Your first week on site

Before your first day of work, there are three things to confirm with the HR staff.

• Whether work clothes and safety shoes are provided — the items provided vary by company. If provided, inform them of your size in advance; if you need to purchase them yourself, ask if you can wear sneakers that cover your ankles on the first day
• Commute bus pickup location and time — commute buses in the industrial complex area often only stop at a few city bus stops. The most common cause of being late on the first day is a mistake in the pickup location
• Gathering place and required documents on the first day — required documents such as ID, bank account copy, and health certificate vary by company

Whether the company you are joining operates a commute bus or dormitory can be checked in advance on the BIZ360 Small and Medium Enterprise Detail's on-site information. If the information is empty, it is more accurate to confirm directly with the company.

Manufacturing sites have legally mandated safety and health training upon hiring (Occupational Safety and Health Act Article 29 (산업안전보건법 제29조)). The first day's training is not just formal — you must complete this training to be assigned to the worksite.

If terms used in the training (lifting operations (양중), forklift traffic routes (지게차 동선), LOTO (LOTO)) seem unfamiliar, read the terminology guide for the job-specific OJT module in advance to make it easier to follow.

Things Not to Do on the First Day

• Do not walk outside designated pathways — distinguishing forklift traffic routes from pedestrian pathways is the basic rule of on-site safety
• Do not touch buttons on unfamiliar equipment — even if someone tells you to "press it," refusing before training is correct

Even the same "shift work" (교대) varies by company.

Before joining, check the shift type in job postings or interviews. Companies listed on BIZ360 KOSHA Site Information (강소기업 현장정보) indicate their shift type, allowing comparison based on that value; if it's blank, ask about it first in interviews.

The first week of night shifts is tough for everyone. A verified general principle is "avoid sunlight immediately after work and sleep at a fixed time," and if specific sleep management is needed, refer to the KOSHA (산업안전보건공단) shift worker health management materials.

If you save questions in the first week, the second week will be harder. Things you can ask — rather, things you must ask.

1. Reporting order when defects occur (Should the team leader be informed first? Who has the authority to stop the line?)
2. Location for obtaining and returning materials/tools, and return rules
3. Actual operation of meal/break times (There may be differences between regulations and on-site practices)
4. Criteria for overtime and shift allowances appearing on the pay statement

If wages and allowances differ from the notice, don't deduct them yourself. First, check with the HR team based on the employment contract. If the contract and actual payments continue to differ, the official route is consultation with the Ministry of Employment and Labor (1350).