Korean Job Discussion Forums

[beentheredonethat777]

Is it typical to get one when each contract is finished OR when you're finished working at the school permanently? I personally like to receive one annually
for my files, HOWEVER, my current boss says if he gives me one now, I'll change schools on him. I'm not sure about his thought process. Does anyone reading this know what he may be thinking?

[FriendlyDaegu]

You should be able to get one whenever you request it. It's a certificate the employer makes up and stamps that says so-and-so is currently working at this place as of this date. I don't understand how this would allow to change schools.

I tend to need them at least once a year. I've used them at the bank, for visas, and for my wife's insurance.

Re-reading your post, sounds like you're talking about a certificate of finishing or stopping employment. No idea about those, since I've had the same job for 5 years. If your employer considers you to have been continuously working there, he would not be giving you one of these.

[beentheredonethat777]

[ttompatz]

http://www.moel.go.kr/english/poli/poliLaw_view.jsp?idx=254&tab=6

He is required by law to provide it on demand.

Labor Standards Act:

Article 39 (Certificate of Employment)
(1) If a worker makes a request to issue a certificate specifying term of employment, job specification, title and wages or other necessary information even after the retirement of the worker, the employer shall immediately prepare and issue the factually correct certificate.

(2) The certificate referred to in paragraph (1) shall only contain the items that the worker concerned has requested.

.

[Skippy]

A cut and past of a document I was working on...
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=183282
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=225129

Certificate of Employment/재직 증명서

A person is applying for a job and in the process is asked to provide proof of employment. Most people would think their resume is proof enough or showing some visa stamps in their passport is good, too. The proper document in such situations is called a Certificate of Employment. The COE (Certificate of Employment) is a document that many people at times are surprised to be asked for by future employers. What is the is a Certificate of Employment (재직 증명서)? The COE is a basic quasi-official legal form that explains a person's employment history with a past employer. I describe it as a very basic just the facts ma'am reference letter.

The COE will likely consist of such information.
성명:/Employer's Full Name/
주소:/Address
주민등록번호/Resident ID Number OR Alien Registration Number
Job Description
Start Date
End Date
Employer's name/
Employer's address
Employer Stamp/GoJung/Official Red Info Stamp

The COE is often mainly used to show experience. For many ESL teachers there are a few common situations they will likely run into concerning COE's. For example, with public school positions a COE is used to provide proof for a higher pay grade or experience to avoid needing a TOESL certificate. Some universities want it to verify experience. Resumes and that can not always be trusted. I think, it is also needed in applying for a credit cards and some financial procedures.

Now for some good and bad news. The good news is by law, all past and present employers are to provide it (LSA Article 39). Any ex-employee who has worked for more than 30 days can ask an employer to provide it. The employer can not refuse, well there are some caveats. They can levy a small of up to a 1000 won for copy and preparation costs. The bad news, the previous employee has up to three years from last day of employment to ask for. (EotLSA Article 19). Past that time, the employer can refuse to provide.

There is no real proper set format to the letter. There is no official Government of Korean COE form. There are a few place in which to get an examples of a COE. On many of the Korean web portals like Naver and even professional document sites. These sites provide basic templates of the COE. Some of the professional document services may cost a small fee to download. Just figuring out how to do that is the question for me.

Making and Preparing the Form.
Still, a person can easily make their own with an word processor or spreadsheet program. My advice is make your own. Plus do it in both English and Korean. Make the it look as official as possible. Try to include all relevant and beneficial information that you can. Still in constructing your COE, if a piece of information proves detrimental (EXAMPLE?) consider leaving it off. Yet, some details you can not avoid providing like how long a person worked for.

Careful about the dates and other information on the form. For example, if you worked under the table illegally for a period you might want to change dates to coincide with proper visa dates. Addresses and managers change, too. So you might need to update them. or provide the info to supplement older COEs.

Getting the COE.
I commented before that an ex-employer are legally required to give when asked (if under three years). This may be be the law, but people are dealing with real life. The question you have to ask is how are you going to enforce that law. Don't think the Korean police are going to care. The Labor Board might help, but not very much and expect language problems and delays.

So how do you get the COE? First understanding why getting it might be hard. There are different factors why.

First road block, human nature. People are lazy. Asking someone to do more work and for no incentive is going to be an exercise in frustration. Expect the task to take a long time to be completed, if at all. When you do get the COE, it might look sloppy and have the wrong info.

Some tactics people do when give such requests are to say yes and then ignore your request. Or plain refuse as they do not want to do it. Even just plain incompetence. Remember the bali-bali attitude and last minute completion that is par for course Korea businesses.

The next factor to overcome is time. The more time in between leaving job and getting COE, the more chance of records disappearing . Plus in the time since then, managers and other employers have come and gone. You might go back to an employer a year later and NOBODY knows you. They might ask who is this stranger asking us for something. Even worse is the business is GONE. Some previous employers of mine have disappeared into the ether.

So how you get that document into your hand. It could mean the difference in getting a job or an extra 100,000 won pay per month. There is the smart way and the wrong way. I am going to explain in my opinion is the best way.

So what do you do to get the COE? First, is make filling your request easy. If all an employer is sign a piece of paper and lick an envelope. It will get done. If the process is difficult and convoluted, things are less likely to get done. By making it easy you are playing to the human nature of being lazy.
So first make or print out the form yourself. Do what you can to find and fill out any information.

A step in making it easy is to go in yourself to the business to get it signed and done. Of course after giving a preliminary phone call helps. You might even have to do a preliminary visit to tell what you want and need. This visits sets up the chance to come in for a second visit to get it finished. See this visit of more a hello and how are you doing visit. Yet, even this visit can be used to get the COE filled and signed.

Second, do not force or get aggressive from the start. Calling or come in and demanding a COE, you can expect to get a NO out of spite. Aggression does not always get things done right away. Threaten with "it's the law" and you have built up resistance. That is why going in for a feeler of the environment and a visit is a practical first step. Go in, say hi, and let them know you again. Try to meet with them on a not so busy time. When you get the chance, then ask for the COE.

Next speed bump is plain stupidity and ignorance. Here is a surprising part is you might have to explain what it is what you want. Repeatedly and in simple English. You might even have to use different voices and wave your arms around. Expect ignorance and head scratching on what a COE is. Surprising as you would expect a business owner to have experience with said procedure. Or it might just be because a foreigner is asking, the task is seen as complicated. Or that it sounds like a very official document, thus it might be hard to get and provide. To overcome this you need to come prepared with an example and translation of what it is in Korean. Sooth their worries on what it is. Explain simply, what it is. Like above if a person sees it as easy, it will likely get done. You need to remove any resistance.

Fourth obstacle is cheapness. Accept the fact is you might have to spend money in getting the COE. Maybe more than the couple hundred won the business will charge to print it out. It might be law to provide it, but no person is going to want to spend money that provides them nothing in return. If you want it done properly and quickly YOU need to spend money. Think of it as an investment, spending the money could mean more money in the future. Spending 50k won to get an extra 1,200,000 won per year is worth it.

Possible Expenses
Transportation costs in visiting ex-employer.
Downloading a template from a business document.
Gifts/Future Favours.
Phone Calls
Translation

The best move is to actually get the COE done much earlier. The best time is when you are leaving the job. It is the prime time the info is fresh in the employer's mind and easy to fill. Less, running around when you need it later.

Some more advice concerning the COE
Make sure to make a scan of the document, to add to an future job applications packages. Show original, but give copies. You do not want to go to a whole bunch of work to get one and then give it away.

Also consider safely storing it in a nice plastic cover.

Find a safe and known place to store it. In with your thousand other papers and photocopies is a disaster waiting to happen.

Consider getting extra copies when you leave. A future employer might ask for the original and keep or lose it. So having a second just in case is a good idea.

The COE might serve well for some basic requirements. Yet you may want a better tool for the future job searches. So consider getting a nice reference letter with your COE when you leave the job.

The COE can also prove valuable for future employment in other countries. So try to make it a nice dual language one. Or get it officially translated.

Ok, one confusion that comes up with the COE is that it is confused with the Letter of Release(LOR). The LOR is a completely separate document. Some people who have difficulties with an employer want to quit and if possible transfer to a new job/visa. To keep on the same the visa and avoiding a a visa trip/paperwork, the visa transfer entails getting a LOR. The LOR allows the person to transfer on their present visa, it is a permission letter. Immigration needs it if a person is transferring mid visa/contract The confusion with the LOR and COE is got to do with obligation. As explained above, an (ex)employer is obligated within 3 years to provide a COE. An employer is not obligated to provide a LOR.


LABOR STANDARDS ACT
Article 39 (Certificate of Employment)
(1)If a worker makes a request to issue a certificate specifying term of employment, job specification, title and wages or other necessary information even after the retirement of the worker, the employer shall immediately prepare and issue the factually correct certificate.
(2)The certificate referred to in paragraph (1) shall only contain the items that the worker concerned has requested.

ENFORCEMENT DECREE OF THE LABOR STANDARDS ACT
Article 19 (Request for Issuance of Certificate of Employment)

The persons eligible for requesting the issuance of the certificate of employment in accordance with Article 39 (1) of the Act shall be the workers who have been employed for 30 days or longer continuously, but such a request shall be made within three years after retirement.


Other Possible Fields
인적사항: Personal Data
재직사항: Employment Data
소속: Department
직위또는직급: Position or Class
기간: Period
용도: Usage
위와같이 재직을 증명합니다.: This is to certify that the above-mentioned is true and correct.
지휘부: Command office