If my duties change at contract renewal, should a new contract be written?
My one-year contract in Daejeon ends soon and I have been told I will move to a different team next year. The company has not said whether they will extend the existing contract or issue a new one. What should I get confirmed in writing before the renewal so there is no misunderstanding later, especially about the job description?
1 Answer
Yes — if your duties change, a new contract should be written rather than the old one simply extended.
When working conditions change, the contract has to be redrawn to reflect them and a copy given to you. Extending the existing document leaves a gap between what the paperwork says and what you actually do, and that gap causes problems later. For a foreign employee it matters more, because your residence status is tied to the kind of work you were approved for.
Before the renewal, get these confirmed in writing: the start and end dates, the specific content of the new role, the place of work, how the salary is composed and — if there is a fixed overtime allowance — how many hours it covers, working and break hours, and how annual leave is calculated. Leave should carry over: continuous service continues through a renewal rather than resetting. If anyone mentions applying a new probation period, that is not correct for a continuing employee, so query it.
Raise it with HR by email. Saying that you understand your duties will change next year and asking whether the new contract will reflect the role and conditions is enough. Nothing has been explained yet, so asking first is reasonable, and doing it now rather than close to expiry avoids both sides being rushed.
The additional check for you is whether the new duties fall within what your residence status permits. Even with the same employer, moving to work substantially different from the occupation originally approved can be a problem. Summarise the new role and ask the 1345 immigration contact centre or your local immigration office, and get a written assignment notice or job description from the company — it is useful evidence when you later extend your stay. For questions about working conditions themselves, the Ministry of Employment and Labor counselling line is 1350.