Korean Job Discussion Forums

timolein23 · Joined: 08 Sep 2009

I will be leaving my contract in January and have a question regarding my severance pay. I was under the understaning that severance pay was being paid when I took this hagwon job because I got it through a friend and he had it paid. However for the new round of native teachers they excluded it from the contract we signed without anyone noticing.

After I noticed I had them write in a little extra bit in the contract about severance pay and sign it. Will this stand up or is this not legally binding as the original one i signed did not have this in. Got a feeling they will try to screw me when I leave.

Is severance pay mandatory or does it have to be stated in the contract?

bliss · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Location: Gyeonggi

My understanding is:

If they have registered you as an 'employee' (and not an 'independent contractor) then they are legally required to pay your severance on the completion of one year, regardless of what it says in the contract.

The key is to find out what your employment status is. Some clues: If you are an 'employee', they will be contributing 50% to your pension and 50% to your insurance, and your tax rate should be around 1.4%. If you are 'independent contractor', you probably won't be receiving those benefits and your tax rate will be 3.3% of salary.

CentralCali · Joined: 17 May 2007

The boss isn't off the hook for severance pay if he's pulling that "independent contractor" stunt with you. The Korean court has already ruled that that particular "legal fiction" is invalid if the terms of the contract have you de facto as an employee.

bliss · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Location: Gyeonggi

So therefore, you should fight tooth and nail to get your severance pay. And you should also tell the newer employees at your hagwon to fight tooth and nail too, even though severance is not included in their contracts.

ontheway · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:11 am Post subject: Re: severance pay

timolein23 · Joined: 08 Sep 2009

thanks for the information. Im paying the 3.3% tax so maybe I am deemed an independent contractor. If its required by law I will make suire I get it then. I am staying in the country anyway so I should I have plenty of time to make sure they pay it. They will probably pay it without any problems but I was just getting a bit suspicious. Thanks again for the advice