Verbal Notification Insufficient for Layoff

By Park Si-soo

Staff Reporter

In the American realty show, ``The Apprentice,'' saying ``You're fired'' is all Donald Trump needs to get rid of an employee. But that's not always the case in the real world.

A court here ruled Monday that such a verbal notification is not legally binding to justify layoff.

In June 2007, during an argument over working conditions with an employee at a beauty salon, the unidentified owner, in a fit of anger, yelled, ``Quit your job and get lost.''

Kim filed a complaint with Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission, claiming the layoff was unfair. The commission accepted the claim, but the decision was turned over at the higher National Labor Relations Commission.

Defying the decision, Kim filed a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court.

The court said in the ruling, ``Even though the owner yelled, `Quit your work' at that time, it cannot be seen as an expression of the owner's intent to lay off the employee.''

pss@koreatimes.co.kr