Case Assisted by a Labor Law Office | Labor Attorney, Full Award of Unpaid Wages

Before entrusting the case to the labor law office, the client had requested payment of wages from the company on several occasions, but the employer refused payment on the ground that ‘the annual salary includes overtime allowance and annual leave allowance.’

Not only did the actual employment contract contain no such provision, but the pay statements likewise did not reflect those allowance items at all.

The client worked beyond the fixed working hours each day, performing night work and weekend work as well, yet the employer did not acknowledge this and simply asserted that it ‘was included in the salary paid in the form of a performance bonus.’

As a result, the client went without proper compensation for several months and continued to suffer financial hardship after leaving the company.

Finding it difficult to resolve the matter alone in these circumstances, the client ultimately came to the labor law office and requested assistance.

A worker who meets certain requirements has the right to use annual paid leave (Article 60 of the Labor Standards Act).

If the worker has attended for at least 80% of the days during one year, 15 days of paid leave accrue.

In addition, even a worker with less than one year of service may receive one day of paid leave for each month of perfect attendance.

As the period of continuous service grows longer, additional leave may accrue, up to a maximum of 25 days.

System for Encouraging the Use of Annual Leave

The law provides, however, that where the employer has actively encouraged the use of annual leave through the prescribed procedures yet the worker has not used it, the employer has no obligation to compensate for that portion.

The employer must notify the worker in advance of the number of unused annual leave days and urge the worker to set the time of use (Article 61 of the Labor Standards Act).

If the worker still does not use the leave, the employer must set the time of use on the worker's behalf and give notice in writing.

If these procedures are not properly observed, an allowance for the unused annual leave must be paid, and a failure to pay it constitutes a clear case of unpaid wages.

Where a worker has retired, the employer must pay all wages, compensation, and other money within 14 days from the date of retirement (Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act).

An employer's failure to pay wages on the ground of “the circumstances of the company” or the like does not constitute a justifiable reason, and absent a special agreement, the worker may exercise their rights through a claim for unpaid wages.

A retirement benefit is likewise a right that a worker is naturally entitled to be guaranteed.

An employer must pay, as a retirement benefit, an average wage of 30 days or more for each year of continuous service (Article 8 of the "Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act").

This is not merely an internal company rule, but a system mandated by law.

Accordingly, failing to pay a retirement benefit is a clear violation of the law, and a worker may claim the retirement benefit through a lawsuit or a petition.

The labor lawyer specifically established, through attendance records and supporting materials, that the client provided fixed overtime of at least one hour every day and also worked additional hours every Saturday.

On this basis, by pointing out that the amount calculated by the labor office was significantly lower than the actual amount, and by recalculating the additional wages to reflect the working hours the client had actually provided, the firm recalculated and claimed approximately 40 million won in unpaid amounts.

The labor attorney took issue with the fact that overtime allowance had been omitted in the Labor Office's calculation of severance pay.

Although overtime allowance must be included in average wages, it had not been reflected, so the severance pay had been calculated in a reduced amount.

Accordingly, the average wage was recalculated based on the plaintiff's actual wage records, so that severance pay of more than approximately 16 million won could be claimed.

Although the client had not been able to use all of their annual paid leave during the period of employment, the employer avoided payment of the allowance without carrying out the procedure for encouraging the use of annual leave.

In response, the labor law attorney carefully analyzed the plaintiff's attendance records and the details of the accrual and use of annual leave to calculate the number of unused annual leave days, and reflected the unpaid allowance in the items claimed.

An unpaid wages matter requires a comprehensive review of various items of evidence, and only by being able to rebut the employer's defense arguments on legal grounds can one's rights be protected.

Daeryun LLC has many attorneys specializing in labor cases who have professionally handled numerous unpaid wage and severance pay cases.

Through a system that assigns a consultation attorney and an attorney in charge, it provides client-tailored legal assistance from the early stage of the case through the conduct of litigation and the enforcement procedure.

If you are experiencing difficulties with the payment of wages or severance pay after leaving employment, please feel free to use 🔗Legal Consultation Reservation to entrust your case to us.