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Too Legit to Quit?

 
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Kiddirts



Joined: 25 Jul 2003

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 1:24 am    Post subject: Too Legit to Quit? Reply with quote

Sorry to reference the ol' MC Hammer, but throw on some baggy clown pants and put yourself in my shoes...what would you do?
I work at a Hagwon, here's the big picture...

PROS:
-2.6 for 120 hours
-700,000 won housing, brand new apartment in Kangnam
-In total we're talking (3.3)
-I have good relations with the boss
-The school is walking distance from my house
-The gym is right across the street, just started another 3 month membership
-The school is small but healthy, maybe 250 students

CONS:
-Because the apartment fee was so much compared to an apartment that was 5 miles from the school that the boss wanted to throw me in, I waived a bunch of things...
-Instead of airfare being paid immediately, I let him pay 400,000 Nov. 1 and 400,000 next July
- I have no severance at the end of the year (thus the 2.6)
- I am the ONLY foreign teacher at this school
-The other teachers, except for one, hate me and don't talk to me because they work twice the hours and get paid less
-I work Saturdays AND Holidays and was not supposed to get any vacation time off at all.
-I worked vacation time into the contract with it as him doing me a favor and he wouldn't have to pay for it, but give me one month's notice to so I can plan a trip...I was given 5 days notice and he doesn't want to pay.
-My contract states that the minimum payment per month is 2.6 for "up to 120 hours of work" He wants to pay me 1.3 this month because of lack of work and the vacation time.
-Overtime is stated as being 30,000/ hr. When I only worked 80 hours the first month I was here, I agreed to work 160 hours in August for 2.6 STUPID! I know, don't even tell me...It should have been 2.6 for July, and...3.8 for August!!!!!!!
-They are building a new complex right outside my window and at 8 AM EVERY morning, my bed shakes from the cranes and bulldozers.
-Every 2 months or so, my schedule completely changes making it impossible to maintain a second job...
-The school has NO PROGRAM, and he told me to buy books for the classes, when I did, he didn't want to pay for them, so I told him I was going to return them all and he gave me the money...yeah right, I'm going to pay for his school's program...right after I pay for the electricity to keep the lights on in his classroom...
-The classes get bigger everyweek. I teach kids who are 9 to 13. A really tough age...especially when the classes are in 2 hour blocks, I am not allowed to take a break, these kids have just come from 7 hours of other studies, I am not allowed to have fun and play games, have to work them hard...and there's anywhere from 12-15 kids in the class!!
-The director wants me to be like the other teachers and work all day, keep the kids in the class and drill them until midnight for my 4 hours a day payment. I laughed when we were drinking one time and said, there are other jobs out there...he knows its a ridiculously dead issue
-I experience typical BS from a couple of classes, where the kids lie to parents, if I have to discipline, I'm the devil, "Bad teacher", If I'm their friend, kids complain too, the teacher is TOO easy...parents complain.
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Skarp



Joined: 22 Aug 2003

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 2:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would quit ASAP if I were you.

The big stumbling block is the class-size and ethos of the school. They are ripping off the students/parents as well as cheating you.

Try to negotiate an out where you get a release letter. It may cost you some money but it will be worth it in the end.

You are obviously not in the kid of job you wanted. The sooner you leave the better.


Skarp
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Son Deureo!



Joined: 30 Apr 2003

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 4:55 am    Post subject: Re: Too Legit to Quit? Reply with quote

Kiddirts wrote:

-My contract states that the minimum payment per month is 2.6 for "up to 120 hours of work" He wants to pay me 1.3 this month because of lack of work and the vacation time.


This is enough reason to quit, you don't need any other. If he is cramming your classes with students, and still can't give you enough work hours this is due to your boss's own planning. Furthermore, does it say anywhere in your contract that he is ever allowed to pay you less than 2.6 per month?

If he won't pay you your full month's salary, you shouldn't be working there. If he won't pay up, you should leave with or without a release letter. Nothing else is more important than this, but....

Quote:
- I have no severance at the end of the year (thus the 2.6)
- I am the ONLY foreign teacher at this school
-I work Saturdays AND Holidays and was not supposed to get any vacation time off at all.


But you agreed to this on the expectation that you would get a higher salary than usual, plus a sweet pad in Gangnam, right?

Quote:
-They are building a new complex right outside my window and at 8 AM EVERY morning, my bed shakes from the cranes and bulldozers.


OK, it's not such a sweet pad anymore, but this isn't really your boss's fault. Do I understand you correctly that your boss gave you a housing allowance and you picked the place? Is there any way you can move if you stay?

Quote:

-The other teachers, except for one, hate me and don't talk to me because they work twice the hours and get paid less
-Every 2 months or so, my schedule completely changes making it impossible to maintain a second job...
-The school has NO PROGRAM, and he told me to buy books for the classes, when I did, he didn't want to pay for them, so I told him I was going to return them all and he gave me the money...yeah right, I'm going to pay for his school's program...right after I pay for the electricity to keep the lights on in his classroom...
-The classes get bigger everyweek. I teach kids who are 9 to 13. A really tough age...especially when the classes are in 2 hour blocks, I am not allowed to take a break, these kids have just come from 7 hours of other studies, I am not allowed to have fun and play games, have to work them hard...and there's anywhere from 12-15 kids in the class!!
-The director wants me to be like the other teachers and work all day, keep the kids in the class and drill them until midnight for my 4 hours a day payment. I laughed when we were drinking one time and said, there are other jobs out there...he knows its a ridiculously dead issue
-I experience typical BS from a couple of classes, where the kids lie to parents, if I have to discipline, I'm the devil, "Bad teacher", If I'm their friend, kids complain too, the teacher is TOO easy...parents complain.


Fairly typical hogwon nonsense, and fairly typical managerial incompetence. But the director trying to get you to pay for the school's textbooks seems a bit novel and over the top. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't expect it to get much better anywhere else.

Quote:
-Overtime is stated as being 30,000/ hr. When I only worked 80 hours the first month I was here, I agreed to work 160 hours in August for 2.6 STUPID! I know, don't even tell me...It should have been 2.6 for July, and...3.8 for August!!!!!!!


This seems to be the real crux of your problem. I don't want to make this sound like an "I told you so", because your boss was wrong to try to pull this on you in the first place, and he continues to be wrong as he cuts your salary in half now. However, I think that when you let him get away with this, you set a dangerous precedent. You allowed him to establish the idea that if you work less than 120 hours in any given month, it is OK to pay you less.

I have no idea if this rationale would hold up anywhere outside of your hogwon director's thick skull, much less inside of a court of law, but I'm pretty sure that as soon as he saw you put up with taking a paycut once, he was convinced it was OK to do it for the rest of your contract.

Hogwon owners are snakes, and you're not the first teacher to be suckered by one, nor will you be the last.
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Kiddirts



Joined: 25 Jul 2003

PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2003 9:32 pm    Post subject: yeah Reply with quote

It says "minimum monthly payment despite however many hours worked is 2.6"
I think I need to get on my horse...
What are the chances I see this money if I take the legal route?
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