When you need an employment contract
Anyone hiring in Korea has to put the terms in writing and hand the employee a copy before work starts — permanent staff, fixed-term staff and a part-timer working a few hours a week alike. It is required by Article 17 of the Labor Standards Act, and an employer who skips it can be fined.
The contract must state the pay (its components and how it is calculated and paid), contracted working hours, the weekly rest day and annual leave. For part-timers it must also give each working day and its hours, which is what loosely filled-in templates most often leave out.
This tool follows the Ministry of Employment and Labor's standard contract forms. Enter the weekly schedule and it works out contracted hours and paid weekly rest, converts the pay to an hourly figure to compare with the minimum wage, and checks breaks and the 52-hour cap. The document itself is produced in Korean.
How to use it
- 1Choose permanent, fixed-term or part-time. A fixed-term contract also needs an end date.
- 2Fill in the employer and employee, the place of work and the duties. Tick “remember” to keep the business details for the next hire.
- 3Tick the working days and enter start, finish and break times. Weekly hours are worked out on the right as you type.
- 4Set the pay basis and amount, allowances, payday, payment method and social insurance. Look again at anything flagged under “Things to check”.
- 5Press “Create and download” for an A4 contract, then pass it to e-sign or stamp and give the employee a copy.
FAQ
- Does a one-day part-timer need a contract?
- Yes. Writing and handing over the contract is required whatever the size of the business or the length of the job; even day labourers must be given the key terms in writing.
- What changes under 15 hours a week?
- Employees contracted for fewer than 15 hours a week are not entitled to a paid weekly rest day or annual leave. The contract says so, and the weekly rest is shown as zero.
- How is the minimum wage checked?
- Monthly pay is divided by the paid hours in an average month (209 for a 40-hour week, rest included); daily pay by the hours in a day. The default minimum is the 2026 rate — change it for a contract in another year.
- Is anything sent to a server?
- No. The contract is built in your browser. “Remember” stores only the business details in this browser, never the employee's name or pay.