Constitutional Court: "Ultra-short-term Workers Are Not Eligible for Severance Pay"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the legal provision exempting 'ultra-short-term workers' who work less than 15 hours per week in total from receiving severance pay is constitutional.

On the 29th, the Constitutional Court announced that it decided by a 6 to 3 majority that the proviso clause of Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act does not violate the Constitution, despite claims that it infringed on human dignity and value, the right to pursue happiness, equality rights, and labor rights.

According to this provision, employers are required to establish a retirement benefit system to pay severance to retiring workers, but it excludes workers with continuous employment periods of less than one year or those whose average weekly scheduled working hours over four weeks are less than 15 hours.

However, Mr. A, a part-time horse racing staff assisting in horse racing events at the Korea Racing Authority, and Mr. B, a part-time philosophy lecturer at a university, filed a constitutional complaint after losing a lawsuit claiming severance pay following their retirement.

The Constitutional Court did not accept the claims of Mr. A and others. The Court stated, "Ultra-short-term work is generally temporary and transient labor," and "it is difficult to see that it aligns with the essence of the retirement benefit system, which presupposes contributions that justify the employer's burden." The retirement benefit system functions as a social security benefit and encourages long-term service and faithful work by employees, meaning that exclusivity and contribution of the worker are prerequisites for its establishment.

Dissenting opinions were also expressed. Justices Lee Seok-tae, Kim Ki-young, and Lee Mi-sun argued that excluding ultra-short-term workers, who are already marginalized in social security systems such as employment insurance and national pension, from severance pay would create blind spots in the social safety net, and thus the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act violates the Constitution.