The issue of whether to give nonregular workers permanent status has bedeviled companies and employees alike, especially with the end of a five-year waiting period on a labor law revision looming in less than a year.
The 2013 revision to the Labor Contracts Act requires companies to convert their nonregular employees — including part-time and temporary workers — to permanent ones if they have worked there for at least five years and opt for the change in status. That means companies need to plan ahead because the rule will take effect next April.
Some companies, especially small and midsize firms, have been dragging their feet because adding permanent employees makes it more difficult to implement layoffs.