App Development Order: Self-Assessment Checklist for Determining Employee Status — Users can assess their own employee status by checking relevant items based on the detailed criteria of personal subordination and economic dependence, which are the key factors in determining employee status.





Employee Status Determination Checklist
Hello, HR Manager.
Thank you for visiting the Employee Status Self-Assessment Checklist.
As various types of employment have emerged, many individuals now work under service or freelance contracts rather than as ordinary employees. However, in many such cases, they are not recognized as “employees” under labor law and thus cannot receive legal protection.
For example, large private academies often sign lecture service contracts with instructors, classifying them as independent freelancers. This practice has led to frequent labor law disputes. If an instructor is deemed an independent contractor rather than an employee, they are excluded from all labor law protections, including those related to wages, paid leave, protection against unfair dismissal, and social insurance coverage such as industrial accident compensation.
However, if the instructor is recognized as an employee, they are entitled to the full protection of labor law.
Therefore, while instructors seek to be recognized as employees to gain such protection, academies tend to deny employee status due to the financial burden of legal obligations and the risk of collective action by instructors.
For this reason, accurately determining employee status is crucial to resolving labor-related disputes.

Setting the Criteria for Determining Employee Status
When determining whether a person is an employee, court precedents apply specific criteria of subordination to the employer (“use-dependency relationship”) and evaluate each case individually and comprehensively. If a majority of these criteria are met, the individual is deemed an employee under the Labor Standards Act.
These criteria can be categorized into:


Personal Subordination,


Economic Dependence, and


Dual (Mixed) Factors.


The determination of employee status should focus on the degree of subordination, analyzing each factor relevant to the specific case and assessing the overall context comprehensively.
Specifically, the evaluation consists of:


Personal Subordination (10 points),


Economic Dependence (8 points), and


Dual Factors (2 points, only counted if applicable).


A total score of 20 points serves as the evaluation standard.
If a specific factor or criterion does not apply, that item is simply not included in the scoring.