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question re. last month pay/severance/plane ticket

 
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Tancred



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Upon a mountain in unknown Kadath

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 6:23 pm    Post subject: question re. last month pay/severance/plane ticket Reply with quote

I was wondering if anyone with any experience getting this farewell package (last month pay/severance/plane ticket) could let me know how this usually goes over. It's still a ways of for me, but it just seems like a lot of money to be paying out for the employer...how often do they try to reneg on the contract, and what are the options one has if they do?

My boss is quite kind and i don't imagine he'd do something like that, but you never really know, and i won't feel confident about it until it happens, but i'd appreciate any anecdotes some of the more experienced teachers could relate.

thanks...
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matko



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: in a world of hurt!

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I already had a round trip ticket paid for and in hand.
My boss was a really nice guy, always paid the full amount and on time. Then came the time for the severance. Two days before I was to leave, he handed me my severance which was 40% short. I complained. He said it was not his fault and that the tax office had told him that that was what he should deduct! Yeah right.
It really bothered me (not because of the money) but because it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had a great working relationship with the guy and this is the lasting impression I have of him. Sad
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Tancred



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Upon a mountain in unknown Kadath

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 6:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

matko: That's exactly what i'm worried about...shite. I don't even have a return ticket...the thing is, is that i'll probably help him recruit someone else and if he screws me i'm just going to tell that to any potential recruit, not to mention my secret weapon of planting a time-activated virus in his computer just to get a little revenge of my own in case things go wrong.

In any case, is there anything I can do legally...i mean, can i protest it or is there any point?
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Homeward Bound



Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am on my way out in four weeks. I've seen three other teachers complete their contracts and in all cases the school paid them fully. In the case of the severance pay,nothing is suppose to be deducted, it's like a bonus. Be sure to have them run numbers on paper a couple weeks before leaving to ensure you are both in agreement. Also, ask to be paid at least a day before departure so you can do your banking and don't have to drag a huge stack of mon won notes home.

Good luck!
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antiamerican



Joined: 29 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 8:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's against the law to break a contract in Korea, or terminate it for no unknown reason. But you should've checked this out before you started. What the boss is probably hoping is that you'll stay another year. But be shrude. Put the tv up for sale just in case.
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Tancred



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Upon a mountain in unknown Kadath

PostPosted: Sat Feb 22, 2003 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

antiamerican wrote:
But be shrude. Put the tv up for sale just in case.


Haha...that's a good idea...never thought of it. Same with the stereo and furniture...
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morue



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2003 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

antiamerican wrote:
It's against the law to break a contract in Korea, or terminate it for no unknown reason.



Ha! My employer just broke my contract for no reason. I was their hardest working teacher and the kids all loved me. For some reason they had to "end my contract early" oh but not fired! Basically it boiled down to my not wanting to stay another year and the new semester is starting and they want a new teacher in place beforehand.
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gajackson1



Joined: 27 Jan 2003
Location: Casa Chil, Sungai Besar, Sultanate of Brunei

PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2003 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not sure where to begin here . . . Evil or Very Mad


Ok, in order:

Tancred, mostly you hear stories from people who HAVE been screwed; the ones who everything was fine usually don't take time to write so. However, it just depends on your owner. You always have the signed copy of your contract (right???), and the Ministry of Labor on your side. That is is you want to go the legal route. If you want to go the semi-legal route, take your Alien card to the tax office, and ask for a copy of your 'paid' taxes. If it isn't on the up & up, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING TO THE TAX OFFICE. Just go to your boss and show him/her. That almost always does the trick! (pay me or I'll dropp the hammer on your A$$)Razz

matko, severance is set in LAW by the MoLabor. It HAS to equal 1 month of your salary. The only way you could have only 60% was if the employer underreported your wages. See solution for Tancred, above. Wink

Tancred revisited - go legal or semi-legal, but do NOT bomb the comp. Besides the fact that it is illegal, and you can be sued, think about the poor replacement for you, on that comp, who will ultimately be BLAMED for it.

HBound - I am glad everything worked out for you. However, even though every school (Uni's don't) calls it a 'bonus,' it is severance pay, as part of the National Pension system, set in law by MoLabor. You are DEFINITELY right about 'running down the numbers' 7-10 days before.

morue - you just answered a question i asked you in another post (why you are leaving) Smile however, . . . if you are not fired, but being dismissed, you DO have legal grounds. Or, they have to pay you out a 'dismissal package' - 1 month's salary, etc. Again, you have legal grounds if you are being screwed over, courtesy of MoL.

Hope this helps some!!!

Regards,

G.
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Zyzyfer



Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 23, 2003 7:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got the same tax thing that matko talked about. It was a hefty chunk to lose...they combined the severance with the final month's pay and that sent the money into the next tax bracket, which was like a 300% increase.
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loki



Joined: 09 Feb 2003
Location: Mokpo

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2003 3:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

very interesting thread.

DOes anyone get the full amount?

I'm leaving in one week and last night my director informed me that she had not been deducting enough taxes for the full year! So she is attempting to bill me for a year's worth of taxes on the severance pay (which is almost decimated)
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morue



Joined: 07 Feb 2003

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2003 3:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

gajackson1 wrote:
take your Alien card to the tax office, and ask for a copy of your 'paid' taxes.


Where is the tax office located?
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