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How long should you wait to get your final pay?
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lifeinkorea



Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Location: somewhere in China

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 7:01 am    Post subject: How long should you wait to get your final pay? Reply with quote

I am transferring to another school. My current school talked to me about pay for my final working days, the 900,000 won security deposit, and my severance (which I understand is the average of my last 3 months of salary). I will finish mid-September and they said they wouldn't pay me until the end of the month. Is this normal? Should I expect it earlier? The school is an elementary school in Gyeonggi-do.
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iggyb



Joined: 29 Oct 2003

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting question since its a public school. How are you paid - in cash or other form?

My guess would be that they probably do need to wait until the end of the month. Unlike hakwons, it isn't a business regularly taking in tuition month to month. It is part of a government bureaucracy.

--- If it were a school in the US, they might have to wait for the city or county to cut the checks which they do once a month. --- Or in other words, the school itself would not have the money for pay until a certain time each month when the city or county processes payroll.

The first time I went to Korea to teach, I was leaving grad school where I had a TA position that came with a monthly stipend, and I needed to get my last pay early because I was leaving before the semester officially came to an end. --- and I had to go through a lot of running around between offices before I got to somebody who had the authority to tell the people in payroll to go ahead and cut an individual check instead of waiting for the batch at the end of the month.
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:35 pm    Post subject: Re: How long should you wait to get your final pay? Reply with quote

lifeinkorea wrote:
I am transferring to another school. My current school talked to me about pay for my final working days, the 900,000 won security deposit, and my severance (which I understand is the average of my last 3 months of salary). I will finish mid-September and they said they wouldn't pay me until the end of the month. Is this normal? Should I expect it earlier? The school is an elementary school in Gyeonggi-do.


Your severance is actually 1/12 of all your monthly salaries (since almost everyone works a year, of course, that equals to 1 months salary. If you worked say 16 months, you would be entitled to 1.25 of a monthly salary.) I mean, not talking about overtime, saying the average last 3 months would be basically the same thing, unless you worked more than a year.

The school has 14 days to pay you from your last day of work before you can do anything about it.
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the ireland



Joined: 11 May 2008
Location: korea

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

you don't get paid 1.25 for working 1 year and a quarter, your severance does not equate to 1/12th of what you work, it only equates to the year you worked, so it's a one month bonus per year and if you work two years you get two months bonus. (or you can take your bonus every year if you wish)

However if you only work 20 months you still only get your one month bonus, unless you have signed a contract that stipulates otherwise!!
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

the ireland wrote:
you don't get paid 1.25 for working 1 year and a quarter, your severance does not equate to 1/12th of what you work, it only equates to the year you worked, so it's a one month bonus per year and if you work two years you get two months bonus. (or you can take your bonus every year if you wish)

However if you only work 20 months you still only get your one month bonus, unless you have signed a contract that stipulates otherwise!!


No, I'm right. I'll find a government English site if I can, but just to get you started, here's what footprints says...

http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/contracts-and-legalities-in-korea/severance-pay-aka-bonus
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, here's something a little more official...

http://www.fsc.go.kr/downManager?bbsid=BBS0052&no=15235

Quote:
The new retirement pension law provides for both defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans and leaves it up to the employer and the employees to decide which plan suits them best along with the existing lump-sum retirement payment system. Under the defined benefit plans, the employer pays out retirement pension payments that are determined on the basis of the level of salaries and the length of employment of the retiring employee. With the defined contribution plans, employers make annual contributions�1/12 of the employee�s annual salary�to individual accounts established for each of the eligible employees, who are then more or less responsible for allocating the contributions into various investments for retirement benefits. The new law also provides for individual retirement accounts for employees who received severance pay or other compensation from the previous employer for use after retirement.


This law applies to EVERYONE in Korea.

Now, if you know of some other law, please show.

Oh, for those interested, the legal name of severance is apparently the "Defined Contribution" Pension Plan.
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cruisemonkey



Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Carla,

Pension and severance are two totally different things. Wink
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cruisemonkey wrote:
Carla,

Pension and severance are two totally different things. Wink



Yes and no. They are two different things, but severance is actually a government enforced private plan that the companies have to abide by.

Oh, also called the "Retirement Allowance System"

Geesh, pick a name already.... LOL
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

the ireland wrote:
so it's a one month bonus per year and if you work two years you get two months bonus. (or you can take your bonus every year if you wish)


Quote:
(3) An employer may, at the request of workers, pay severance pay in advance for the period of continuous employment of the worker concerned by adjusting the balances of remunerations before his retirement, irrespective of the provisions of paragraph (1). In this case, the number of years of continuous employment for the computation of severance pay shall be counted anew from the moment the latest adjustment of balances has been made.



And so if you take it after 1 year, you restart the clock, and if you quit after 6 months, you get nothing. But, if you did not take your severance at the 1 year mark, and quit after 6 months, you would get 1.5 months salary.
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, this is much simpler.

A quick question and answer on the Ministry of Labor Website.

http://www.molab.go.kr/english/Information/qna_view.jsp?idx=68

Much easier to read than all those legal mumbo jumbo. Laughing

Question:
Quote:
When you work for a company for 18 months how is your severance pay calculated? Do you get one months pay for the first 12 months worked and half that amount for the remaining 6 months? Or do you only get severance pay for each full year that is worked? Thanks in advance for a quick reply.


Answer:
Quote:
Dear Jessica : It depends on the continunace of your work. If your labor contract was renewed, with the expiration of the first year contract, we can call it continance of your work. In this regard, we are entitled to getting severance pay for one and half months. Have a nice day !