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fromtheuk
Joined: 31 Mar 2007
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 Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:44 am Post subject: How fromtheuk left his job |
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I am now back in England. It's nice to see my family again.
I am due to start my next job in Saudi in late September. The pay will be double the amount I used to get in Korea. 
I have worked with GEPIK for the last 2 and a bit years.
I was offered a new job in Saudi, but I have to start work in September.
I signed the contract about a week ago. This created a dilemma. How could I accept this job and give 60 days notice to my Korean employer?
I also must mention I got divorced in April, it's relevant to my story.
I came back to England on Sunday. I didn't tell my employer I intended to leave. I booked a ticket for this weekend last week.
I've just sent an email to my school and the board of education. I explained that I recently got divorced and returned to spend time with my family. I apologized for giving them such short notice and thanked them in advance for their understanding during this difficult time.
I told them I had paid the bills and I also listed items of my own I had left behind in my apartment. I told them I hope they find a new teacher soon and I also apologized for leaving so quickly.
My latest co-teacher has been unhelpful, openly disrespectful, evasive and very cold. She is so objectionable, I feel no guilt about what I had to do.
I feel happy to leave her in the lurch and I sincerely hope she is given a large amount of stress from the Principal over my sudden departure. I also hope the next native teacher may receive better treatment as a result of my quick exit.
I was talking to a Korean guy on the plane about my experience in the public school system. He was travelling to Qatar on business. I explained to him the full story, he told me in my position he would also have left the job the way I did!
Lastly, I would have given 60 days notice if the new job began in December. However, they need me now and the offer is far better than my job in Korea, so how could I refuse?
The bottom line is if Korean co-teachers think it is acceptable to mock and disrespect native teachers, without any consequences, they are totally stupid.
I will not miss my co-teacher or my school.
Positive experiences in Korea seemed to take place only outside work. As I was driven by taxi to the bus terminal on my way to Incheon Airport, I struck up a conversation with a truly pleasant taxi driver.
We parted company and he asked me to return to Korea again someday. I thought to myself, if you were my co-teacher, I'd be happy to return.
Good riddance to nasty co-teachers. I hope my co-teacher will squirm on Monday. The other native teacher at our school said he will keep me posted. |
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madoka
Joined: 27 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 11:22 am Post subject: |
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This has got to be the longest, most protracted goodbye ever. It's been going on for like a month. I'm pretty convinced now that you will never, ever leave these forums.  |
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fromtheuk
Joined: 31 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 12:48 pm Post subject: |
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| But this is new information. I will leave, soon. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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fromtheuk - I normally take your posts with a pinch of salt, giving you the benefit of the doubt and so forth.
But this is quite despicable. |
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pie eater
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: The Bando
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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| tzechuk wrote: |
fromtheuk - I normally take your posts with a pinch of salt, giving you the benefit of the doubt and so forth.
But this is quite despicable. |
What?
He has left a job? He has gone without being paid for this month that he has worked - I don't see what despicable has got to do with it.
Not even SMOE, who stitched up a 100 teachers and then blamed runners and no-shows from previous years is despicable.
Despicable is Hitler, Poll Pot, George Bush - you understand?
Lets get it straight here.
As far as I am aware - people leave jobs all the time - a lot of times without notice when you are being treated badly. I don't see why because he is working in Korea the rules suddenly change?
Living in a free country means freedom of movement, freedom of thought and freedom of employment - FTUK is not a slave - why should he stick around if a better offer comes up - they would drop him like a sack of carrots if their blonde, blue eyed, north american dreamboat turned up! |
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ChopChaeJoe
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:53 pm Post subject: |
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| You quit, you left. End of story? |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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pie eater - everything you've said is true.
BUT
SMOE leaving people in the lurch. FTUK left people in the lurch. The underlying element is basically the same.
He left his job - but what about his students? Whether you consider your job to be important or not, your action affects more than just your employer.
It may be freedom of choice, but what would happen if you did this in your own country? You would get sued for a breach of contract. Why is it suddenly OK just because you are in a foreign country?
I am sorry, but I just completely disagree with *midnight runs*. |
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Kikomom
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: them thar hills--Penna, USA--Zippy is my kid, the teacher in ROK. You can call me Kiko
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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Classic Midnight Run.
| madoka wrote: |
| I'm pretty convinced now that you will never, ever leave these forums. |
I hope he doesn't leave the forums. I want to hear about Saudi and how it goes there. Granted, he's a Muslim man and will probably be treated very well. (Good for you, FTUK) But I still want to hear his take on it if he chooses to share with an honest assessment of the next situation. |
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pie eater
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: The Bando
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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| tzechuk wrote: |
pie eater - everything you've said is true.
BUT
SMOE leaving people in the lurch. FTUK left people in the lurch. The underlying element is basically the same.
He left his job - but what about his students? Whether you consider your job to be important or not, your action affects more than just your employer.
It may be freedom of choice, but what would happen if you did this in your own country? You would get sued for a breach of contract. Why is it suddenly OK just because you are in a foreign country?
I am sorry, but I just completely disagree with *midnight runs*. |
You have obviously never worked in the UK - you have the right to withdraw your labour at any time - that is the basic rule of labour laws in the UK which were fought for and won by the unions many years ago.
Say - I left my place of work - they have to pay me for everyday I have worked - I don't even have to give them notice - and if they had a contract where they put in monetary penalties in lieu of notice - I would put them in a small claims court and win. I know this because I put eight of my former employers in court who tried to rip me off on my last payment and I have always won. Any contract that differs from what I have written in basically illegal.
Now - if we are talking about the moral aspect - I mean the thing is Tzechuk - you know and I know and FTUK knows that if the children came first - then there would be a better class of teacher in the country in the first place - but the facts are - and without getting all Michael Jackson onto you - the childrens needs comes way the list, as does being a good teacher, having good qualifications and experience - some of these clowns would not get a teaching job anywhere else.
And do you know why quality is lacking in ESL in Korea? Because a decent teacher is not going to go 10000 miles away from home to be treated like crap! Ask Sir Trevor McDonald - bad news travels fast! For the first time ever - there has been an overload of applicants escaping a recession - if the Koreans had half a brain - they could use this time to saturate the Korean market for jobhunters for the next ten years - but typically - silly Koreans will mess up this lifetime chance by treating these newcomers like shit and the average percentage of runners on an E2 visa (somewhere around 50%) will be maintained.
FTUK has already stated that he has been treated like crap at this school, so loyalty to a school who are treating like dirt is misguided at best. In my eyes he has done nothing wrong - but it is just a personal opinion - and the treatment Korean schools get from some teachers who aren't afriad to stand up to them is the least they deserve. |
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asmith
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm going to miss that guy. |
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nobbyken
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Location: Yongin ^^
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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| A thought just came to me, wouldn't it be a pleasure to be sat beside a Daves poster on a long haul flight. |
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detourne_me
Joined: 26 May 2006
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:33 pm Post subject: |
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| nobbyken wrote: |
| A thought just came to me, wouldn't it be a pleasure to be sat beside a Daves poster on a long haul flight. |
HAHAHAAH! I like your style! |
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oskinny1
Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Location: Right behind you!
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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| pie eater wrote: |
You have obviously never worked in the UK |
And we aren't working in the UK now. You signed a contract saying that you will give 30 days notice. Also, he didn't give up a months pay, well, at least at my school they pay you on the 25th for the entire month's work (January's paycheck is given 25, January).
| Quote: |
| and the average percentage of runners on an E2 visa (somewhere around 50%) will be maintained. |
Really? Where did you see this?
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| who aren't afriad to stand up to them is the least they deserve. |
Running away is standing up to them? |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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Pie eater, I am from the UK - got both my BBA and MBA from the UK. Studied Labour Law, too.
A contract is a contract. If it stipulates that you have to give notice, then you HAVE to give notice, otherwise it is a breach of contract.
Unless things have changed in the last 8 years since I got my BBA, I think this still stands. |
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pie eater
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: The Bando
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| Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| nobbyken wrote: |
| A thought just came to me, wouldn't it be a pleasure to be sat beside a Daves poster on a long haul flight. |
Yeah - I can think of nothing more boring than being sat next to some boring bible basher on a 12 hour flight - Oh wait...  |
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