최저임금 감액 적용제외 대상으로서 ‘단순노무업무’의 개념 및 적용 상 문제점

The Minimum Wage Act stipulates that probationary employees can be paid less than the legally mandated minimum wage amount. This is because probationary workers need on-the-job training for a certain period to provide the full scope of work. In 2018, a revision was made to the Minimum Wage Act so that probationary employees engaged in simple labor are not subject to reduced wages lower than the minimum wage. This is because learning functional skills through training is practically unnecessary for simple labor jobs, and the full work scope of simple labor jobs can be provided as soon as one’s employment begins. The Ministry of Employment and Labor determines that simple labor falls under the major classification 9 (simple labor workers) of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations. While the decision on whether someone is subject to a reduced minimum wage amount should be made based on whether the job requires a certain period of training or not, the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations does not consider this factor per se. Furthermore, the relationship between a simple labor job and the job classification category, which is generated and adjusted by changes in the industrial environment, is not rationally reflected in the classification system. The provision regarding reduced wages offered to probationary employees needs to be enhanced to make the provision aligned with the purpose and intention of the minimum wage system. To this end, stipulating the conceptual elements of probationary workers and simple labor in the text of labor-related laws is urgently needed. Through such stipulation, the gaps between reality and legal norms should be narrowed, and unnecessary conflicts and disputes between labor and management should be avoided.