Labor Inspection Checklist (2026)

                                     Bongsoo Jung (Labor
Attorney, KangNam Labor Law Firm)

 

Employers must comply with the
following items and procedures to ensure they are in harmony with the Labor
Standards Act. “Self-auditing guide” ? the Ministry of Employment and Labor
(2026): The contents described herein are checked frequently by labor
inspectors and given for the companies to act accordingly. Employers are
advised to comply with the guidelines. I hope the companies can prepare for
their necessary documents in accordance with standard guidelines of the Labor
Standards Act. 

 

Ⅰ. Labor Standards Act

 

1. An employer shall make a labor contract with
all employees hired directly by the company

※ An employer shall make a
labor contract with all employees hired directly by the company, regardless of
type of occupation, working period, etc.

※ Any labor contract that
establishes conditions of labor that do not meet the standards provided by law
shall be invalid to that extent. The law shall govern those conditions
invalidated in accordance with the above.

※ In order to prevent
disputes between the employer and the employed, a written labor contract is
required so both parties can be sure of the details of employment.

 

2. An employer shall clearly state the terms of employment
at the time the labor contract is made. (Article 17 of the LSA, Article 8 of the Enforcement
Decree)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed five million won

※ Statement of Terms of Employment

i) An employer shall clearly state
remuneration, contractual working hours, holidays, annual paid leave, and other
terms of employment. For matters as to each constituent item of remuneration,
the methods of calculation and payment, holidays, and annual paid leave shall
be specified in writing.

ii) Terms of Employment to be specified：

(1) Remuneration (2) Contractual working
hours (3) Holidays (4) Annual paid leave (5) Place of employment and work to be
performed

 

3. A Registry of the workers shall be made
and preserved.(Article
41, 42 of the LSA) ※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed five million WON

※ Employers shall maintain a registry of
workers, and preserve this registry, along with other important documents
regarding the labor contract, for three years.

a) Matters to Be Entered
in the Registry of Workers

Name; Sex; Date of birth;
Address; Personal history; Type of work to be performed; Date of employment or renewal
of employment, a contractual period if any period has been determined, and
other matters related to employment; Date of dismissal, retirement or death,
and the reasons  thereof; and Other
necessary matters

b) Important Documents
Regarding the Labor Contract

Labor contracts; Wage
ledgers; Documents pertaining to the basis for the determination of, payment
method used, and calculation of wages; Documents pertaining to employment,
dismissal or retirement; Documents pertaining to promotion or demotion;
Documents pertaining to leaves of absence; Documents pertaining to approval or
authorization; Documents of written agreements; and Documents pertaining to
certification of minors.

 

3-2. When paying wages, the employer must
provide the employee with a written wage statement specifying the wage
components, calculation method, deductions, and other relevant details. (Article 48 of the Labor
Standards Act)

※ Administrative fine of
up to KRW 5 million.

 

4. Contractual working hours for employees shall not exceed
forty hours per week and eight hours per day, excluding recess hours.

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to
two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON

 

5. An employer shall pay an additional fifty percent or
more of the ordinary wages for extended work, night work, or holiday work. (Article 56 of the LSA)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to
three years, or by a fine not to

exceed twenty million WON

※ Night work means the work provided
from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and holiday work means the work performed during times
that are exempt from the "duty to provide labor" as stipulated by
law, collective agreement, Rules of Employment (ROE) or labor contract.

 

6. If a worker quits or retires, an employer shall pay the
forthcoming wages, compensation, and other money or valuables within 14 days after
the cause for such payment has occurred; however, this period, under special
circumstances, may be extended by mutual agreement between the parties
concerned. (Article 36 of LSA)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to
three years, or by a fine not to exceed twenty million WON

 

7. An employer shall allow, on average, one or more paid
days off per week to workers who have fulfilled their contractual working days
per week.(Article 55 of the LSA)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to
two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON

※ When employees work on paid holidays,
the employer shall pay additional wages (fifty percent or more of the ordinary
wages).

 

8. An employer shall grant 15 days' paid leave to workers
who have worked more than 80 percent of their contractual working days over one
year. After the employee's first year of service, the employer shall grant
annual paid leave of one additional day for each two years of consecutive
service.(Article 60, Article 62 of the LSA)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to
two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON

※ An employer shall grant one day’s paid leave per month to
a worker whose consecutive service period is shorter than one year.

※ The total number of leave days,
including the additional leave, shall not exceed 25.

 

9. Employers shall grant pregnant female workers 90 days of
maternity leave, to be used before and after childbirth. In such cases, 45 days
or more shall be allocated after childbirth. The first 60 days' leave shall be
paid leave.(Article 74, Article 75 of the LSA)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to
two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON

※ The length of protective leave granted
shall be determined according to the length of pregnancy:
1. Where the pregnancy period is less than 15
weeks：up to 10 days from the date of
miscarriage or stillbirth；
2. Where the pregnancy period is 16 weeks or
more but less than 21 weeks：up to 30
days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth
3. Where the pregnancy period is 22 weeks or
more but less than 27 weeks：up to 60
days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth；and
4. Where the pregnancy period is 28 weeks or
more：up to 90 days from the date of
miscarriage or stillbirth.

 

10. No employer shall dismiss a worker without justifiable
reason. If an employer intends to dismiss a worker, the employer shall notify
the worker in writing of the reasons for dismissal and the date of such
dismissal.

 

11. An employer shall give advance notice of at least
thirty days before dismissing a worker. If notice is not given thirty days
before dismissal, ordinary wages of more than thirty days shall be paid to the
worker. (Article 26 of the LSA)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to
two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON

※ Exceptions
to the Advance Notice of Dismissal Requirement (Proviso to Article 26)

1.    
Where the employee has
worked continuously for less than three months;

2.    
Where it is impossible to
continue the business due to a natural disaster, calamity, or other unavoidable
reason;

3.    
Where the employee has
intentionally caused serious disruption to the business or inflicted property
damage, and the case falls under the grounds prescribed by Ordinance of the
Ministry of Employment and Labor.

 

12. An employer ordinarily employing ten workers or more
shall prepare the Rules of Employment (ROE) and file them with the Minister of
Labor. (Article 93 of the LSA) ※
Punishable by a fine not to exceed five million WON

※ Contents of Rules of Employment
(ROE) 

Hours of operation, Breaks, Holidays,
Leaves and Shifts, Determination of wages, Calculation of wages, Means of
payment, Closing of payment, Pay days, Wage increases, Calculation of family
allowances, Means of pension payment, Pensions prescribed in Article 8 of the
Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, Bonuses, Minimum wages, Meal
allowance, Allocation of expenses for operational tools or, Educational
facilities for workers, Protection of pregnant female workers, Work-home
balance assistance, such as maternity leave, child-care leave, etc., Safety and
health, Improvement of work environment according to employee sex, age, and
physical characteristics, Support pertaining to occupational or
non-occupational accidents, Awards and Disciplinary action, etc.

13. An employer shall keep workers informed of the main
points of the Rules of Employment (ROE), by posting them at all times or
keeping them in places where workers have free access. (Article 14 of the LSA)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed five million WON

 

Ⅱ. Employment Retirement Benefit Security Act

 

14. When an employee retires or resigns, the employer
shall, within 14 days, pay a sum equal to 30 days or more of average wages for
each year of consecutive service.(Article 4, Article 8, Article 9 of the ERBSA)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed
five million WON

 

Ⅲ. Employment Retirement Benefit Security Act

 

15. Employers shall pay their workers wages not less than
the minimum wage. (Article 6 of the Minimum
Wage Act)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to three years, or by a
fine not to exceed twenty million WON

※ Minimum Wage (as of 2021) : 8,720 won per hour / 69,760
won per day(8 hours) / 1,822,480 won per month

 

16. An employer shall inform workers of the minimum wage by
displaying it in areas easily visible to workers, or by other appropriate
means. (Article 11 of the
Minimum Wage Act)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed one million WON

 

Ⅵ. Equal Employment and Work-home balance assistance
act

 

17. Employers shall conduct employee education one or more
times per year to prevent sexual harassment at the work place.(Article12, Article
13)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed
three million WON

※The sexual harassment prevention
education under paragraph (a) may be conducted through employee training
sessions, meetings, etc. depending on the size and circumstances of the
business.

※ Providing sexual harassment prevention
education simply by posting information, or other indirect dissemination of
educational material, shall not be recognized as sexual harassment prevention
education.

 

18. Employers shall allow an employee with a child aged 8
and under(or in the secondary year of elementary school or lower)to take
childcare leave to care for that child, upon application by that employee. (Article 19)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed
five million WON

 

19. Employers shall pay equal wages for the work of equal
value in the same business. (Article 8)

※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to three years, or by a
fine not to exceed twenty million WON

※ Criteria for work of equal value shall be the skills,
effort, responsibility and working conditions, etc., required to perform the
work. In setting the criteria, the employer shall listen to opinions of the
employee representative in the Labor-Management Council.

※ When an employer discriminates in wages based upon
objective criteria such as education, job experience, seniority, position,
etc., it shall not be regarded as discrimination.

 

20. If an employee
requests leave due to the childbirth of his or her spouse, the employer shall
grant 20 days of leave. (Article
18-2 of the Equal Employment Act)

Spousal childbirth leave may be
used from 50 days before the expected date of childbirth of the employee’s
spouse, and may not be used after 120 days have passed from the date of
childbirth. Spousal childbirth leave may be divided and used up to three times.

 

Ⅴ.  Act on the Promotion of Worker Participation
and Cooperation

 

21. An employer shall establish bylaws for the
Labor-Management Council and shall submit them to the Labor Office.(Article 4, Article
18 of the Act)

※ Penalty for not
establishing a Labor-Management Council: fine of not less than 10 million WON

※ Penalty for not
submitting the bylaws: fine of up to 2 million WON

※ All businesses
that ordinarily hire more than 30 persons shall establish a Labor- Management
Council, establish its bylaws, and submit them to the Minister of Labor within
15 days from the date the Council is established.

※ A
Labor-Management Council shall be established at each business or workplace and
will be vested with the right to decide working conditions.

 

22. The Labor-Management Council shall hold meetings at
least once every three months. ※
Punishable by a fine not to exceed two million WON

 

23. The Grievance-Handling Team shall consist of a maximum
of three people, representing labor and management. (Article 26, Article 27 of the Act)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed two million WON

 

Ⅵ. Protection for non-regular employees (Short-term,
part-time, or dispatch employees)

 

24. Sending Employers and Using Employers shall implement
any final judgment order for correction if they receive one from the Labor
Relations Commission or the court.
(Article 8 to Article 14 of the Short-term Employee Act and the Article 21 of
the Dispatch Employee Act)

※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed one hundred five
million WON

 

25. An employer shall not discriminate against non-regular
employees (fixed-term employees, part-time employees, and dispatch employees)
with regard to wages or other working conditions on the grounds of their
employment status compared with other workers under a labor contract without a
fixed term who are engaged in the same or similar jobs in the business or workplace
concerned.

※ Applicable to both the Sending Employer and the Using
Employer

 

26. An employer may hire fixed-term employees for a period
not exceeding two years. If an employer hires fixed-term employees for more
than two years, they shall be considered regular employees who have no fixed
term. (Article 4 of the
Short-term Employee Act)

 

27. Using Employer shall not receive labor service from a
dispatch employee from an unauthorized dispatch company nor shall use a
dispatch employee in a position where dispatch employees are not allowed. (Article 5 of the Dispatch Employee Act)

※ For Using Employer: Punishable by imprisonment of up to
three years, or by a fine not to exceed twenty million WON

 

28. The length of dispatch shall not exceed one year. If there
is agreement between the Sending Employer, the Using Employer, and the dispatch
employee, the length of dispatch may be extended beyond one year. In any case,
the total length of dispatch extension shall not exceed one year, and the total
length of dispatch, including extensions, shall not exceed two years. If the
Using Employer continues to use the dispatch employee beyond two years, he/she
shall directly hire the dispatch employee as a regular employee without a fixed
term of employment.

※ Violation by the
Using Employer: imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine not exceeding
twenty million WON

※ Failure to directly hire a dispatch
employee beyond two years: Punishable by a fine not exceeding thirty million
WON

※ With regard to older dispatch employees
under subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Aged Employment Promotion Act,
notwithstanding the latter part of the provision of paragraph 2, the length of
dispatch may be extended for more than two years.

※ Times when dispatch employees are
permitted under Article 5 (2) (exceptional reasons)

☞The period of time required to resolve
clear and objective causes of a shortage of manpower, such as childbirth,
illness and injury; and

☞For a maximum of three months when there
is a need to secure manpower on a temporary and intermittent basis. If the
cause is not resolved and there is agreement between the Sending Employer, the
Using Employer, and the dispatch employee, this three-month period may be
extended once, and is not to exceed an additional three months.

 

29. In accordance with the
introduction of the workplace harassment prevention law, it must be reflected
in essential items in the employment rules.