'Oral Agreement to Increase Hourly Wage by 20% Instead of Weekly Holiday Allowance'
Reported to Ministry of Labor After Resignation... "Pay 1.5 Million Won"
Hourly Wage and Weekly Holiday Allowance Must Be Specified in Employment Contract
An employer lamented that a part-time worker who received a 20% hourly wage increase instead of weekly holiday pay betrayed them. On the 8th, a post titled ‘A part-timer reported me, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor came. I need advice’ was uploaded to a self-employed community. The author, Mr. A, shared the story that part-time worker Mr. B reported him after quitting, demanding the unpaid weekly holiday pay.
"Agreed not to pay weekly holiday pay but got betrayed" Employer's lament
Mr. A explained, “There was a high school senior part-timer, Mr. B, who worked less than 15 hours a week at minimum wage, but after 9 months, when he became an adult, I raised his hourly wage to 12,000 won and he started working more than 15 hours a week.” According to him, they agreed to set the hourly wage at 12,000 won, a 20% increase, on the condition that weekly holiday pay would not be paid separately. Mr. B reportedly worked for 7 months before quitting.
However, recently Mr. B reported Mr. A to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, claiming he did not receive weekly holiday pay. Mr. A said, “Even though I explained all this during the (Ministry of Employment and Labor) investigation, they said this case qualifies as wage arrears and ordered me to pay 1.5 million won in weekly holiday pay,” adding, “They said if I refuse to pay, they will refer the case to the prosecution.”
Mr. A seems unable to accept the demand to pay additional weekly holiday pay despite having mutually agreed to increase the hourly wage instead of weekly holiday pay. The hourly wage Mr. B received (12,000 won) is higher than last year’s minimum hourly wage including weekly holiday pay (11,568 won).
Verbal agreement... "Should be reflected in the employment contract"
However, he said, “When I hired him at minimum wage, I wrote an employment contract, but after raising the hourly wage, I did not reflect the changed terms in the contract.” He then asked, “If there is no employment contract, does a verbal agreement have no meaning? There are other employees who can testify that Mr. B agreed to receive the increased hourly wage instead of weekly holiday pay.”
He added, “It’s not just about the money, but I feel betrayed, so I cannot easily admit to paying the weekly holiday pay,” and “I want advice from business owners who are well versed in legal matters.”
Among other self-employed people, the response was that “It would be difficult to overturn the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s judgment unless the relevant terms are in the employment contract.” One self-employed person advised, “Legal disputes are always based on the contract. If contract terms change even slightly, it is safer to write a new contract without hesitation.”
According to the Labor Standards Act, workers who work more than 15 hours a week must be provided with a weekly holiday (paid holiday) and weekly holiday pay regardless of the size of the business. Although the term ‘hourly wage including weekly holiday pay’ is often used in practice, experts recommend clearly separating the basic hourly wage and weekly holiday pay in the employment contract to prevent unnecessary disputes.
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