The Labor Standards Act Should Applyto Workplaces with Less than Five Employees
-NHRCK recommends Labor Minister to incrementally apply the LSA to smaller businesses-
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK; Chair: Ahn Kyong-hwan) recommended to the Minister of Labor that the Labor Standards Act, which provides for some minimum level of working conditions, be applied incrementally to smaller employers until it includes even those with fewer than five employees in order to improve their often poor working conditions and better uphold the basic labor rights and right to survival of the employees. The NHRCK specifically called for the immediate amendment of the clauses regarding the legal working hours and overtime allowance. The detailed recommendations are as follows:
△ With the ultimate goal of applying the Labor Standards Act to all workplaces, widen its application scope gradually by a specific stage-by-stage plan and lay down the execution of the plan in legal clauses;
△ In order to address the issue of low wages and prevent overworking of employees at workplaces with less than five employees, revise the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act forthwith so that Article 14 (Posting of the Act and Decree), Article 50, Paragraph 2 (Eight-hour working a day), and Article 56 (Additional Pay for Overtime, Night Work, and Holiday Work) can be applied as soon as possible;
△ In order to ensure the actual application of the Act, devise a way to improve labor oversight capabilities and strengthen administrative support; and
△ Produce an educational booklet containing the key points of the Act and its Enforcement Decree to be distributed to workplaces with less than five employees and ensure through oversight that the booklet is kept readily available at work since both employers' and employees' clear understanding of the Act and the Decree is crucial to encouraging employers' compliance and raising employees' awareness of their rights, thereby maximizing the realization of the legislative intent of the Act.
