When You Don't Get Dismissal Notice Pay: The Three Exceptions Under Korea's Labor Standards Act
Article 26 of Korea's Labor Standards Act requires an employer to give an employee at least 30 days' notice before dismissal, or pay at least 30 days of ordinary wages if notice isn't given. That payment is called dismissal notice pay. In practice, though, a lot of workers who are let go on the spot ask why they aren't getting it. The answer is that Article 26's proviso lists three exceptions where the employer's notice obligation doesn't apply at all.
The Rule: 30 Days' Notice, or 30 Days' Pay
Exception One -- Less Than 3 Months of Continuous Employment
If an employee has worked less than 3 months, the employer has no notice obligation to begin with. That 3-month period is counted from the actual start of continuous employment under the contract, not automatically excluded just because someone is on a probation period -- what matters is whether continuous tenure itself has reached 3 months. Once a single day past the 3-month mark has passed, this exception no longer applies, so the exact gap between the hire date and the dismissal notice date needs to be counted precisely.
Exception Two -- Natural Disaster or Other Unavoidable Circumstances
This applies when a natural disaster, fire, or similar event makes it genuinely impossible to keep the business running. In some cases this reason requires approval from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, so an employer simply claiming things are difficult doesn't trigger it automatically. It's also worth knowing that ordinary business downturns or falling sales don't qualify for this exception.
Exception Three -- Willful Misconduct Causing Major Disruption or Financial Loss
This covers cases where an employee intentionally causes major disruption to the business or significant financial damage -- reasons the Ministry of Employment and Labor has defined, such as embezzlement or leaking trade secrets, count as serious misconduct. Ordinary work mistakes or poor attendance generally don't meet this bar, and if an employer wants to withhold notice pay on this basis, the burden is on the employer to prove the misconduct.
If None of the Three Exceptions Apply, There's No Way Around Paying It
The three exceptions are an exhaustive list -- if a case doesn't fall under one of them, the employer cannot avoid the notice obligation. If someone is dismissed without notice and none of the exceptions apply, they can claim 30 days of ordinary wages based on their last day, and if the employer refuses to pay, the substitute payment system may cover it in some cases. That system is designed for unpaid wages generally, though, so whether unpaid dismissal notice pay qualifies as unpaid wages needs to be confirmed first through a complaint to the regional labor office.
Don't Confuse This With Resignation-by-Recommendation or Wrongful Dismissal
Dismissal notice pay is a separate question from whether the dismissal itself was lawful. Even if a dismissal is later found to be wrongful, or is processed as resignation by recommendation rather than as a dismissal, notice pay has to be assessed separately. It's also worth knowing that if someone agrees to resignation-by-recommendation and signs a resignation letter, that stops being a dismissal in the first place, which can make it harder to claim notice pay at all.
What to Do If You Didn't Receive It
Filing a complaint with the labor office that has jurisdiction over the workplace gets a labor inspector to investigate whether payment is owed. If someone was dismissed without notice and none of the three exceptions apply, the employer will be ordered to correct it, and continued non-payment can lead to criminal penalties (up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won). Before filing, it helps to gather anything that documents the notice date -- texts, emails, or a written notice of dismissal -- along with your employment contract.
This Is Separate From Unemployment Benefits
Whether or not you received dismissal notice pay has no effect on your eligibility for unemployment benefits. Dismissal notice pay is a separate wage claim under the Labor Standards Act, while unemployment benefits are a distinct payment under the Employment Insurance Act. If you're pursuing both at once, it helps to ask your employer for the separation certificate at the same time so a delay doesn't hold up your unemployment claim. It's also easy to confuse the two -- dismissal notice pay doesn't need to be reported as income while receiving unemployment benefits, and treating the two claims as one and the same is a common way people end up missing out on one of them.
Bottom Line
Dismissal notice pay is only excused under three specific exceptions: under 3 months of tenure, an unavoidable circumstance like a natural disaster, or willful serious misconduct by the employee. If none of these apply, an employer who didn't give 30 days' notice must pay 30 days of ordinary wages. Employers often conflate under 3 months with the business is struggling -- pointing out that an ordinary sales decline isn't a valid exception is usually the first thing that makes the conversation go smoother. Because the facts differ by workplace, confirming whether your specific situation qualifies as an exception is best done through the regional labor office or a licensed labor attorney.
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