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Dismissal notice pay calculator

Check whether 30 days' notice pay is due on dismissal in Korea and work out the amount from the ordinary wage.

Dismissal details

How the job ends

Leaving by agreement, including accepting an offer to resign, is not a dismissal, so the notice rule does not apply.

Notice of dismissal

Exceptions (art. 26, proviso)
The nine causes set by Ministry ordinance (Enforcement Rule, Table 1)
  1. Taking money or favours from a supplier and accepting defective goods, disrupting production
  2. Letting another person drive a company vehicle without permission and causing an accident
  3. Giving business secrets or information to a competitor and harming the business
  4. Spreading false information or leading illegal collective action that seriously disrupts the business
  5. Using one's position to embezzle, misappropriate or breach trust over company funds, such as fare takings
  6. Stealing or secretly taking out products or materials
  7. HR, payroll or accounting staff faking attendance records or documents and causing loss
  8. Deliberately damaging workplace equipment and seriously disrupting production
  9. Other cases generally accepted as deliberately causing serious disruption or financial loss

Whether an exception really applies is decided by the Labor Relations Commission or a court. If it does not apply, the allowance is due.

Ordinary wage

Working hours per day set in the contract. Anything over 8 hours counts as 8 (Labor Standards Act art. 50).

₩
₩

Allowances paid regularly and to everyone in the group, such as job, position, licence or family allowances and a flat meal allowance.

₩

Regular bonuses, bonuses paid only to those still employed (Supreme Court en banc ruling of 19 December 2024) and the guaranteed part of performance pay. Divided by 12.

Base hours and rounding

For example 4 if Saturday has 4 paid hours, giving 226 hours a month (MOEL guidance 713).

Contracted hours per week
40 h
Monthly base hours(40 h + paid holiday 8 h) × 365 ÷ 84 = 208.57 → 209 h
209 h
Monthly ordinary wage2,156,880 + 0 + 0 ÷ 12 = 2,156,880
2,156,880 won
Hourly ordinary wage2,156,880 ÷ 209 h = 10,320 → rounded 10,320
10,320 won
Contracted hours per day
8 h
Daily ordinary wage10,320 × 8 h = 82,560
82,560 won

Item-by-item check: Ordinary wage calculator

Result

Enter the start date and last working day.

How it is calculated

  • To dismiss a worker, the employer must give at least 30 days' notice or pay at least 30 days' ordinary wage (Labor Standards Act art. 26). Dismissals for business reasons are included.
  • Exceptions: less than 3 months of continuous work, a business that cannot continue because of a disaster, or serious deliberate harm by the worker. The 3 months are met if the worker worked on the day 3 months are completed (MOEL guidance 1330, 2021).
  • The notice period is counted from the day after notice. If it is even one day short, the full 30 days' pay is due, and a shorter remaining contract does not reduce it.
  • A part-time worker's hours per day are weekly contracted hours ÷ the full-time staff's contracted days per week (Enforcement Decree, Table 2), not the hours worked on a given day.
  • The notice rule also applies to workplaces with 4 or fewer workers. A dismissal must state the reason and date in writing (art. 27). At workplaces with 5 or more workers, an unfair dismissal claim goes to the Labor Relations Commission within 3 months (art. 28).

Amounts under 1 won are rounded; workplace rules may differ. This is a guide, not legal advice.

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