Court orders gov't to halt decision on bakery chain over direct recruitment

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court has ordered the government to suspend its decision to force a major bakery franchise to directly hire outsourced bakers until the court determines the legality of the government's corrective measure.

The Seoul Administrative Court made the ruling Monday regarding a suit filed by Paris Baguette late last month in objection to the state order to recruit as many as 5,000 bakers and staff members currently employed by its subcontractors, it said Tuesday.

In September, the Ministry of Labor and Employment found that the bakery chain had violated labor law forbidding a franchiser from training and supervising contracted workers.

The ministry's audit on South Korea's largest bakery brand found that these employees were working under the direction of the Paris Baguette headquarters to all intents and purposes, and their original employers had been behind on overtime payments.

The government thus ordered the bakery to pay these employees 2.47 billion won for various benefits and allowances that had not yet been paid.

The court said the temporary suspension is effective until the end of this month, and it will decide whether to extend it depending on the progress of the proceedings.

The government's deadline for the transfer of workers' employment status was set for Thursday.

elly@yna.co.kr
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