[Foreign Employment Contracts and E-7 Visas ③] What Should Be Included in a Foreign Employee’s Employment Contract? — Job Duties, Salary, Working Hours, Contract Period, and Workplace
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In August 2026, there was a notable development in foreign employment in Korea.
Mongolian slaughterhouse workers entered Korea under the E-7-3 visa category for general skilled workers as “slaughterhouse workers.”
This followed the Korean government’s decision to add slaughterhouse workers as a new E-7-3 occupation and launch a pilot program in response to chronic labor shortages in the industry.
This development highlights one important feature of the E-7 visa system.
Before hiring a foreign national, a company should first consider what type of occupation and actual work the employee will perform.
In practice, however, many companies approach the process in the opposite order.
They conduct interviews, negotiate salary, decide on a starting date, and begin preparing an employment contract. Only then do they ask:
Can we apply for the E-7 visa now?
But if the company has not yet identified which E-7 occupation applies, it may be too early to finalize the employment conditions.
Throughout this series on 「Foreign Employment Contracts and E-7 Visas」, we look at foreign hiring in the following order:
Job Duties → Occupation → Employee → Employer → Contract
In the previous articles, we discussed why the appropriate E-7 occupation should be identified first and why the employment contract should be consistent with both the E-7 application and the actual employment relationship.
Now it is time to look at the contract itself.
When a company opens its standard employment contract template, the items may look familiar:
Job duties, salary, working hours, contract period, and workplace.
But this is where new questions arise.
Is it enough to write “overseas sales” as the job duty?
Can we simply state the total annual salary?
What should we write if the company’s registered office and the employee’s actual workplace are different?
In this third article, we will look at how specifically the actual employment conditions of an E-7 employee should be reflected in the employment contract.
You Do Not Need to Start by Looking for “Special” Clauses for Foreign Employees
An employment contract for a foreign employee is, first of all, an employment contract.
Under Article 17 of the Korean Labor Standards Act, employers must specify major working conditions such as wages, contractual working hours, holidays, and annual paid leave. Certain items must also be provided to the employee in writing.
For fixed-term employees, written terms also include matters such as the contract period, working hours and breaks, wages, holidays and leave, workplace, and job duties.
The standard employment contract published by Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor also includes separate sections for:
- Employment contract period
- Workplace
- Job duties
- Contractual working hours
- Working days and holidays
- Wages
In other words, hiring an employee under an E-7 visa does not necessarily create an entirely new set of employment contract clauses.
However, because the employment contract may also be submitted as part of the immigration process, it is important to review whether each clause sufficiently describes the actual employment conditions.
① Job Duties — Is “Overseas Sales and Related Duties” Specific Enough?
Companies often describe an employee’s duties briefly.
Overseas sales and related duties
Marketing duties
Engineering duties
Other duties assigned by the company
These expressions are not automatically incorrect.
The problem is that someone reading the contract may still be unable to answer:
“What does this employee actually do?”
For example, suppose a foreign employee is hired for an overseas business role and will actually perform duties such as:
- Overseas market research
- Identifying foreign buyers
- Managing overseas clients
- Supporting export contracts
In that case, it may be better for the employment contract to reflect those core responsibilities to a reasonable extent.
Compare the following examples.
More Abstract
Overseas sales and other related duties assigned by the company
More Descriptive of the Actual Role
Overseas market research, identification of foreign buyers, management of existing overseas clients, and support for export contracts
This does not mean that the second wording will automatically produce a more favorable result in an E-7 review.
Rather, if these are the duties the employee will genuinely perform, the second version makes it easier to understand the employee’s role and expected responsibilities from the contract itself.
When describing job duties, instead of starting with:
What should this employee’s job title be?
it may be more useful to ask:
What core tasks will this employee repeatedly perform in practice?
Longer Job Descriptions Are Not Necessarily Better
The opposite problem can also arise.
A company may try to make a position look more professional by inserting an excessive number of duties.
Suppose the employee’s actual core responsibility is managing overseas clients, but the contract lists overseas market research, marketing strategy, import-export analysis, translation and interpretation, customer management, business planning, and data analysis.
Adding more terms does not necessarily make the role clearer.
It may instead become more difficult to identify what the employee’s principal work actually is.
The important point is that the employee’s main, regularly performed duties should be identifiable from the contract.
② Salary — Look Beyond a Single Figure Such as “KRW 40 Million Per Year”
Companies and foreign employees usually begin salary negotiations with the total annual amount.
For example:
Annual salary: KRW 40 million
But an actual employment contract may need to go one step further.
The standard employment contract published by the Ministry of Employment and Labor does not treat wages as a single total figure only. It separately addresses matters such as bonuses, other allowances, payment dates, and payment methods.
For example, if the employee’s actual compensation consists of:
Base salary + fixed allowance + conditional performance bonus
the company should first determine how much will actually be paid under each component and on what basis.
Compare the following.
Still Abstract
Annual salary: KRW 40 million
Actual Salary Structure Defined
Base salary: KRW ○○ + Fixed allowance: KRW ○○ + Performance bonus subject to separate conditions
For this article, the main question is not the specific E-7 salary threshold itself.
It is:
Can the actual structure of the employee’s compensation be understood from the employment contract?
The specific E-7 salary requirements and questions concerning base salary, allowances, and performance-based compensation should be reviewed separately.
③ Working Hours — “40 Hours Per Week” May Not Fully Describe the Actual Work Schedule
Working hours are another area where a single number may not be enough.
For example:
40 hours per week
does not necessarily tell the employee how the working schedule will actually operate.
If the company intends the employee to work Monday through Friday from 09:00 to 18:00, with a break from 12:00 to 13:00, those conditions should be reflected in the contract.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor’s standard employment contract also separates contractual working hours from break times.
There is no need to invent unusual working-hour provisions simply because the employee will hold an E-7 visa.
A practical question is:
Can the foreign employee read the contract and understand when they are expected to start and finish work?
④ Contract Period — Look at the Actual Start and End Dates, Not Just “One Year”
If a foreign employee is being hired on a fixed-term basis, the contract period should also be clearly defined.
Companies often think of the term simply as:
Contract period: one year
But in an actual employment contract, it is important to clarify the date on which employment begins and the date on which it ends.
At this point, the employment contract period and the E-7 period of stay should be distinguished.
The employment contract period concerns the period during which the company and employee agree to maintain the employment relationship.
The period of stay concerns the period during which Korean immigration authorities permit the foreign national to remain in Korea under a particular status of stay.
The two may be related, but they are not the same concept.
Therefore, when preparing the employment contract, the first question should be:
From what date to what date does our company actually intend to employ this person?
The relationship between the employment period and the period of stay may need to be reviewed separately depending on the relevant E-7 category and individual circumstances.
⑤ Workplace — It Is Not Simply a Box for Copying the Company’s Registered Address
The workplace is another clause that can easily be overlooked.
Suppose the company’s head office is in Seoul, while the foreign employee will actually spend most of their working time at a factory in Gyeonggi Province.
Or the employee may work between the head office and another business location.
In that situation, the first question is not simply what address appears on the company’s business registration.
Instead, ask:
Where will this foreign employee actually perform most of their work?
The workplace clause is not simply a place to copy the company’s registered address.
It describes the place where the employee will actually perform their work as part of the employment conditions.
Specific immigration procedures concerning changes or additions to a workplace are separate issues, but at the contract-drafting stage, the company should first identify the employee’s actual workplace accurately.
After Drafting the Contract, Read It as the Employee’s “Working Day”
Once all five areas have been completed, try reading the contract while imagining the employee’s actual working day.
Can you answer the following questions from the contract alone?
- What work does the employee perform?
- Where does the employee work?
- What time does the employee start and finish work?
- How is the employee paid and how is the compensation structured?
- From what date to what date will the employee work?
If these questions can be answered, the contract is at least performing its basic function of describing the actual employment conditions.
There is another practical test.
Ask someone who was not involved in the hiring process to read the contract for the first time.
Can that person reach roughly the same understanding?
If essential information exists only in the mind of the person who drafted the contract and requires additional verbal explanation, the written terms may still be too abstract.
Look for Gaps in the Hiring Plan, Not Just Blank Spaces in the Contract
Companies sometimes become stuck while drafting the contract.
They do not know how to describe the duties.
They are unsure which workplace to state.
They have agreed on the annual salary but have not decided how the compensation will actually be structured.
At that point, it is easy to find another company’s contract and copy similar wording.
That may fill the blank space.
But it may not solve the underlying problem.
If the job itself has not been clearly defined, filling in the “job duties” section does not make the role clear.
If the salary structure has not been determined, inserting the annual salary alone does not necessarily make the wage conditions sufficiently specific.
If contract drafting repeatedly becomes difficult, it may help to change the question.
Instead of asking:
How should we write this contract?
ask:
Under what actual conditions does our company intend to employ this person?
A good employment contract does not begin with good wording. It begins with clearly defined, real employment conditions.
When You Should Review the Hiring Conditions Before Looking for Better Contract Wording
If any of the following situations applies, it may be better to review the actual hiring conditions before searching for different contract language.
1. The Job Title Has Been Decided, but the Core Duties Are Difficult to Explain
The company may have chosen a title such as Global Business Manager or Overseas Sales Manager, while the employee’s regularly performed duties remain unclear.
2. Most of the Job Description Depends on “Other Duties Assigned by the Company”
The issue is not simply whether a broad clause exists.
The more important question is whether the company has clearly identified the employee’s actual core responsibilities.
3. The Total Annual Salary Has Been Agreed, but the Actual Pay Structure Has Not Been Defined
The company should determine the actual payment structure, including matters such as base salary, allowances, and performance-based compensation, before finalizing the contract.
4. The Company Address and Actual Workplace Are Different, and It Is Unclear What Should Be Written
In this situation as well, the actual working arrangement should be clarified before focusing on contract wording.
None of these situations automatically means that obtaining an E-7 visa will be difficult.
However, they may indicate that the issue is not merely contract drafting, but rather that some of the actual employment conditions have not yet been fully determined.
Uncertainty Before Signing and Uncertainty After Signing Have Different Costs
Before signing the contract, the company still has options.
It can refine the employee’s duties.
It can negotiate the compensation structure.
It can adjust working hours or the workplace.
After the contract has been signed, however, making the same changes may require renewed discussions with the foreign employee.
For example, suppose the company has already agreed to the following:
- Annual salary of KRW 40 million
- October 1 start date
- Overseas sales duties
- Work at the Seoul head office
The foreign employee begins preparing to join the company based on those conditions, while the company also makes project and staffing plans based on the employee’s expected arrival.
Later, while preparing the E-7 application documents, the company reviews the actual job duties and working conditions and discovers that the employment cannot proceed exactly as originally agreed.
At that point, changing one line in the contract may not be enough.
The company may have to renegotiate with the employee and revise its internal staffing plan.
Before signing, uncertainty is something the company may still have the option to resolve. After signing, the same uncertainty can become a cost that must be corrected.
This is why reviewing a foreign employment contract in advance is not about creating perfect sentences.
It is about identifying, before signing, matters that might otherwise require renegotiation afterwards.
Do Not Start by Looking for Wording That Appears Favorable for an E-7 Visa
In practice, companies may ask:
How should we describe the duties so that the E-7 application is more likely to be approved?
But the first question should be:
What work will this foreign employee actually perform?
The same applies to salary.
Instead of starting with:
How much should we write in the contract for the E-7?
start with:
How much will we actually pay, and how will that compensation be structured?
The same principle applies to the workplace.
Before asking which address might appear more favorable, determine where the employee will actually work.
Making a contract look suitable for an E-7 visa and having an actual employment relationship that fits the relevant E-7 structure are two different things.
The starting point for drafting the contract should therefore be the real employment conditions, not visa-oriented wording.
How Much Can a Company Prepare on Its Own?
If the employee’s actual job duties, salary structure, working hours, contract period, and workplace are already clear, a company can generally prepare the basic employment terms using its existing employment contract template.
The standard employment contract published by the Ministry of Employment and Labor can also be used as a reference for the basic items that should be included.
However, if the employee’s core duties remain unclear, the salary structure has not been finalized, the registered office differs from the actual workplace, or it is difficult to determine how the proposed employment conditions relate to the intended E-7 structure, the company may need to clarify the actual hiring conditions before simply copying language from another contract.
Issues such as unpaid wages, overtime pay, dismissal, or other employment disputes may require separate review under Korean labor law in addition to any review of the E-7 application documents.
If You Remember Only One Thing About an E-7 Employment Contract
Filling in the blank spaces in a foreign employee’s employment contract is not difficult.
The more important question is whether the company has actually decided to apply the conditions written in those blank spaces.
Once the contract has been prepared, ask one final question:
From this contract alone, can someone understand what this foreign employee will do, where they will work, how many hours they will work, how they will be paid, and for what period they will be employed?
If the answer is unclear, it may be better to identify which part of the hiring plan remains unresolved before focusing further on the wording.
Preparing a foreign employment contract properly does not mean filling it with language that appears favorable for a visa application.
It means clearly defining the employment conditions that will actually apply and accurately reflecting those conditions in the contract.
References
- Article 17 of the Korean Labor Standards Act
- Article 17 of the Act on the Protection, etc. of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employees
- Ministry of Employment and Labor, Standard Employment Contracts and Guidance
- Korean Immigration Act and related subordinate regulations
※ This article focuses on how the main terms of a foreign employee’s employment contract should reflect the actual employment conditions. The selection of a specific E-7 occupation, occupation-specific salary requirements, whether employment may begin before a change of status is approved, and changes to duties, salary, or workplace after obtaining an E-7 visa are subject to separate requirements and procedures.
If you are unsure how specifically the job duties, salary, working hours, contract period, and workplace should be stated in an employment contract currently being prepared, or how the actual employment conditions should be reflected in the contract, a free initial review can help determine what may be possible in your specific situation.