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Olivencia
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:58 am Post subject: Work hours = Teaching hours?? |
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The contract reads the "work hours" will be 100 hours per month.
But in reality the teacher "teaches" 100 hours per month but has to be at work (working) for 120 hours a month. Is the hogwon in violation of the contract? |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Location: somewhere in China
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:19 am Post subject: |
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They probably mean 25/week. The hours are between you and them. I did 28 at a hagwon, 22 at a public school with 4 overtime hours, and now I am also at 25 (30 if you count 1 hour prep hours, so I have 120 like you).
With the public school, I had to be there 40 hours even though I only taught 22 regular classes. I think what we have is a better deal. |
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nomad-ish

Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Location: On the bottom of the food chain
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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it sounds like they're in violation. there are work hours (how many hours you are at school, either teaching or prepping) and then there's teaching hours (how many hours you are actually teaching students).
for example, at most public schools, you work 40 hours a week, but teach only for 22 of those hours in a week. |
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cruisemonkey

Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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nomad-ish wrote: |
for example, at most public schools, you work 40 hours a week, but teach only for 22 of those hours in a week. |
At most PSs, one teaches 22 classes/week and each class is:
40 min. - elementary;
45 min. - middle school; and,
50 min. - high school. |
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Olivencia
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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ok ...the contract only says 100 working hours - teaching hours are not specified at all but the actual amount of time at work is 125. |
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cruisemonkey

Joined: 04 Jul 2005 Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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Olivencia wrote: |
ok ...the contract only says 100 working hours - teaching hours are not specified at all but the actual amount of time at work is 125. |
Then you can expect to be actually teaching for 100 hours (6000 minutes - we don't know how long the classes are) of your 125 hours/month. |
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Olivencia
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 5:35 pm Post subject: |
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but it says working for 100. that is it - teaching hors are not specified at all. that is the total time of work..why then be there for 125? |
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English Matt

Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:53 am Post subject: |
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Olivencia wrote: |
but it says working for 100. that is it - teaching hors are not specified at all. that is the total time of work..why then be there for 125? |
For prep....but I would imagine mostly to satisfy the ego of the hagwon owner. Or to appease his sense of how things should be; maybe he wants you in the office in case parents stroll in to sign their kid up for classes. It could be any number of reasons. Although I can come and go as I please, my PS contract stipulates 35 hours a week plus 5 hours of lunch. That's 40 hours onsite, 8:30am - 4:30pm, a week; in a month that works out to approximately 174 hours. I really don't see that you have much to complain about. You are at work for just over 30 hours a week which is less than you would be doing in a job back home, and you teach 25 hours a week, or less if you are calculating per month, which is less than all of my hagwon friends.
Whatever your feelings about the situation, you are unlikely to get your boss to acquiesce to your demands and are more than likely to worsen your situation if you bring it up with him. If he fired you for asserting your contractual rights, you could always take your case to the Ministry of Labour.....however those cases can take over a year to obtain a judgement (during which time you have to remain in Korea) and even if they ruled in your favour it's up to you to enforce any judgement.....meaning you will likely never see any money.
Why run the risk of screwing yourself over like that when your situation is really not that bad? |
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Olivencia
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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It doesn't matter if I would be working less than a job back home. The contract says 100 working hours a month. The fact that I am working 125 hours a month violates the contract. In the OP I asked if they were violating the contract but so far from the responses I have seen nothing shows me they are adhering to the contract. |
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English Matt

Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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Olivencia wrote: |
It doesn't matter if I would be working less than a job back home. The contract says 100 working hours a month. The fact that I am working 125 hours a month violates the contract. In the OP I asked if they were violating the contract but so far from the responses I have seen nothing shows me they are adhering to the contract. |
Please read the rest of my post...even if you are in the right, you will not win so why bother. |
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steveinincheon
Joined: 14 Jul 2009 Location: in The Shadows of Gyeyangsan
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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The only part of the contract that really matters is the Korean original. If the Korean specifies that you will be "working" 100 hours per month, - it basically means that you will have to spend up to 6000 minutes a month teaching. If your boss requires you to be at work before and after you teach classes, you really don't have grounds to file a complaint as long as you don't spend ludicrously long hours sitting there doing nothing. I personally wouldn't sign a contract that doesnt specify the hours I'm required to be present at the work place- but just because your contract doesn't specify them isn't going to give you an out for staying for prep time etc. |
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