"Forcibly Physically Contacted and Accused of Sexual Harassment, Yet I Was Fired Instead"…5-Person-or-Less Workplaces Become Legal Grey Zones

Companies with Fewer Than 5 Employees Are Not Subject to the Labor Standards Act

# While working at a studio, the CEO verbally fired me, saying I didn't seem confident about my work. When I asked the Ministry of Employment and Labor, they said that if the business has fewer than 5 employees, wrongful dismissal cannot be contested. I am angry to have become unemployed overnight.

# The director repeatedly asked me to have dinner alone, and after several refusals, I reluctantly agreed. Afterwards, the director did not hesitate to say "Let's date," and forcibly made unpleasant physical contact. I filed a sexual harassment complaint against him, but I was the one who got fired instead.

A survey revealed that more than 6 out of 10 workers at businesses with fewer than 5 employees, which are not covered by the Labor Standards Act, suffer from dismissal and wage issues, infringing on their right to livelihood.

Reporter Hyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 30th, Workplace Bullying 119 analyzed 216 email reports received from workers at businesses with fewer than 5 employees over 3 years and 6 months, from January 2020 to last June. Among these, 147 cases (68% including duplicates) involved dismissal and wage problems.

Workplace Bullying 119 stated, "Businesses with fewer than 5 employees have become a zone of lawlessness beyond a blind spot of the law," and repeatedly demanded, "The Labor Standards Act must be fully applied."

Infringement of personal rights, represented by workplace harassment, followed with 100 cases (46.2%). Violations of current laws such as failure to provide employment contracts or wage statements, non-enrollment in the four major social insurances, violations of maternity protection, and workplace sexual harassment were recorded in 44 cases (20.3%).

In a survey conducted last month with 1,000 office workers, 18.3% of workers at businesses with fewer than 5 employees reported experiencing involuntary unemployment this year. Among workers at businesses with 300 or more employees, the same response was 9.9%.

The reason workers at businesses with fewer than 5 employees are not protected is that the provisions of the Labor Standards Act do not apply. The Labor Standards Act applies to workplaces employing 5 or more regular workers.

One in three workers (33.9%) at businesses with fewer than 5 employees did not even have an employment contract. This contrasts with 81.9% of workers at businesses with 300 or more employees who had employment contracts, and only 6.6% who did not.

Regarding national pension, health insurance, and employment insurance, the enrollment rate of workers at businesses with fewer than 5 employees remained in the 40% range.

Workplace Bullying 119 pointed out, "The Labor Standards Act, which should be the standard for working conditions, has effectively become the standard for discrimination in working conditions, turning businesses with fewer than 5 employees into a zone of lawlessness beyond a blind spot of the law. Yet, the government and ruling party keep postponing amendments to the Labor Standards Act, using the burden on small self-employed businesses as an excuse."

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