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One day your company announces: "Report to the office starting tomorrow." You have been working remotely all along — must you simply comply? The short answer is that this is not always the case. Whether a company can end remote work unilaterally depends on how the arrangement began and how it is reflected in your employment contract.

[Table of Contents]

1. Does a return-to-office notice automatically end remote work?

2. Remote work written into the contract — why unilateral termination is difficult

3. Temporarily permitted remote work — when a return order is valid

4. Three factors that decide the outcome

5. What employers and employees should each check

1. Does a return-to-office notice automatically end remote work?

Determining the place of work generally falls within the employer's personnel and managerial authority. Many companies therefore assume they may end remote work purely as a business decision.

That authority is not unlimited. Article 4 of the Labor Standards Act provides that working conditions shall be determined by the employee and the employer on equal terms and by free will. If a matter has already become part of the employment contract, the company cannot change it through a single notice.

The decisive question is therefore not "may the company order attendance," but "what legal character does remote work have in this employment relationship?"

2. Remote work written into the contract — why unilateral termination is difficult

If the employment contract specifies the workplace as the employee's home, or if the employment relationship was formed on the premise of remote work through the job posting or hiring terms, remote work is likely to be treated not as a mere benefit but as a working condition in itself.

Article 17 of the Labor Standards Act requires employers to specify key working conditions such as wages, contractual working hours, holidays and annual paid leave, and the conditions so specified form part of the contract. Changing the contract in principle requires the employee's consent.

If remote work has been operated through the rules of employment, Article 94 of the Labor Standards Act also applies: changing those rules to the employees' disadvantage requires the consent of a majority of employees, or of the majority trade union where one exists.

Where an employee relocated far from the office in reliance on remote work, or built childcare or caregiving arrangements around it, the disadvantage caused by a return order is substantial. Such circumstances make unilateral termination considerably harder to justify.

3. Temporarily permitted remote work — when a return order is valid

The opposite situation also exists. Where remote work was allowed because of a temporary circumstance such as the COVID-19 pandemic, its character is different.

Remote work of that kind is often evaluated as a provisional, discretionary measure responding to a specific situation rather than a fixed contractual condition. Once the circumstance has passed, a return-to-office instruction issued through reasonable procedures is likely to be upheld as a legitimate exercise of personnel authority.

However, the employer must be able to demonstrate that the arrangement really was temporary. Records showing that the measure was announced as time-limited, internal rules setting out its duration or termination grounds, and adequate advance notice and consultation before ending it are what determine the outcome in practice. If remote work has been settled practice for years without any reservation, a belated claim that it was "always temporary" will rarely succeed.

4. Three factors that decide the outcome

In short, whether a company may unilaterally end remote work is assessed through three factors considered together.

1. How the remote work began — was it a hiring condition or a premise of the contract, or a measure adopted for a temporary situation such as an epidemic?

2. The contract and rules of employment — is the workplace specified, and are the basis and termination requirements of the remote work scheme set out in the rules?

3. The necessity of ending remote work — is on-site work genuinely unavoidable given the nature of the duties, and does that necessity outweigh the disadvantage the employee suffers?

This mirrors the framework Korean courts apply to transfer and reassignment orders that change the place of work: balancing business necessity against the employee's disadvantage in daily life, while examining whether the consultation required in good faith took place.

5. What employers and employees should each check

For employers: before deciding to end remote work, confirm the governing rules and the origin of the arrangement. If remote work has become a working condition under the contract or the rules of employment, proceeding without a consent process carries significant dispute risk. Document the business necessity, allow sufficient advance notice and individual consultation, and consider grace or transitional measures.

For employees: before reacting emotionally, secure your employment contract, the rules of employment, and the notices or emails issued when remote work began. Whether remote work is specified as a working condition, and whether the company ever described it as a temporary measure, is the starting point for negotiation or litigation. Because outright refusal of a return order may itself become grounds for discipline, it is usually safer to record your objection clearly in writing while obtaining legal advice.

Ultimately, a company's words alone do not always bring remote work to an end. Both employers and employees need to examine the contract terms and the specific circumstances together.

Consult Cheongchul Law Firm on remote work termination and changes to working conditions

Ending remote work can escalate into disputes over changes to working conditions, transfer orders, discipline and even unfair dismissal. Interpreting the contract and rules correctly and designing the right procedure at an early stage is the surest way to reduce risk.

Cheongchul Law Firm advises both companies and employees on HR matters and labor disputes. If you have received a return-to-office notice or are planning to restructure your remote work scheme, please reach out through our consultation request page.

This post is general information for reference only and does not constitute legal advice on any specific matter. Outcomes depend on the facts and evidence of each case, so please consult a qualified attorney.