Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lille]

My mid-sized hogwon has called a mandatory, unpaid eight-hour meeting day to be held a few saturdays from now. Previous meetings (say the older teachers) had little information that was at all relevant to the teachers, and mostly consisted of silly bureaucratic time-wasting. Needless to say, none of the foreign teachers - a good dozen of us, give or take - want anything to do with this meeting, but feel trapped on the matter. To add insult to injury, the meeting is also in Bundang, where headquarters is. Half the teachers live and work in downtown Seoul, and the commute would add an extra unpaid 90-120 mins to our day.

Without payment, let alone overtime, are we legally obligated to attend? Will we have much luck swaying the management if the dozen of us stand together on it?

Would a good old-fashioned contract-thumping be in order, or would this kind of demand register with our bosses as Western-centric and entitled?

Any advice would be much appreciated! The Saturday in question is also Seoul Pride. Who wants to miss that? The stakes are high on this one.

[polonius]

I would politely talk to the manager and say, "You know, Saturdays are very important to Foreign teachers as it is a time for us to go tour around Seoul and other parts of Korea. We don't have the chance otherwise to go visiting the sites."

Once the manager says no to that, then still politely, but firmly say, "You know that in the contract it says that we don't have to work Saturdays, and furthermore, if we do, we should be paid overtime." (Assuming something like that is in the contract.)

You could have all 12 foreign teachers talk to the manager at the same time, so show a unified front.

I would also ask for travel costs.

You could also suggest that if it is possible, rather than showing up to the meeting, the foreign teachers be given the meeting notes. And, make sure that the WHOLE meeting is in ENGLISH.

Stand your ground, because once you give a mouse a cookie, then next they are going to ask for a glass of milk.

[tired of LA]

[VanIslander]

no (and no)

[okokok]

Tell them you didn't come half-way around the world to have worse working conditions than you would have had back home. And simply don't go.

[antoniothegreat]

[ED209]

You could argue that the meeting location is not on your visa, so technically it would be breaking visa rules for you to attend a meeting not at your place of work. This is probably over your bosses head as few have any understanding of the obligations foreigners have to Korean visa rules.


See if you can negotiate some extra vacation out of this.

[gangwonbound]

Tell them you are in morning with the whole NMH thing

[agoodmouse]

Say you've got to go to Korean class at SNU or Sookmyeong University.

[lille]

tiredofla,

our contract mentions a mandatory training day every quarter. this could be it, but it certainly doesn't include the word 'unpaid'. i saw in the korean labor standards act that any clause in a contract that was in violation with that act would be rendered null, so perhaps there's an out there if i can pick through the legalese.

antonio,

that's as good a last resort as any. what would be fantastic would be having eighteen foreign teachers all text that excuse in at once.

[moosehead]

you're very sorry but you're traveling out of town that weekend and already have made plans

you're sorry you're studying K that day

you're sorry you volunteer with the orphanage that day

you're sorry you have a dentist appointment that day

you're sorry people are flying in from your home country that day

you get the point - also don't hold your breath that ALL the other NETs will band together on this - there's always at least ONE spineless jellyfish more than ready to splatter other's fun

[ChinaBoy]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

It would all depend on how much I liked my school. I went on a Fri-Sat workshop last year, that was of course unpaid. But I like my coworkers and consider myself part of the team so why wouldn't I? In the case of a hagwon, though, it would have to be a pretty fantastic job before I'd do it.

[Adventurer]

If it is a mandatory meeting does it have to be paid as overtime? It could be viewed as not overtime since you are technically not working but attending a mandatory meeting. You are on salary and as part of the agreement is to attend the meeting. However, I am not a lawyer. Perhaps, it can be argued such a meeting should be paid for as the contract doesn't state you should be attend meetings on a Saturday. If they say there's a mandatory meeting, you could say that your schedule says you only work Monday through Friday, and they cannot schedule a meeting on the weekend. And if it's a meeting that's conducted way too much in Korean, there is a chance the foreign staff will be fuming internally. It's not the end of the world if you attend and you like your job. If it's a stellar hagwon, not such a huge deal, but if not, then not.

[Demophobe]

Suck it up. Go to the meeting and stop whining. Any meeting they want all teachers to attend is going to intrude on someone's time. Its a lose-lose situation for all involved.

Ever thought that the meeting might somehow benefit you? At least turning up without kicking and screaming will make you seem like an adult.