Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jklunder]

Hello All,

I see RMNC has posted a very informative thread about how to tell a good contract from a bad one.

1. Is anyone out there willing to work with me to design an ideal template of a contract that could be presented to our employers?

If we had this ideal template, we as teachers would be protected because every detail would be in place. Employers would be protected because every detail would be set in stone, not leaving anyone room to assume wrong things and dispute later (or give the school a bad reputation).

Either way, working together to create this template will be much more efficient than the 20+ pages of reviewing each others' work on the forum.

2. I intend to post a sample "ideal" contract and hope others will review it, critique, and work with me to make it the best it can be (for the sake of my job and everyone else).

Thanks for the consideration,

Joe

[schwa]

I see what you're trying to do but doesnt it occur to you that a job applicant foisting his or her own self-written contract on a would-be employer might seem a bit, um, uppity?

[jklunder]

1. I can agree with your point of view, that writing a contract could seem arrogant if done in the wrong way.

2. However, I think that by designing a contract that is fair to both parties, there will be less need for ambiguity and fighting later on. After all, a little trouble.

3. While the benefits to the teacher are obvious, I'm guessing that there are also plenty of benefits to the employer, including:

a. Exclusivity of employment (i.e. side tutoring is punishable by termination without written permission)
b. 30 days notice must be given before resigning abruptly
c. Mandatory enrollment of E-2 Visa Holders in national plan (as it's the law that participation is required).
d. Cost premium is 2.67%, half of which paid by the school, half by the employer.

4. Sample Document (here are the universal constants I see so far in every contract)

Name of Both Parties
Term
Duties (and working hours)
Salary (pay and overtime)
Housing
Vacation (and sick leave)
Pension
Tax (2% rate)
Airfare
Exclusive Employment
Jurisdiction

5. I will update as more develops

[jklunder]

Enclosed is an outline (taken from THE CONTRACT REVIEW THREAD:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=197658&highlight=tutoring) of what should be clear in both parties. Anyone can feel free to tell me what should be modified to this "universal checklist":

1. Name of Both Parties
a. Specifies employer/employee relationship (rather than independent contractor)

2. Term
a. Consecutive Twelve Month Term

3. Duties (and working hours)
a. Exact scheduled working days and working hours listed in the contract

4. Salary
a. Monthly Salary
b. Overtime (minimum of 20,000 won an hour); overtime must be optional and not forced
c. Exact Date of Payment Each Month
d. If teacher starts working in the middle of the month, they will be paid at a pro-rated rate.
e. Income tax of 2%, refunded at the end of each year

5. Housing
a. No deposit
b. Includes minimum of Bed and Air Conditioning
c. A single (i.e. no roommates)
d. Housing paid by employer; utilities, maintenance, and internet paid by employee

6. Vacation (and sick leave)
a. 3 days sick pay, with Dr.�s note
b. 10 vacation days, at the discretion of the employee; plus 12 standard national holidays, all paid by employee.

7. Pension (and severance pay)
a. 4.5% of monthly salary withheld from employment; an equal amount is matched to employee and given to them.
b. Severance pay of one month given by employer; failure to complete contract forfeits severance pay

8. Insurance
a. Enrollment in national health insurance is mandatory
b. 2.67% of gross salary; paid half by employer, half by teacher

9. Airfare
a. Round-trip airfare is to be paid or reimbursed by employer

10. Exclusive Employment
a. Other employment is prohibited, unless express written consent is given by the owner.

11. Jurisdiction (and termination notice)
a. Both parties agree to adhere to Korean law and its jurisdiction
b. 30 days standard notice before being laid off, and one month severance package given upon being laid off.
c. 30 days notice before resignation of position

[schwa]

[morrisonhotel]

Unless you have good experience (that is, a few years) and relevant qualifications, you have exactly 0 chance of using your own contract, and there's no group of teachers large enough in Korea working together to foist a standard contract on the industry. This is a employer's market. What makes you stand out from the rest of the newbies determines how much leverage you have on changing a contract. You're woefully naive if you think that fixing everything in place in a contract will force the employer to work within the boundaries of that contract (or, indeed, some employees) - see lack of pension payment, medical care, etc. all of which have to be legally provided.

[thegadfly]

employeR, employeE -- I know only one letter difference, but several clauses in your "perfect" contract need to be corrected.

Vacation at employer discretion, vacation paid by employer -- vacation at employee discretion will be a sticking point, and I certainly doubt teachers want to pay for their own vacation salary.

Pension is paid to the pension office, not the employee -- employee gets it, or doesn't, from the pension office, according to the applicable rules and regulations (as well as your nationality -- different countries have different pension treaties/agreements).

Taxes are paid according to a sliding scale, and overtime will alter the amount. A set rate of 2% isn't going to be correct in most cases, and not all of the taxes may be refunded -- again, refunds are from the government according to appropriate rules and regulations (as well as your nationality -- different countries have different tax treaties/agreements).

Airfare would need a clause to protect the employer -- typically it is "upon completion of a 1-year contract" or "retum airfare upon completion." Sure, you can TRY to get someone to sign off on this, but....

Otherwise, a pretty good basic contract....