendant."

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