"Complaining 'No Bonus for 5 Days After Joining'... Current Employees Respond Coldly"

Holiday bonuses are at the company's discretion and are not a legal obligation like wages. Additionally, since the criteria for bonus payments vary by company, whether or not a bonus is paid depends on how the internal regulations are defined. In particular, holiday bonuses are considered a topic that divides the emotions of office workers.

As interest in bonuses rises ahead of Seollal (Lunar New Year), a post by a young employee expressing frustration over not receiving a holiday bonus before the Seollal holiday has resurfaced among netizens. Recently, Mr. A's post from last year on an online community, titled "I didn’t receive a bonus because I’ve only been employed for 5 days, and I feel unfair. Please understand," has been brought back into the spotlight.

Holiday bonuses are at the company's discretion and are not a legal obligation like wages. Additionally, since the criteria for bonus payments vary by company, whether or not a bonus is paid depends on how the internal regulations are defined.
[Photo by Kim Dahee, Asia Economy]

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Mr. A explained, "Since this is my first job, I might not know, but this time holiday bonuses were given out," adding, "Employees with 3 months of service received 500,000 KRW, those with 2 years got 1,000,000 KRW, and those with over 5 years received 2,000,000 KRW." He continued, "But all I got was a gift set because I was only employed for 5 days, so I didn’t receive a bonus." He further said, "They might not have to give it, but employees with 3 months of service also received 200,000 KRW worth of Shinsegae gift certificates," and asked, "Am I not even getting the 200,000 KRW gift certificate, or is it normal not to get it? Should I report this to the Ministry of Labor? I would appreciate advice from those who received bonuses. I feel unfair."

In response to Mr. A’s complaint, many netizens reacted that there is no need to give a bonus to a new employee who has worked only 5 days. One netizen commented, "If I were 5 days into my job and saw long-term employees receiving bonuses, I would feel hopeful thinking, 'I’ll get that too once I accumulate more years,' so why feel unfair?" They added, "What contribution could a rookie who hasn’t even gotten used to the work make to deserve a bonus?" Other opinions included, "Most companies don’t give bonuses to employees with less than 3 months of service," "You should be grateful for receiving a gift set despite working only 5 days," and "Bonuses are given to thank employees for their good work over time, so what work did you do in 5 days?"

Meanwhile, about half of office workers reportedly received Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) bonuses last year. According to a survey conducted by JobKorea in September last year targeting 747 male and female office workers, 55.2% of respondents said they receive Chuseok bonuses. The average bonus was calculated at 464,185 KRW. Among those who did not receive bonuses, 35.5% responded that they received holiday gifts instead. The proportion of respondents who said there were no bonuses due to management conditions such as decreased sales was 15%.

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