South Korea’s Supreme Court has determined that allowances paid to nurses and clinical pathologists for “on-call duty” can only be considered part of their regular wages if they can prove they were under the hospital’s direct supervision and control during that time. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – In a landmark ruling, South Korea’s Supreme Court has determined that allowances paid to nurses and clinical pathologists for “on-call duty” can only be considered part of their regular wages if they can prove they were under the hospital’s direct supervision and control during that time.
The decision overturns earlier rulings and provides new guidance on wage disputes involving standby work.
The case involved 298 healthcare workers who sued the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service in 2016, seeking to include on-call and standby allowances in the calculation of their base wages. Base wages are critical because they affect overtime, severance pay, and other benefits.
Lower courts had sided with the plaintiffs, finding that their standby duties, whether performed at home or in the hospital, were essential and required readiness akin to regular work hours. However, the Supreme Court disagreed, citing prior precedent.
The court stated that for standby or on-call hours to count as work time, employees must demonstrate that their activities during those periods were subject to substantial employer supervision and were not intermittent in nature.
The ruling also highlighted the lack of evidence regarding key factors, such as the nature of tasks performed during regular hours, the intensity of standby duties compared to regular work, and how quickly employees were required to report to work when called.
However, the court did uphold the inclusion of retroactive wage increases in base pay, noting that these were expected as part of repeated annual agreements between the employer and employees.
The case now returns to a lower court for reconsideration, with implications for how employers and employees negotiate compensation for non-traditional work arrangements in South Korea’s healthcare sector and beyond.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
