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

Bonus payments are not a legal obligation like wages
Interest in bonuses rises among workers ahead of holidays
About half of workers received bonuses last Chuseok

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]

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%.