Even labor attorneys were subjected to ‘workplace bullying’… Frequent gender discrimination and pressure to work overtime during recruitment and training

“During the interview process at a labor law firm, I was told things like, ‘Why do you have to pay wages to trainees since they are not workers?’ and ‘You can’t go to the company anyway because you’re a woman in your 30s.’ There were also gender-discriminatory and anachronistic questions, such as asking female labor attorneys to answer in relays whether they plan to get married within two years.” (From the ‘2023 Survey Report on Abuse of Power by Trainee Labor Attorneys’) Even labor attorneys, a labor-related profession, are required to do so. It was revealed that he was subjected to abuse of power during the hiring process at a labor law firm to complete the required 6-month training course. As a result of the 2023 survey on the abuse of power by trainee certified labor attorneys released on the 19th by the ‘Trainee Labor Attorney Improvement TF’ (TF), which consists of current labor attorneys and trainee labor attorneys, 39.1% of trainee labor attorneys responded to the question, ‘Did you receive personal questions during the hiring interview?’ “Yes,” he answered. Even the response rate of hearing comments equivalent to workplace sexual harassment and harassment during employment interviews was 5.8%. The Act on Fairness of Recruitment Procedures prohibits asking for personal information during the hiring process, including the applicant’s hometown. This survey was conducted online from July 12 to 20 targeting 138 people who took group training courses hosted by the Certified Labor Attorneys Association. It was also seen that working hours set by law were not observed and additional pay was not paid for overtime work. Close to three out of ten trainee labor attorneys said, “They are forced to come to work early or work overtime outside of their regular working hours” (28.9%) and “I received work instructions through KakaoTalk or text messages outside of working hours” (26.7%). Regarding work outside of working hours, 68.1% responded that they “did not receive overtime pay or received only part of it.” There is also quite a bit of harassment in the workplace, including verbal abuse and bullying. 15.9% of trainee labor attorneys said, “My supervisor uses threatening language or verbal abuse during work instructions.” 11.6% of respondents said, “Senior employees harass me while teaching me work.” The training of trainee labor attorneys at labor law firms is mainly about working while receiving feedback from their predecessors, and at this time, abuse of power takes place by taking advantage of the position of the trainee labor attorney, who has no choice but to be placed in the position of ‘B’. Improving the Treatment of Trainee Labor Attorneys Kim Soo-jeong, a labor attorney at TF, said, “Although trainee labor attorneys are guaranteed their rights under the Labor Standards Act and have the right to safely train, they are in a reality where they have no choice but to endure unfair treatment because it is a training center they found with difficulty.” “I hope that the ironic reality that certified labor attorneys, who are experts, cannot claim their rights will be faced and corrected,” he said. On the 17th, 34 probationary and current labor attorneys submitted a petition to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea against the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Korea Certified Labor Attorneys Association, and the Korea Certified Labor Attorneys Association Education and Training Committee, alleging that their human rights were violated during probationary training. This is the first time a trainee labor attorney has filed a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission. In the case of certified labor attorneys, after obtaining a license, they receive group training conducted by the Korea Certified Labor Attorneys Association for one month and undergo a six-month probationary period at a labor law firm. The petition included the content that the Korea Certified Labor Attorneys Association and its Education and Training Committee, which hosted the group training, rejected trainee labor attorneys’ applications for sick leave (absence due to illness) and treated them as non-attendants. In order to complete labor attorney training, you must meet an attendance rate of 90% or more for group training, so attendance is one of the important training completion requirements. Reporter Kim Hae-jeong sea@hani.co.kr