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Korean Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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terratreadder
Joined: 16 Jan 2007
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:13 pm Post subject: What does "required to" mean? |
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So, I have volunteered to do 8 Saturday classes. I assumed that this was fulfilling a requirement of my contract. Now, my boss says that I must work 4 more saturdays.
Here's the scenario: I don't have enough hours this month during regularly scheduled days (M-F). So, my boss signs me up for Saturday classes. I really didn't have a problem with it until he tried to strong arm me into doing the classes (I would have done the classes if he simply asked me to help him out this month). I told him that he can't do it because I worked 8 classes already. Even his boss acknowledges that I fulfilled the requirement. Yet, I still have to teach the Saturday classes in order to "make up my hours."
I say it is their mistake and they have to deal with me going beneath the minimum hours.
The wording in my contract is something like: required to work up to eight saturday classes.
So, did I fulfil a requirement or was I just being a nice guy?[/u] |
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OculisOrbis

Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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if you worked your 8 saturdays, you have fulfilled the requirement.
now, it's up to your boss to schedule your hours from monday to friday. if he cant do that, you dont need to give your saturdays to compensate for his managerial incompetence. |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Location: somewhere in China
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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You might be a nice guy, but NOT because of this. Also, there is no such thing as "volunteering". If it says Saturday in the contract, then you have to work on Saturdays. In more accurate terms, you have to be available on Saturday for up to 8 hours.
The determining factor is the TOTAL number of hours you are required to teach. When I taught at a hagwon it was 28 at one, and maybe 30 at another (but it never came close to 30, so I just did whatever schedule they wanted).
If you agreed to 30 hours also, and you taught 22, then you got to look at how much time you needed to prepare for classes and such. Again, I was never scheduled the full 30 hours, and I did work at one school which had me be available 9am-10pm. The total never posed a problem.
If 22 seems like a lot in relationship to what you actually prepared and taught, I would argue this. If you simply did a few lessons over and over again to the same level students, then you didn't put a lot into preparing for lessons.
The only thing we have to work with here is the 8 hours they wanted you to do on Saturday. If 8 hours is the norm, then that would mean mon-fri would be 40 hours. Is your salary that high that you would be paid for a full 40 hour week? I am assuming no. Therefore, time off comes to mind. If they don't have the students during the week, then you should be allowed more time off where you don't have to come into work. You would simply be moving some of your week hours over to Saturday.
When they get more students during the week, then they pay you overtime. Don't let them stretch your availability without getting overtime. That is always your marker of how much "extra" you are working. As long as they give and take, I would go along with it.
At the hagwons I worked at, I would go in for 8 hours Monday-Thursday. That comes to 32 hours, but sometimes I didn't have to come in, or I could leave between the hours. It didn't amount to much of a loss. It also gave me a Friday off for a three day weekend. Maybe you could get your Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off. If not, I would definitely try to get at least two days. My preference is to have them in a row. Each person is different, so try to negotiate with them and make sure they know you want to teach the students when the school has them, but you don't want to be there if they don't need you. They usually like that.
Last edited by lifeinkorea on Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:43 pm; edited 5 times in total |
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terratreadder
Joined: 16 Jan 2007
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:36 pm Post subject: That's for the vote of confindence OculisOrbis! |
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Anyone know any reputable lawyers? |
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OculisOrbis

Joined: 17 Jul 2006
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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you dont need a lawyer, you just need to learn and use this word: 'No' |
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nobbyken

Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Location: Yongin ^^
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 11:25 pm Post subject: |
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terratreadder wrote: |
The wording in my contract is something like: required to work up to eight saturday classes. |
That could be interpretated something like you should be available to do between 1 and 8 classes on Saturdays.
It is normal in Korea for people to work 6 days a week, at least every other week, so you should ask for another free day through the week to make up for your lost Saturday. |
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