Incidentally, the Labor Standards Act of Korea does not have an explicit regulation on . . . → Read More: Probationary period]]> The probationary period, here, means a period that a company, after concluding a labor contract with a worker, sets a certain period of time to assess the worker’s aptitude for his job, train him to get familiar with the job, and etc.

Incidentally, the Labor Standards Act of Korea does not have an explicit regulation on this matter. 

The only article that mentions a probationary worker is the article 35 of the act.

Article 35 of the LSA

In the event of dismissal of an employee with any of the following status of employment, the employer is not obliged to give a 30-day notice.

- Daily employees who have not worked for a 3 consecutive months
- Employees hired for a pre-arranged period of time lasting 2 months or less
- Salary employees who have worked for less than 6 months
- Employees hired for seasonal work for a pre-arranged period of time lasting 6 months or less
- Employees under probationary period (of 3 months or less)

Most companies in Korea, based on this article, regulates in their rules of employment or individual labor contracts that probationary period shall be 3 months. 

1. What about making the period longer than 3 months? 

Again, no relevant article in labor law. 

However, an administrative interpretation by the Ministry of Labor says that the length of a probationary period is not restricted to 3 months but can be longer than 3 months  on the basis of nature of jobs and within reasonable bound. (February 9, 1993/Geungi 01254-221)

The interpretation also advises companies to have a relevant article in the collective bargaining agreement or the rules of employment. 

2. What about renewing or extending the probationary period? 

As can be expected, there is no mention on this matter in the law. Just an administrative interpretation by the ministry that extending the probationary period is not against law. (October 10, 1991 / Geungi 01254-14914) 

The conclusion is that an employer can decide on the length of probationary period as long as he/she considers it necessary for the purpose of assessing and training the worker but within the limit as can be reasonable and that such period should be stipulated in labor contracts, rules of employment to prevent any debate between a worker and a company. 

Based on the chapter, the following conditions should be fulfilled for any labor contract to be . . . → Read More: Labor contract under the labor standards act]]> The labor standards act of Korea has a chapter named “labor contract”. In my opinion, it is not much of help when one actually tries to draft a labor contract, but it offers some points to remember not to violate law.

Based on the chapter, the following conditions should be fulfilled for any labor contract to be legitimate.

First, some items should be clearly stated to a worker when a labor contract  is signed. Those items are wage, working hours, paid weekly holiday, annual leave, location of work, job to be performed by the worker and so on.

Incidentally, composition of wage, methods of calulating and paying wage , working hours, paid weekly holidays, and annual leave should be stated in written form. In other words, a decent labor contract should explicitly mention the above items.

The labor standards act bans an employer from stating in advance, in a labor contract, the amount of damage to be compensated by a worker for illegal activites or non-compliance with the labor contract.

It, however, does not prohibit an employer from pursuing compensation for a damage actually incurred by a worker. It does not ban an employer from making an article in a labor contract that a worker who had a training or education through expenses by the company should work for a company for certain years to be exempted from obligation to repay the expenses.

Although no mention can be found in the labor standards act, non-disclosure or non-compete agreements also can be inserted in a labor contract. There are some court rulings approving such agreements.

Of course, such agreements are not applicable to all levels of workers. They are usually relevant for senior managers or a certain workers who had access to skills or technologies that are imporant to a company.

Obtaining a decent copy of an English labor contract in Korea is not easy. I have yet to find a single satisfactory labor contract in English based on Korean context. The ministry of labor has not released any authoritative standard sample of labor contract in English.

Maybe it is also due to the tendency  that most companies just state the above essential items and close the labor contract by saying that other matters will be governed by the labor standards act.