📌 TL;DR > - Before writing a complaint, count your regularly employed workers. If you have fewer than 5 employees, all vacation pay and additional allowances are completely excluded. If you include them unknowingly, that item alone will be deducted and returned. > - Even with fewer than 5 employees, minimum wage, weekly rest day pay, severance pay, and dismissal notice pay still apply. The first step is to distinguish what is excluded and what remains. > - If you fail to comply with the attendance request twice, the case will be closed. It's not a process that automatically resolves itself once it's filed.
Table of Contents 1. Changes Since Last Fall 2. Why Counting Regularly Employed Workers is the First Question 3. Three Things to Include in the Complaint 4. What Happens After Filing 5. What to Do When You Don't Receive a Positive Outcome 6. Pre-Filing Checklist
I am an administrative agent based in Songdo, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. I'm writing down a story that I think my neighbors might find interesting. 🙂
## 1. Changes Since Last Fall 📅
The nature of wage arrears consultations has changed since last October. This is due to the revised Labor Standards Act, commonly called the "Habitual Arrears Eradication Act," which went into effect on October 23, 2025.
Previously, wage arrears were closer to a "problem that ends when an agreement is reached." Now, the structure is different.
- If identified as a habitual wage arrears employer, wage arrears information will be shared with credit information agencies, resulting in disadvantages in loans and interest rates, and restrictions on participation in national and local government support programs.
- If your name is placed on the list, you may be prohibited from leaving the country until wage arrears are cleared.
- If you commit wage arrears again during the public listing period, criminal prosecution will proceed even if the employee does not want to be punished.
- Delayed interest of 20% will be applied to currently employed workers as well. The saying "There's no interest because you haven't quit yet" no longer applies.
Therefore, recently, I've seen a significant increase in the desperation of small business owners as well as employees. Both sides often operate under previous guidelines.
## 2. Why Counting the Number of Regular Employees is the First Question 🔢
This is almost the very first thing I ask in consultations: "Besides the owner, how many people worked at that store?"
A significant portion of the Labor Standards Act does not apply to businesses with fewer than five employees. Therefore, annual paid leave allowance, overtime/night/holiday pay, unfair dismissal relief application, and a 52-hour work week are completely excluded.
It’s common for people to file a complaint seeking overtime pay, only to have it denied because the business is a small one with fewer than five employees. It’s frustrating, but that’s how the law is.
Conversely, certain provisions remain in effect as well.
- Minimum wage ⭕
- Weekly rest day allowance ⭕
- Severance pay ⭕
- Severance pay notification allowance ⭕
- Provision of employment contract and wage statement ⭕
- Four major insurances ⭕
It was the same when a man in his late twenties who worked and then left a small store in the old downtown area of Wonhyundong came to me. The first calculation sheet he brought in showed overtime pay as the largest item. The number of employees, including the owner, was four.
After removing that item and recalculating, I found that fourteen weeks’ worth of weekly rest day allowance had been omitted, and there was no severance pay at all. After deducting the items that should have been deducted, the amount actually increased. This was because there was no weekly rest day allowance in the initial calculation.
## 3. Three Things to Include in a Complaint 📝
A complaint is not a document for expressing emotions; it's a document for the labor inspector to verify. There are three main things.
- Employment Relationship Facts — When you worked, from when to when, and under what conditions.
- Unpaid Items and Amounts — Broken down by item, with calculation basis.
- Supporting Evidence — Employment contract, pay slip, attendance record, salary deposit history.
Often, there is no employment contract. That doesn't mean it's not possible. If you gather evidence that shows dates, such as bank deposit history, store attendance records, and messages exchanged with the employer, you can show the employment relationship and working hours.
For your reference, there is a court ruling that acquitted an administrative agent for preparing and submitting a wage arrears complaint to the relevant district office according to the Administrative Agent Act, stating that "an administrative agent can prepare and submit labor-related documents within the scope defined by the Administrative Agent Act."
## 4. The Real Work Begins After Submission ⚠️ This is the most frequently overlooked part.
Filing a complaint will result in an industrial safety supervisor being assigned and a scheduled attendance investigation. The processing period is 25 days and can be extended. It could be a confrontation investigation where you sit down with the employer.
However, if you fail to respond to the attendance request more than twice, it is deemed that you have no intention of reporting, and the case is closed. There are actual cases where a case dies because someone thinks, "If I just file it, it will be handled somehow." You miss appointments due to work, miss calls, and then it ends.
Another thing. Withdrawal or waiver of prosecution is irreversible. There are cases where an employer says, "If you withdraw it, I'll pay it right away," but the order cannot be changed. The principle is to withdraw after confirming the payment. (However, even if you withdraw it, the punishment will proceed for employers whose names have been publicly disclosed due to habitual non-payment.)
Therefore, the point where I actually provide the most help is not the moment of writing the documents, but the stage of managing attendance schedules and organizing what and how to state.
## 5. What to Do When You Don't Receive Payment and It's Over 💼
It's not the end if the business owner fails to pay. There's a Temporary Wage Payment system. The government first pays within a certain range and recovers it from the business owner.
The process is as follows:
1. Filing a Wage Unpaid Complaint 2. Investigation, Attendance, and Submission of Documents 3. The labor supervisor issues a Business Owner Confirmation of Unpaid Wages 4. Application for Temporary Wage Payment to the Employee Welfare Corporation
Previously, a court's final verdict was required, but the 2021 revision allows claims with only the Business Owner Confirmation.
You must keep track of the dates. The confirmation track requires filing a complaint or lawsuit within one year from the date of retirement, and the application must be made within six months from the initial issuance of the confirmation. Because the two deadlines start at different times, if you only focus on one, you'll miss the other.
The person I mentioned earlier didn't proceed to temporary wage payment because the business owner agreed to a partial payment during the investigation. They withdrew after confirming the final payment. The order was followed.
A few days later, I received a message. The new store they went to said they received an employment contract on their first day. 👍
## 6. Pre-Filing Checklist ✅
① Count the number of regular employees. If it's less than 5, annual leave, additional pay, and unfair dismissal relief applications are excluded.
② Focus on what remains instead of what's missing. Overtime pay and severance pay are often overlooked, but the amounts are significant.
③ Gather documents with remaining dates. Even without a contract, you can demonstrate the employment relationship with bank statements, work schedules, and messages.
④ Prioritize attendance schedules. Two failures to appear will result in the case being closed.
⑤ Do not withdraw before confirming payment. It cannot be undone.
⑥ Keep the deadline of one year from the termination date in mind. This is the deadline to consider the possibility of back payments.
Wage arrears cases are often decided on whether certain items were initially eligible, rather than arguing about the amount. If you are struggling with a similar issue in Yeongu-gu, Incheon, we recommend counting the number of people you worked with before reaching for a calculator.
Eligibility and deadlines may vary depending on the size of the business, the type of employment, and the date of implementation, so it is necessary to confirm individually with the relevant employment and labor office.
This article is reconstructed based on actual consultation cases, and the characters, names, place names, and figures appearing therein are not related to any specific individual or event.
━━━━━━━━━━ This is an administrative agent office located in Songdo, Yeongu-gu, Incheon (Posco Tower Songdo). We handle administrative litigation, licensing/reporting agency, foreign entry and residence (visas and stay), and regular administrative management. Regarding wage arrears complaints, our service includes organizing the complaint and calculation basis by item.
📍 165, Convencia-daero, Yeongu-gu, Incheon, Posco Tower Songdo 2697 📞 010-3374-2687 🌐 www.hwangadmin.com ━━━━━━━━━━
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