Legal Problems and Assignments of Non-Standard Workers

Abstract

Non-standard work constitutes one of the most controversial labor law issues. It is a form of employment developed by the personnel techniques founded on the employment flexibility. This form of employment create instability and inequality and dispense with the employer's obligations in the labor law and the social security law. The non-standard worker's legal status in Korea is very unstable, but the law rarely provides special protection for it. The Labor Standards Act and the Law for the Protection of Temporary

Workers(1998) have provided some protection for non-standard workers under some of their articles. But the content and range of the protective articles are too simple and confined to solve in an efficient way the many legal problems arising from non-standard employment. The basic goal of the regulation of nonstandard employment is to achieve both flexible business operation and employment stability. The real employment need of the enterprise and the choice of the workers must reasonably be accommodated. For this reason, in the first place, amendment must be made to the Labor Standards Act articles dealing with

the employment contract period and clarifications must be made regarding the legal effects of illegal use of non-standard employment. Second, the employment instability of non-standard employment must be removed and the regulation promoting improvements in the work conditions must be strengthened.

Employment stability is an absolute pre-condition for a worker to exercise his/her rig hts under the Labor Standards Act and the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. And the lure of non-standard

employment must be weakened by strictly enforcing the rule of "equal work, equal wage." Third, the social balance of the burden of unemployment risk must be made more level between the worker and the employer. The current law only lessens the burden of the employer and demands the one-sided sacrifice of the worker. Furthermore, when coming up with a legislation to increase the stability of non-standard employment, the objective employment conditions, the tendency of the court's interpretation of the law

and the employer-worker relationship must all be taken into consideration. Last of all, the principle should be established that the use of non-standard worker can not be permitted for the execution of the normal and permanent activity of the enterprise.