"University Adjunct Lecturer with Zero Salary Due to No Course Assignment... Court Orders Payment of Leave Allowance"

Gyeongsang National University Does Not Assign Lectures to Instructors for 6 Months
Law: "Employment Contracts Below Labor Standards Act Are Invalid"

The court has issued its first ruling that universities must pay suspension allowances to part-time lecturers who were not assigned lectures and thus did not receive salaries due to so-called 'zero-hour contracts.'

On the 22nd, the Civil Appeals Division 6-3 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Park Pyeong-gyun, Go Chun-jeong, Ji Sang-mok) overturned the first-instance ruling that dismissed the wage payment lawsuit filed by Mr. A, a former lecturer at the National Gyeongsang University, against the state, and ruled in part in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the state to pay Mr. A approximately 3.6 million won.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Mr. A was appointed as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Political Economy at Gyeongsang National University Graduate School in January 2019 and worked at the university for three years under one-year renewable contracts until August 2022. Gyeongsang National University assigned him six hours of lectures per week in the second semester of 2020, and three hours per week in both the first and second semesters of 2021, for which he received monthly remuneration. However, the university did not assign any lectures to him in the first semester of 2022 and did not pay his salary for six months. Although Mr. A was effectively unemployed for six months, the university did not dismiss him, citing the Higher Education Act's guarantee of lecturer status, which reportedly prevented him from receiving unemployment benefits. Ultimately, Mr. A resigned from Gyeongsang National University on August 31, 2022, and filed a lawsuit against the state, which operates the university, demanding suspension allowances.

Mr. A lost in the first trial. The first-instance court ruled that "there is no reason to recognize that the state is at fault for Mr. A's suspension." However, the appellate court's judgment differed. The appellate court found it reasonable to conclude that Mr. A's suspension was due to the employer's fault and ordered the state to pay Mr. A suspension allowances amounting to about 3.59 million won, equivalent to 70% of his average monthly wage for six months, plus delayed interest. The court further stated, "Although the appointment contract states that 'no wages will be paid during semesters without lectures,' employment contracts that do not meet the standards of the Labor Standards Act are invalid," adding, "Waiving suspension allowances in advance also violates the Labor Standards Act, so there is an obligation to pay suspension allowances."

The university argued, "According to the Presidential Decree, the ratio of lectures by full-time faculty must be maintained, so it was impossible to assign lectures to part-time lecturer Mr. A," and claimed "the university is not at fault." However, the court did not accept this, stating that it did not appear impossible to assign lectures to Mr. A.

Currently, it is known that many universities include so-called 'zero-hour contracts' like Mr. A's case in their part-time lecturer appointment contracts. Therefore, if this ruling is finalized, other part-time lecturers who have signed contracts with universities but have not been assigned lectures and are effectively in suspension may also be able to receive salaries.

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