Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kiddirts]

My contract states that I am to be paid 2.6 per month regardless of how many hours I work in a month although the contract states it is for 120 hours...so I guess this question answers itself, but my boss is trying to pay me 1.3 because with the holiday and a week off I ended up only working around 60. I guess it's just another hagwon owner weaseling around what is stated in the contract, but I am pissed. Also...I wasn't supposed to get any weeks off to travel or for vacation, but I put that in my contract I was to get 3 weeks off at my disposal, thinking that he shouldn't be financially responsible for doing me a favor (hey boss, can I go to Thailand for a week?) But I was given 5 days notice as to how I was going to get the Chusock Week off and couldn't book squat. Just sat around making nothing. It says in the contract that I am supposed to get one month's notice of any vacation time given. So I guess that kinda answers itself too...what can I do? Any help? Is this typical?...should I expect 1.3?

[Walter Mitty]

If your contract states 2.6 no matter how many hours, you should get 2.6. The "120 hours" part is there to specify at what point you begin earning overtime.

He owes you 2.6. Get your "threat cards" lined up - labor board, EFLlaw, etc - and ready to go if he gives you anything less.

[Skarp]

Nasty situation - obviously unreasonable.

Try EFL-LAW site

http://www.efl-law.com/

to find out the exact options you have.

I am not in Korea so others will give you better advice but the main thing I gather is not to panic, keep calm and don't back your self into a corner. Don't back down either.

Hopefully, others will chip in with their comments.

Skarp

[Austin]

Do you seriously expect your employer to pay you 2.6 for sixty hours of work?

Who is being the unreasonable one?

From your attitude, you are only projecting that you do not have your employer's best interest at heart (which is the kiss of death most anywhere, especially Korea).

You best start packing your bags, as I am sure if you press the issue, your days will be numbered.

I thought most people understood that the contract is not everything.

[ulsanchris]

Austin the owner signed the contract and he should be prepared to live up to it. If he never wanted to pay 2.6 mil for a 60 hour monty then he should have put something about it in the contract. Sounds like the boss wasn't fullfilling some of his obligations. Kiddirts boss should shape up.
Kiddirts I'm assuming that your week holiday was part of your paid holiday time. Therefore there should be no arguement about your pay. It should be in full.

[waterbaby]

[Austin]

Why can not some of you folks let Kiddirt decide for him/herself what advice is worth following or not?

The ignorance professed here never ceases to amaze me.

What is the point in writing, "ignore this person" or "listen to that person?"

Again, I am sure Kiddirt has the capacity to discern, which path is best (as it is not the same for everyone).

If Kiddirt wants the wording in a contract to be the end-all and be-all, "the land of the morning calm" might not the place to be. In Korea, I would suggest putting more stock in the relationship with an employer, if a person truly wants to enjoy their experience while living and working here.

If Kiddirt does not like my advice, so be it, but to patiently dismiss my suggestion would be shortsighted in the least. In my five plus years here, I have yet to meet any foreigner that had a solid relationship with their employer and had any work-related issues. Winning your employer over by improving their business will serve to help you in the future, while battling them will only serve to build more obstacles for you.

I question any person that would "demand" anything in any situation. Learning how to manipulate situations with a positive approach takes patients and wit. However, confrontations and posturing take little skill or craft.

Does Kiddirt wants to be viewed as "Maemi" or "a gentle breeze on an Autumn day?"

[waterbaby]

[The Bobster]

Kidderts, the first thing to do is to keep your anger in check. Expressing these kinds of strong emotions feels natural to us from the West, and believe me you are entitled to feel it ... believe me, though, letting people know about it always works against you in this part of the world.

Explain to your boss in a reasonable tone of voice that the purpose when people make a document between them is so that each knows what to expect from the other. You have bills to pay and financial commitments to uphold, and you need an employer who will keep his word about what he will pay you every month so that you can feel confident about meeting those commitments.

Yeah, if necessary, you might possibly have to visit some govt authorities, but I've been through worse with several bosses never had to go that far, not yet ... try the reasonable tone first.

The vacation thing ... um, when I was in my first year here I also missed a few opportunities to travel because days off kept taking me by surprise - different rhythm from back home, you know. Expressed the frustration in the office one day and a Korean teacher, honestly trying to be helpful, explained that the holidays are usually "printed in red on the calendar."

I think my ears turned red also at the embarassment, but you see the point - some things are my responsibility to find out when I come to live in a new country. My guess is that, assuming you stay on here more than one year, you will never be taken surprise by Chuseok again.

(Word in your ear : be careful of Chinese New Year also.)

And yeah, waterbaby, ignoring Austin is a good idea, in this case especially. I think Austin's idea of having your employer's "best interest at heart " would ultimately result in your saying "Um, here boss, why don't you keep all my salary? Hey, I'd probably just spend it on booze and bad women anyway ..."

Actually, most people do NOT undertand that "the contract is not everything," probably because contract law lies at the heart of the legal system in our western culture - but things are different here. It's probably the biggest cause of misunderstandings between foreign teachers and their employers here - the fact is, if you have a boss who tells you he plans to give you exactly what is in your contract, nothing more and nothing less, then you are probably getting a bad deal compared to a lot of us ...

But one thing that IS more important than the contract is a person's word. This employer has given his word that he will pay his employees X amount every month, and now he is breaking his word. This makes me question his abilities in other aspects of business life as well.

Therefore, you need to ask yourself how likely it is that the business will survive until the end of your contract, and you need to have an escape route.

Good luck.

[The Bobster]

Oh, and Austin, let's not let this thread turn out to be about YOU, as so many of them tend to do when you get involved. This might be why waterbaby and I are suggesting people just ignore you ... you haven't tried to give the OP any useful advice, so why not think some up before you post again?

It's possible you really believe the stuff you write here, so I'm one of the minority who don't thinkyou are a troll. When someone's viewpoints are so far from the mainstream of opinion as yours are - in this case, the attitude that any disagreements are the employee's fault - then it behooves that person to provide a bit more in the way of reasoned argument than you generally do.

If that's too much work, I'm sorry, but we're just going to keep on ignoring you.

Ridiculous argument, anyway. Kidderts was available to work 120 hours, and if the boss only had 60 hours of work to give him it's probably some reflection of poor business skills. Employees are not penalized for their boss's poor business decisions in exactly the same way they they are not rewarded with more when a business becomes successful. This is the difference between an employee and an entrepreneur, my friend.

[eamo]

Every director and teacher in Korea knows that the base rate of pay must be paid every month regardless of how many hours one worked under 120.

It's a gimme. It's well understood. Your director knows this but is trying to save some cash this month. Or, it's possible he/she is brand new to the hogwan business and actually doesn't know how the pay works here.

Either way Kiddirts you have to insist (nicely) that you be paid the full amount.

If he refuses give in your notice. That might convince him it's better to pay you than find a new teacher.

[Kiddirts]

The week off was not apart of my Paid holiday time. In fact, I work all holidays, saturdays and no time off was written into my work schedule. I had to ask for it and tell him that if I requested a week off to travel, that he would NOT have to pay me for it, as it would be doing me a favor since he said that I couldn't get a week off...then 5 days before the week off he tells me that I can have a week off and I couldn't book %^&@#$!!! Pissed me off..and he doesn't want to pay me for sitting here having no income...also...I came to Korea to work and save money, not take in 1.3 a month...the week off was a convenient excuse to save money for himself.

[Skarp]

Absolutely.

You have to fight this one or it will become normal.

There is good advice elsewhere about dealing with Korean bosses. And basically it may not seem like a fight if you do it properly. Be prepared to move on if things don't work out but try not to close any doors until you absolutely have to.


EFL-LAW site has vital legal info.

Good luck with it.

Skarp

[Gord]

[William Beckerson]