Korean Job Discussion Forums

[depth]

hi all,

if any of the forum experts could please advise.....

the boss has agreed to provide NHIC health insurance, but she wants to make the NHIC application for me as a contractor, not as an employee.

effectively this cuts the contributions for both her and me, by half.

will this create any problems in making claims should i encounter any illness later on?

should i not agree to sign my signature on the application form and instead have her sign on my behalf?

the reason im asking is that i like my job and don't want to push my boss to the point where she may consider replacing me. (ie demand NHIC application as employee)

......

dont worry, i will be making sure im registered as an employee for my pension...that is next on my to do list


......

thanks in advance for any answers...

[inkoreaforgood]

HA!!!

Once you are registered as a contractor, that's it. Up the river. Across the board, you're a contractor.

How much money do you think you'll save on NHIC? how much will you lose on pension?

BTW, the boss must register you for the NHIC, not their choice. It's the law.

[depth]

[Whistleblower]

Sometimes, money is not really that important. My well fare is the most important in my opinion.

[ttompatz]

[depth]

[ttompatz]

IF you are at less than 6 months she is likely to replace you (if she can) because if you press for it she will face additional problems for past transgressions and she won't be able to get away with it in the future (meaning the expenses will go on long after you are gone).

IF you have been there for more than 6 months then getting rid of you is not so easy, especially if you file complaints and then let the dust fall where it may.

The 3rd alternative is to just buck up, eat the losses and look for better for your next contract. You are here, and after a completed contract become an asset that a good hakwon would want .. or transition to a decent PS position and not have to worry about all of this.

I can understand not wanting to jump from the pan into the fire... so maybe let the dogs lie and start looking for something else (and bank some coin to get you through the dead month in between jobs).

9 months is the magic mark to transfer without a visa run (but you do need a LOR). File your complaints with pension and labor AFTER you find a new job and have nothing to lose.

You can also quit anytime you find a new job providing you have a complete set of new documents for the new visa application. Stop at immigration and tell them you quit, get your exit order, apply for the new position, file the documents then make a quick trip to Japan for the new visa and you are good as gold.

You have options... and committing fraud is NOT the best one.

.

[inkoreaforgood]

I'd push for not cutting corners there, give your boss some good reasons, tell her people get caught and the fines from the pension office can be quite large. Tell her your worried about those fines, and can't afford to have to pay those later.

Really, this is all about your boss being a cheapskate. Later on, it's not going to get better, only worse.

[icicle]

My situation is a little different from yours ... But I will tell you what happened in my situation ... I started from the premise that I was not going to accept a job that did not include both health insurance and pension in the contract .. so that contract I signed had both included. Just before I was due to be paid for the first time .. I was presented with at least the possibility of a situation similar to what you are facing ... It would have given me health insurance like you are describing and no pension and the higher tax rate ... I gather from what she said at the time that the contractor option it one which is often taken by the Korean teachers ... At the time I was too stunned I think at being presented with this when it had been important to me in looking for the job in the first place. I just said initially that I wanted to think about it overnight. I really wanted to confirm the legality of it and decide how to respond. I did check it out and knew that I did not want it (I lost too much) and doubted its legality in any case. But I just approached it the next day with the (true) line that both medical insurance and pension were two things that had been very important to me in deciding which job to accept and that I wanted to keep both of them as per the contract I had signed. This was simply accepted as my decision and while it was not correctly taken out of my first pay (they said they were waiting for confirmation of amounts or something similar) it was corrected with my second pay and has been done correctly since then. This has included the correct tax rate (as per the website). The 3.3% tax rate was shown in my contract but after the "discussion" I have only ever had the correct tax amount taken out of my pay each pay. I did not approach this issue with my employer from the position that they were trying to rip me off (and avoid paying for the health/pension) so I guess avoided putting anyone in a defensive position. I guess that for me it did end up being a cool rational discussion and I did learn why some people do prefer to pay the higher contractor tax rate and get the refund at the end of the year ... or not to pay into pension (which goes with the contractor position) ... I simply gave my decision and why I was not prepared to accept anything else .... and have not had any flack from that at what is now 4 months down the track ...
I am the only full time Native Teacher at my school. There are several full time Korean Teachers and a couple of part time Native teachers ...

[valkyrian2]

And you, after 4 months now, have your NHIC medical booklet in hand and have confirmed that the pension office does indeed have an account in your name and the contributions were correctly made?

[depth]

thanks ttompatz, inkoreaforgood and icicle,

NHIC and pension are already in my contract. i fought tooth and nail with the recruiter to have NHIC and pension included in the contract.

i thought everything was sorted out. i can't believe the boss is prepared to play this game, knowing that i could have her reported to the pension office etc.

well, icicle looks like you were offered exactly the same deal as me - contractor NHIC - even though we both have contracts that clearly state that we are employees and are to receive NHIC and pension.

thankyou so much everyone for your responses. i will take the cool approach as outline by icicle and hope for the best.

thanks again

[spliff]

If my boss was trying to rip me off I'd take any approach instead of the "cool" one. In fact, I'd be downright ballistic about it. What r u ....a bleeding doormat?

[yingwenlaoshi]

Health and pension need not be mentioned in the contract. Same with taxes. They're not contractual things.

And spliff is right.

[ontheway]

OP:

Tell your boss (calmly, if you can) that you took this job only because you had been guaranteed in your contract that you would recieve health insurance, and have pension and taxes withheld correctly. Insist that you be given what you agreed on. Stand your ground.

[icicle]