Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mistermasan]

can they legally fire you for geting sick? a friend of a friend has been out for a week and boss dropped the hammer. this can't be right. she is/was seriously ill.

[jellobean]

Get a doctor's note and call labor. I'm not sure if they can do this, but I'd be surprised if they don't have to give her 30 days notice if she hasn't broken a specific contract provision.

[robot]

Seems unfair, but unfortunately getting axed for extended leaves like that is pretty common here in Korea.

I had food poisoning once just after arriving in Korea, and got on the phone in the morning to call in sick. I figured my boss would be sympathetic to my bad-seafood-induced agony. Instead, he was livid, and said that if I didn't show up, I would permanently lose those classes -- basically firing me, as it would half my monthly paycheque. So I came in and puked my guts out all day.

What does your friend's contract say?

[jeffkim1972]

99% of the job is just being there. Just by seeing you, they think they're learning English.

[plus99]

yeah ive pretty much been sick since ive been here. 3 months, i hate it but i keep showing up. not that im saying anyone should be fired for doing otherwise

[Ya-ta Boy]

I don't know if it's legal, but it happens.

One co-worker was in the hospital with pneumonia. The boss went to the hospital and told the guy he was using up all his vacation time. If he wasn't back at school by the time his alloted vacation days were up, he'd be fired.

Another co-worker broke a leg. He came back with crutches, and was fired after 2 days. School said it didn't look good to have a teacher hobbling around on crutches. A few weeks later, they re-hired him when they couldn't find a replacement. Then, because he was a lousy teacher, they re-fired him for not showing up for the umpteenth time.

I don't know if it happens to good teachers. The 'rules' may be different.

[elliemk]

Yes, it happens to 'good' teachers. It just happened to me. The day before the Lunar New Year holiday, I fell. I was on my way to work, singing happily and looking forward instead of down. I tripped on a sidewalk that was broken. I landed on both ankles, spraining one and breaking the other one (hairline fracture). My manager told me to come to school and I did, somehow. I could barely walk -- the pain was so intense. When she saw I really wasn't fooling about being hurt, she said she'd take me to the hospital. But I had already called my minister, and he came to get me, thus freeing her up for her own classes.

I wound up with soft casts on both legs. The following Monday after the holiday, I got hard casts on both legs. The director called my recruiter that day and told him I was fired because he didn't want the parents complaining.

It was only my third day on the new job. The doctor said one cast would come off in a week and the other in two weeks. But the director didn't care. He cheated me out of $150 in pay, but to his credit, he said he would let me stay in the apartment until the second cast comes off.

He did 'let' me teach Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week, so they could rearrange the schedule and let the Korean teachers have my classes until they could find a replacement.

Turns out I got a new job on Wednesday with another school in the same chain. The director of the old one even gave me a good reference. Go figure!

[Freakstar]

[elliemk]

Thanks for your kind thoughts. That's only the tip of the iceberg story in one of several horror stories here in Korea for me. However, I still want to stay here. I love Korea and the many kind Koreans and foreigners I've met!

[Mi Yum mi]

[nomad-ish]

[cboulton72]

A few years back I was sick with strep throat and it developed into a bloody, pussey, feverish mess. My doctor called my work place and told them I couldn't work but they said I had to come in! I went in BUT then my mom called and gave the director an earful. (LOL I was 32 at the time so felt a bit embarrassed with that!) They let me go home for a couple of days. When I came back...no voice! The end result was me being fired! They blamed me for all of the complaints that they'd been getting. Ugh!!
However...I found better jobs with better employees! Live and learn. Don't let it get you down.

[Stormy]

[aquagirl]

I work as an editor/writer in a small PR company. Yesterday one of my coworkers came into work with a rotten cold and was coughing and sneezing all over the place (5 of us share one room). He obviously should have been at home because he spent most of the day sleeping at his desk. I started getting a sore throat and when I woke up this morning I couldn't talk, had a fever etc...so I called in sick and went to the doctor who told me I have tonsilitis and the flu. He gave me a medical certificate in Korean stating that I need 3-4 days at home to rest. I called my manager and told him that I wouldn't be coming in tomorrow and faxed him the certificate. His response was basically "I don't care what the doctor says, you should come to work". The thing is that I can work from home - I just edit and write documents so it's no big deal...I guess in Korea being sick is unacceptable unless you're dying!

[mindmetoo]

I've heard of women getting fired for being pregnant. And Korea complains about its low birth rate. Korea sparkling!