Korean Job Discussion Forums

[charpet]

Sorry that this is so long but i just received this new contract and here's what part of it has to say. This is my first assignment overseas. I think I've decided to go for it but I'd appreciate any thoughts from all of you, especially the more experienced. Thanks

(Party A), wishes to engage the service of the Teacher (Party B), ______________ an English teacher. The two parties, in a spirit of friendly cooperation, agree to sign this contract and pledge to fulfill conscientiously all the obligations stipulated in it.

1.CONTRACT PERIOD
1 year contract.

2.TEACHING HOURS
1)The number of regular teaching hours will be 25 hours per week.
2)Class will be held from Monday to Saturday(a half day).
3)Classes and teaching will be scheduled in accordance with the needs of Party A.

3.SALARY
1)Party Bs monthly salary will be guaranteed 2.2 million won (Korean currency), which can be converted into foreign currency monthly.
2)Pay day is one week after the first month's work(one month and a week later). Some advance pay may be made upon request to help the new teacher's initial settlement until the first pay day. One week's salary + one month's salary will be paid upon the completion of the contract.
3)For every hour worked over 30 hours per week, the Employee will receive overtime payment.
4)Over time rate for each hour will be 20,000 _won.
5)On completion of 1 year contract, Party B will receive the amount of one-month salary as a severance payment.

4.AIRFARE
Party A agrees to pay Party B a round-trip airfare to South Korea. Party B must purchase the lowest available economy class air ticket to come to Korea
Upon arrival, Party B will be reimbursed for the ticket, up to the equivalent of 1/2 of the round-trip ticket price from the point of departure to Korea. Upon successful completion of the contract, Party B will receive the remaining balance of the round-trip airfare. The total amount of airfare that Party B will receive will be based on the cost of the cheapest available round-trip ticket from point of departure to Korea at the time of arrival in Korea.

5.ACCOMMODATION
1)Party A agrees to provide Party B with accommodation and Party A is fully responsible for the payment of rent.
2)Party A will provide a fully furnished housing. In some cases, Party B may share a two bedroom apartment with another foreign English teacher.
3)Party B will be responsible for all living costs to include telephone and other utilities.
4)There is no monthly deposit. But in the last contract month, Party B is required utilities deposit and it will be used to pay any unpaid utility bills that Party B might have at the time of his/her departure from Siji Lee Sang Mook Language Institute. This amount of money is based on the balance of last 3 months utilities. Any money left over from this deposit after all bills have been paid will be remitted to the instructor six weeks from the end of his/her contract.

6.MEDICAL INSURANCE
Party A agrees to support medical insurance. Party A pays fifty percent of medical insurance premium for Party B and other fifty percent should be paid by Party B. Party Bs insurance premium will be deducted from his/her monthly salary. Dental and pre-existing conditions(diseases) are not covered from the insurance.

7.DEDUCTIONS / TAXES
1) South Korean income taxes will be withheld automatically from Party Bs monthly salary. Income tax on the monthly salary runs at about 5%.
2) Any taxes owed to any foreign government are the responsibility of Party B. Party A does not involve itself in foreign tax law.

8.Party As OBLIGATIONS
1)Party A shall introduce to Party B the Party As work system and regulations concerning administration of foreign experts.
2)Party A shall conduct direction, supervision and evaluation of Party Bs work.
3)Party A shall provide Party B necessary working and living conditions.
4)Party A shall provide co-workers by Party As necessity.
5)Party A shall provide all curricula, textbooks and other teaching materials.

9. Party Bs OBLIGATIONS
1)Party B shall observe Party As work system and regulations concerning administration of foreign experts and shall accept Party As arrangement, direction, supervision and evaluation in regard to his/her work.
2)Without Party As consent, Party B shall not render service elsewhere or hold concurrently any post unrelated to the work agreed on with Party A.
3)Party B shall complete the tasks agreed on schedule and guarantee the quality of work.
4)Professional dress and grooming in the work are essential to maintain the desired reputation to the institute. Party A shall establish general guidelines for this.
5)Party B shall be expected to prepare daily topics for the class beforehand.
6)Party B can be required to attend all the staffs meeting. If Party B must be absent, he/she shall inform Party A prior to the meeting.
7)Party B must behave in professional manner during class or when socializing with students after class.
8)Party B can be required to interview new students and evaluate their placement level.
9)Party B shall not be absent without Party As permission 2 days in advance notice.
10) If Party B is more than 10 minutes late without notification or proper reason, one hour rate of payment may be deducted.
11) Party B shall respect the Korean peoples moral standards and customs.
12) Party B shall not make sexually harass the students in his/her charge.
10. REVISION, CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT
1)Both parties should abide by the contract and should refrain from revising, canceling, or terminating the contract without mutual consent.
2)The contract can be revised, terminated or canceled with mutual consent. Before both parties have reached an agreement, the contract should be strictly observed.
3)Both parties hereby agree to give four (4) weeks notice and a written explanation pending resignation or premature termination of employment and dismissal.
4)If Party B terminates this contract early, he/she will be responsible to pay Party A back for costs incurred by the employer to bring the teacher to Korea. Party B will pay back the cost of the airfare if he/she terminates this contract within the first 6 months.
5)Party A has the right to cancel the contract with a written notice to Party B under the following conditions;
(1)Party B does not fulfill the contract or does not fulfill contract obligations according to the terms stipulated, and fails to amend after Party A has pointed it out.
(2)According to the doctors diagnosis, Party B cannot resume normal work after a continued 1 week sick leave.
(3)If many of Party Bs students keep on complaining about class or if an unacceptable drop of number of students enrollment for the 3 consecutive months occurs because of Party Bs improper teaching skills.
6)Party B has the right to cancel the contract under the following conditions;
(1)Party A has not provided Party B with necessary and living conditions as stipulated in the contract.
(2)Party A has not paid Party B as scheduled.

11.HOLIDAYS
During the school year, there are many national and school holidays. Therefore, holidays will be basically limited to these holidays. But Party B is will have a 5 day break twice a year according to the school's schedule.

12.ARBITRATION
The two parties shall consult with each other and mediate any disputes, which may arise about the contract. If all attempts fail, the two parties can appeal to the organization of arbitration for foreign experts affairs in Korea according to the Korean Regulations and Codes.

This contract takes effect on the date signed by both parties and will automatically expire when the contract ends.

The period of this contract will be 1 year, from to for a period of 365 days.

I have read and agree to the conditions of employment as an English Instructor at the, and I agree to follow these policies fully. In signing this mutual agreement, I understand my responsibilities toward the Institute and their responsibilities to me. By signing this contract, I accept the position on the basis of this contract.


Party A's name _______________

Party B's name ;______________________ Signature ; ____________________



The date signed : / / 2003

[eamo]

It looks normal except for working saturdays and shared housing. You can find a job without those.

[charpet]

Shouldn't the hours worked be the same as the hours paid for overtime?
Point #4 on Accommodation: what does this mean? Pay a deposit in the last month? Any thoughts on this?

[Harpeau]

[justagirl]

1. If your normal working hours are 25 hours a week, your overtime should start at "more than 25 hours," not more than 30, as stated in the contract

2 It will be very difficult to buy a round-trip ticket for your length of stay. Most tickets have a 1-year limit, unless you buy an open-ended ticket. This will increase the price quite a bit. However, I doubt you know the exact day you'll come home next year, so this IS what you'd want.

3. What if you are sick? Be sure this does not include sick days, visits to the doctor, etc. 9)Party B shall not be absent without Party As permission 2 days in advance notice.

4. Clarify your holiday: 5 consecutive days, 2 times a year. This is important so you have a full week off, not just sporadic days. Also make sure these are PAID holidays.

5. Really try to get rid of those Saturday classes. My husband works 4 hours every other Sat. and it is so wearing on him.

6. Have the hours of work stated, ie: from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. This is really important. You don't want to be at the school at 9-10 am, then from 1-3 pm, then from 4-5 pm, etc. Make it a non split-shift schedule.

7. The overtime....it's less than your regular pay. If you work 25 hours a week, 4 weeks a month, you are making 22,000 won an hour. Your overtime should really be more than that. Just point that out to the director. I made the same mistake one time.


Overall, this really sounds like a decent contract. With just a few things modified, I'd take it! 2.2 is excellent for a first-time contract. This is my 3rd year and I've never made that much!

justagirl

[waterbaby]

It does sound like a fairly decent contract.

I'd just query one more thing... it says that you can terminate your contract if your employer living condition if ...

[charpet]

Thank you all for your replies. You've been very helpful. I do have another question/s. I just heard from the Director this morning on my comments about the contract. He says that he sent me the wrong contract and that he "forgot" to change the hours from 25 to 30. I'm having a difficult time getting past this comment. Even the original posting says 25hrs, not 30. I'm going to try to negotiate with him but I would still like to hear your comments on this and what you would do.

[waterbaby]

I would also clarify the 25 hours ... How long are your classes? If a class is 50 minutes or 40 minutes... is that considered one hour? Does 25 hours mean 25 classes? Sometimes some hakwons appear to offer less hours, but it's really the Director's way to get extra time/squeeze and extra class out of their employees.

[charpet]

Thanks Waterbaby, but what exactly should I ask for then? 25hrs with 40 min. classes or 50 or should I just let it go considering how much they are paying me? I'm still learning.

[William Beckerson]

This is pretty much your standard Korean Hagwon Contract from whatever Contracts R Us organization or robot makes them here.

regardless of what your contract says, it 99% doesnt relate to your work conditions. Get emailing the other foreign teachers.

[waterbaby]

I wouldn't try and set the class length, just ask them how long their classes are and how many you are expected to do each day. There's a big difference between doing 5 x 50 min classes per day as opposed to 7 x 40 minutes.

[charpet]

Thank you all for your replies. You have all given me a learning experience of which I can hopefully pass on to another newbie in the future. I've now sent off my review of the contract and hopefully I get a positive return. I'll let you all know how it went. Cheers, here's to seeing you in Korea. Thanks again.

[hellofaniceguy]

You DON'T want 25, 30 or 35 hours a week. You want to KNOW how many classes per month. 25 hours a week, 100 hours a month usually means 6/7 classes a day. Schools count the minutes not the hours in most cases. Don't share and don't work saturdays. You start working on saturdays and it might snowball into all schools wanting teachers to work on saturdays. Don't do it.

[charpet]

I told you that I would update you on the results of my negotiations. Well, I'm feeling a little rejected right now. The director got back to me with this answer. Thank you. I'm sorry, but I feel that you are not right person to fit into our school. He cut me off in my tracks on negotiations. Should I be happy that I will not be working with this man?

[waterbaby]

Oooh yeah! Good for you He doesn't like that you've done your homework. That answer is a very standard response when you query a contract... or the law! At first they're all over you, but when they know that you're not a "sucker" they don't want you. I think you've saved yourself from the job from hell. Don't give up!