Workbear재주넘는곰
대법원 2015다73050

Wages (임금)임금

Decided2020. 03. 26. Court대법원Case remanded (employer's method of calculation reversed); the matter was sent back to the lower court for recalculation using the correct method, which is likely to benefit the workers depending on the final wage recalculation.
AI-generated English translation (summary, key points, decision summary and full text) for reference only — not an official translation and without legal effect. The Korean original below is authoritative.
AI Easy read — AI summary of this decision
AI-generated summary for reference only — the Korean original below is authoritative.

This case addresses how a bus company should convert a fixed allowance (고정수당) into an hourly ordinary wage (통상임금) rate. The Supreme Court held that when calculating total working hours for this conversion, only the actual number of hours the worker agreed to work should be summed, without applying any premium/overtime multiplier rates (가산율). The lower court's judgment, which had improperly included these premium rates in the total working hours calculation, was reversed and remanded.

Key takeaways
  • CaseA bus company calculated the hourly ordinary wage for a fixed allowance by dividing it by total working hours that included premium/overtime multiplier rates.
  • OutcomeThe Supreme Court ruled that only the actual agreed working hours—excluding any premium rate multipliers—should be used as the divisor, and reversed and remanded the lower court's decision.
  • LessonWhen converting a fixed allowance into an hourly ordinary wage, employers must use the pure actual working hours only, without factoring in premium rates for overtime, night, or holiday work.
Issues
  • How should total working hours be calculated when converting a fixed allowance into an hourly ordinary wage rate?
  • Should premium rates (가산율) for overtime and night work be factored into the total hours calculation?
  • Should the premium rate applicable to the weekly holiday allowance (주휴수당) be reflected in the total working hours calculation?
  • What is included within the scope of ordinary wages (통상임금)?
  • Was there a valid agreement establishing a comprehensive wage arrangement (포괄임금제)?
Key reasoning

When converting a fixed allowance into an hourly ordinary wage, the total working hours used as the divisor must reflect the actual number of hours the worker contractually agreed to work—not an inflated figure that accounts for statutory premium rates applicable to overtime or night work. The premium rate (가산율) exists solely to calculate how much extra compensation (가산수당) is owed for overtime, night, or holiday work; it is not meant to alter the underlying hour count itself. This same logic extends to the weekly holiday allowance (주휴수당): even where a premium rate is set for calculating that allowance, it simply means paying a certain percentage on top of the base weekly holiday pay, and should not be used to inflate the total hours figure. Because the lower court included these premium rates when computing total working hours, its calculation of the hourly ordinary wage was legally flawed.

Full text (English, AI translation) 9,144 chars

[Plaintiffs, Appellees and Incidental Appellants] Plaintiff 1 and 2 others (Attorneys Jeong Deok-jin and 1 other, Jungdo Law Firm, representing)
[Defendant, Appellant and Incidental Appellee] Jungbu Express Co., Ltd. (Attorneys Kim Yong-sang and 2 others, representing)
[Judgment Below] Daejeon High Court Judgment 2014Na3120 decided November 5, 2015

[Order]

The judgment below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Daejeon High Court.

[Reasoning]

The grounds of appeal are examined.

1. Determination on the Defendant's ground of appeal regarding the scope of ordinary wages
For the reasons stated in its judgment, the court below determined that the length-of-service allowance, meal allowance, and bonus paid by the Defendant to the Plaintiffs were all regular, uniform, and fixed wages and thus all constituted ordinary wages.
Examining the reasoning of the judgment below in light of the relevant legal principles, there is no error in the above determination, such as misunderstanding the legal principles concerning the scope of ordinary wages or exceeding the bounds of the principle of free evaluation of evidence in violation of the rules of logic and experience, as alleged in the grounds of appeal.

2. Determination on the Plaintiffs' ground of incidental appeal regarding recalculation of the basic hourly wage
The court below rejected the Plaintiffs' argument that the basic hourly wage should be recalculated by dividing the daily wage amount paid for one week by the sum of the standard weekly working hours and the overtime working hours, night working hours, and deemed weekly holiday working hours (without considering the premium rates), and that statutory allowances such as overtime allowance should be calculated based on the recalculated basic hourly wage, on the ground that it is difficult to view the basic hourly wage itself as set forth in the collective bargaining agreement and wage agreement as violating the Minimum Wage Act (최저임금법) or the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법).
Examining this in light of the relevant legal principles, there is no error in the above determination of the court below, such as misunderstanding the legal principles concerning the hourly ordinary wage, as alleged in the grounds of appeal.

3. Determination on the Plaintiffs' ground of incidental appeal and the Defendant's ground of appeal regarding the total working hours for calculating the hourly ordinary wage
A. When converting a fixed allowance paid in the form of a monthly or daily wage, as wages for agreed working hours exceeding the standard working hours prescribed by the Labor Standards Act, into an hourly ordinary wage, in calculating the number of agreed working hours to be included in the total working hours that serve as the basis for calculating the hourly ordinary wage, unless otherwise specifically provided, the actual number of hours that the worker agreed to provide labor should be aggregated as they are, rather than aggregating the number of overtime working hours and night working hours calculated by applying the premium rate for computing premium allowances. Furthermore, where a collective bargaining agreement sets a premium rate for the weekly holiday allowance, this merely means that a certain rate is to be added to the basic weekly holiday allowance when paying the weekly holiday allowance, and thus the same legal principle applies equally in this case. Therefore, in calculating the number of hours deemed to have been worked on the weekly holiday, which must be included in the total working hours, the premium rate set for the weekly holiday allowance should not be taken into account (see Supreme Court en banc Decision 2015Da73067 decided January 22, 2020).

B. According to the reasoning of the judgment below, the following facts can be ascertained.
1) The 2009 collective bargaining agreement and the 2009 and 2010 wage agreements (hereinafter referred to as "the wage agreements in this case") concluded between the Defendant and the △△△△ Chapter under the ○○ Branch of the National Federation of Motor Transport Workers' Unions, to which the Plaintiffs belong, provide as follows regarding working hours and wages.
A) The daily working hours of union members shall be 8 hours, but overtime work of up to 30 hours per week may be performed, and the overtime working hours include up to 3 hours of night working hours per week.
B) The daily working hours serving as the basis for calculating wages are 8 hours of basic working hours plus 5 hours of overtime working hours (of which 30 minutes are night working hours).
C) The "Wage Structure and Calculation Standards," which forms part of the wage agreements in this case, sets forth the premium rate for the weekly holiday allowance as follows.
- Weekly holiday allowance: 12 hours' worth (8 hours + 4 hours) per week
- Weekly holiday allowance: 8 hours × 150/100 = 12 hours
2) The Defendant regarded the basic hourly wage calculated pursuant to the wage agreements in this case as the hourly ordinary wage, determined the "daily wage amount" including the basic wage, overtime allowance, night work allowance, and weekly holiday allowance calculated on the basis of the basic hourly wage, and then paid, as the monthly basic wage, an amount obtained by multiplying the daily wage amount by the number of days the Plaintiffs worked.
3) On each working day, the Plaintiffs worked for the agreed working hours exceeding the standard working hours prescribed by the Labor Standards Act, and in consideration for the agreed working hours, they received, in addition to the monthly basic wage, various fixed allowances in the form of monthly or daily wages.

C. Examining the reasoning of the judgment below in accordance with the legal principles set forth above, in calculating the total working hours for the purpose of calculating the hourly ordinary wage for each of the above fixed allowances, the overtime working hours and night working hours calculated without applying the premium rate, as well as the deemed weekly holiday working hours, should be included.
Contrary to this, the judgment below erred by including, in the total working hours for calculating the hourly ordinary wage of the fixed allowances paid in the form of daily and monthly wages, the overtime working hours and night working hours calculated by applying each premium rate, and this error, being a misunderstanding of the legal principles concerning the calculation of the hourly ordinary wage, affected the judgment. The Plaintiffs' ground of incidental appeal pointing this out is well-founded.
Meanwhile, the court below's determination, in calculating the total working hours for the purpose of calculating the hourly ordinary wage of the fixed allowance paid in the form of a monthly wage, to include the monthly average deemed weekly holiday working hours without applying the premium rate for the weekly holiday allowance, contains a partial error in its reasoning, but is ultimately justified in its conclusion, and there is no error therein in misunderstanding the legal principles concerning the calculation of the hourly ordinary wage.

4. Determination on the Defendant's ground of appeal regarding the agreement on the comprehensive wage system
For the reasons stated in its judgment, the court below determined that the mere fact that there was a prior agreement regarding working hours exceeding the prescribed working hours, etc., in the wage agreements in this case, is insufficient to find that there was an agreement on the comprehensive wage system.
Examining the reasoning of the judgment below in light of the relevant legal principles, there is no error in the above determination of the court below, such as misunderstanding the legal principles concerning the formation of an agreement on the comprehensive wage system or exceeding the bounds of the principle of free evaluation of evidence in violation of the rules of logic and experience, as alleged in the grounds of appeal.

5. Scope of reversal
The portion of the judgment below in which the Plaintiffs lost contains the grounds for reversal set forth above. The Defendant, while appealing the entirety of the portion of the judgment below in which the Defendant lost, disputes that the Plaintiffs' claim seeking payment of additional statutory allowances, etc., calculated by including the bonus in the ordinary wage, violates the principle of good faith. Since this defense of the Defendant based on the principle of good faith needs to be examined and determined together with the portion of the Plaintiffs' claim to be reversed for the reasons set forth above, the entirety of the portion of the judgment below in which the Defendant lost is reversed together.

6. Conclusion
Accordingly, without examining the remaining grounds of appeal, the judgment below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the court below for further hearing and determination. This judgment is rendered as set forth in the Order, with the unanimous consent of the Justices involved.

Justice No Tae-ak (Presiding Justice), Kim Jae-hyung, Min Yu-suk (Justice in Charge), Lee Dong-won

【참조조문】

근로기준법 제50조, 제55조, 제56조, 근로기준법 시행령 제6조

【참조판례】

대법원 2020. 1. 22. 선고 2015다73067 전원합의체 판결(공2020상, 427)

【주문】·【이유】 전문 3,178자 · 펼쳐 보기

【원고, 피상고인 겸 부대상고인】 원고 1 외 2인 (소송대리인 중도 법무법인 담당변호사 정덕진 외 1인)

【피고, 상고인 겸 부대피상고인】 주식회사 중부고속 (소송대리인 변호사 김용상 외 2인)

【원심판결】 대전고법 2015. 11. 5. 선고 2014나3120 판결

【주 문】

원심판결을 파기하고, 사건을 대전고등법원에 환송한다.

【이 유】 상고이유를 판단한다.

1. 통상임금 범위에 관한 피고의 상고이유에 대한 판단

원심은 그 판시와 같은 이유로 피고가 원고들에게 지급한 근속수당, 식대, 상여금은 정기적·일률적·고정적 임금으로 모두 통상임금에 해당한다고 판단하였다.

원심판결 이유를 관련 법리에 비추어 살펴보면, 위와 같은 판단에 상고이유 주장과 같이 통상임금의 범위에 관한 법리를 오해하거나 논리와 경험의 법칙을 위반하여 자유심증주의의 한계를 벗어나는 등의 잘못이 없다.

2. 기본시급 재산정에 관한 원고들의 부대상고이유에 대한 판단

원심은, 1주간 지급되는 일당액을 1주간 기준근로시간과, 가산율을 고려하지 않은 연장근로시간, 야간근로시간, 주휴의제근로시간을 합산한 시간 수로 나누어 기본시급을 재산정해야 하고, 재산정한 기본시급을 바탕으로 연장근로수당 등 법정수당을 계산해야 한다는 원고들의 주장에 대해, 단체협약과 임금협정에서 정한 기본시급 자체가 최저임금법이나 근로기준법에 위반된다고 보기는 어렵다는 이유로 원고들의 주장을 배척하였다.

관련 법리에 비추어 살펴보면, 위와 같은 원심판단에 상고이유 주장과 같이 시간급 통상임금에 관한 법리를 오해하는 등의 잘못이 없다.

3. 시간급 통상임금 산정을 위한 총근로시간 수에 관한 원고들의 부대상고이유와 피고의 상고이유에 대한 판단

가. 근로기준법이 정한 기준근로시간을 초과하는 약정 근로시간에 대한 임금으로서 월급 또는 일급 형태로 지급되는 고정수당을 시간급 통상임금으로 환산하는 경우, 시간급 통상임금 산정의 기준이 되는 총근로시간 수에 포함되는 약정 근로시간 수를 산정할 때는 특별한 정함이 없는 한 근로자가 실제로 근로를 제공하기로 약정한 시간 수 자체를 합산하여야 하는 것이지, 가산수당 산정을 위한 가산율을 고려한 연장근로시간 수와 야간근로시간 수를 합산할 것은 아니다. 그리고 단체협약으로 주휴수당에 가산율을 정한 경우, 이는 주휴수당을 지급할 때에 기본 주휴수당에 일정한 비율을 가산하여 지급하기로 하는 취지에 불과하므로 위와 같은 법리는 이 경우에도 동일하게 적용된다. 따라서 총근로시간 수에 포함되어야 하는 주휴일에 근무한 것으로 의제되는 시간 수를 산정할 때 주휴수당에 정한 가산율을 고려할 것은 아니다(대법원 2020. 1. 22. 선고 2015다73067 전원합의체 판결 참조).

나. 원심판결 이유에 의하면 다음의 사실을 알 수 있다.

1) 원고들이 소속된 전국자동차노동조합연맹 ○○지부 산하 △△△△분회와 피고가 체결한 2009년 단체협약 및 2009년, 2010년 임금협정(이하 ‘이 사건 각 임금협정’이라 한다)은 근로시간과 임금에 관해 다음과 같이 정하고 있다.

가) 조합원의 1일 근로시간은 8시간으로 하되 1주일 30시간의 연장근로를 할 수 있고, 연장근로시간 속에는 1주 3시간 이내의 야간근로시간이 포함되어 있다.

나) 임금의 산출기준이 되는 1일 근로시간은 기본근로시간 8시간에 연장근로시간 5시간(그중 30분은 야간근로시간)이다.

다) 이 사건 각 임금협정의 일부인 ‘임금의 구조 및 산출기준’은 주휴수당에 관해 다음과 같이 가산율을 정하고 있다.

- 주휴수당: 12시간분(8시간 + 4시간) 1주간

- 주휴수당: 8시간 × 150/100 = 12시간

2) 피고는 이 사건 각 임금협정에 따라 산정한 기본시급을 시간급 통상임금으로 보고, 기본시급을 기준으로 계산한 기본급, 연장근로수당, 야간근로수당, 주휴수당이 포함된 ‘일당액’을 정한 다음, 원고들이 근무한 일수에 일당액을 곱한 금액을 월 기본급으로 지급하였다.

3) 원고들은 근무일마다 근로기준법이 정한 기준근로시간을 초과하여 약정한 근로시간 동안 근로하였고, 약정 근로시간에 대한 대가로 월 기본급 외에도 월급 또는 일급 형태의 각종 고정수당을 지급받았다.

다. 원심판결 이유를 앞서 본 법리에 따라 살펴보면, 위 각 고정수당의 시간급 통상임금 산정을 위한 총근로시간 수를 계산할 때 가산율을 고려하지 않은 연장근로시간과 야간근로시간 및 주휴근로의제시간을 포함하여야 한다.

이와 달리 일급 및 월급의 형태로 지급받는 고정수당의 시간급 통상임금 산정을 위하여 그 총근로시간 수에 각 가산율을 고려한 연장근로시간과 야간근로시간을 포함한 원심의 판단에는 시간급 통상임금 산정에 관한 법리를 오해하여 판결에 영향을 미친 잘못이 있다. 이 점을 지적하는 취지의 원고들의 부대상고이유 주장은 이유 있다.

한편 월급의 형태로 지급받는 고정수당의 시간급 통상임금 산정을 위한 총근로시간 수에 월 평균 주휴근로의제시간을 포함하면서 주휴수당의 가산율을 고려하지 않은 원심의 판단은 그 이유설시에 일부 잘못이 있으나 결과적으로 정당하고, 거기에 시간급 통상임금 산정에 관한 법리를 오해한 잘못이 없다.

4. 포괄임금제 합의에 관한 피고의 상고이유에 대한 판단

원심은 그 판시와 같은 이유로 이 사건 각 임금협정에서 소정 근로시간을 초과하는 근로시간 등에 대한 사전 합의가 있었다는 사실 등만으로는 포괄임금제에 관한 합의가 있었다고 보기는 어렵다고 판단하였다.

원심판결 이유를 관련 법리에 비추어 살펴보면, 위와 같은 원심판단에 상고이유 주장과 같이 포괄임금제 합의의 성립에 관한 법리를 오해하거나 논리와 경험의 법칙을 위반하여 자유심증주의의 한계를 벗어나는 등의 잘못이 없다.

5. 파기의 범위

원심판결의 원고들 패소 부분에는 앞에서 본 파기사유가 있다. 피고는 원심판결 중 피고 패소 부분 전부에 대하여 상고하면서 상여금을 통상임금에 포함시켜 산정한 추가 법정수당 등의 지급을 구하는 원고들의 청구가 신의칙에 위배된다고 다투고 있는데, 이러한 피고의 신의칙 항변은 앞에서 본 이유로 파기되는 원고들의 청구 부분과 함께 심리·판단될 필요가 있으므로, 원심판결 중 피고 패소 부분 전부를 함께 파기한다.

6. 결론

그러므로 나머지 상고이유에 대한 판단을 생략한 채, 원심판결을 파기하고 사건을 다시 심리·판단하게 하기 위하여 원심법원에 환송하기로 하여, 관여 대법관의 일치된 의견으로 주문과 같이 판결한다.

대법관 노태악(재판장) 김재형 민유숙(주심) 이동원

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