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depth
Joined: 01 Feb 2008
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 Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:56 am Post subject: my academy scheduling over 30 classes - please advise |
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hi all if any of the forum experts can please advise...
my academy is hitting me up for 33 classes per week, where do i stand? can i stand my ground and say 30 is the max i will do (am not interested in requesting to be paid overtime)? does my contract back me up? here is the exact wording in my contract:
Working duties : up to 120 hours per month - any hours worked over 120 in any one month- or classes taught on weekend- shall be considered overtime. The working days are Monday to Friday. A teaching hour is defined as the unit of class, as prescribed by the Institute
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thank you for any help |
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Zackback
Joined: 05 Nov 2010
Location: Kyungbuk
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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You probably (?) are already aware of this but they might cut your hours down the following week to 27...or do any one of a number of maneuvers like that.
Have you already worked a full calendar month in excess of 120 hours....or do you think it is definitely headed that way? |
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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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how many minutes are considered a class?
it sounds like a class (could be 40 or 50 minute) is considered an hour.  |
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depth
Joined: 01 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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ive been there for 20 months...was doing 19 classes when i started and has gone up periodically. last 3 months its been 28 classes. they plan to hit me with 33 classes during the summer intensive.
my classes are 40 minutes long.
does the contract wording allow me to stand firm on 30 max per week? |
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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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very poor wording, but sound like 120 hours = 120 classes.
howeva, if your hagwon defines 90 or 120 minutes as their class unit, u r sol.
Last edited by Ramen on Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Katie26
Joined: 06 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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In a word doubtful.
If you work 33 40 minute classes you're still working under 30 hours a week... |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| depth wrote: |
ive been there for 20 months...was doing 19 classes when i started and has gone up periodically. last 3 months its been 28 classes. they plan to hit me with 33 classes during the summer intensive.
my classes are 40 minutes long.
does the contract wording allow me to stand firm on 30 max per week? |
You can stand on 30 hours per week but not 30 classes per week unless a class hour is actually defined somewhere in your contract as being less than 60 minutes in front of a class.
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depth
Joined: 01 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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30 hours = 45 classes of 40 minutes.
that means the directer can make incremental increases up to 45 classes a week. im not sure i will be happy waiting week by week for this to happen.
might be time to move to a public school |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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| does the contract wording allow me to stand firm on 30 max per week? |
The missing ingredient in all this is WORKLOAD. How many lessons are you preparing? Preparing one lesson and teaching it to 3 classes is a lot easier than making 3 different lessons or teaching 1 class for 2 hours.
30 hours is used by hagwons which include office hours. So, technically, these are not class hours (no 40 minute/hour argument here). However, since they include office hours, how many classes should you teach? I figure 25 is a good number to hold hagwons to for actual teaching and 1 hour/day for office hours.
How many lessons are you preparing to do 25 classes? If it is less than 10, then you can surely repeat one of those lessons or write up a couple more. If all you are doing is using the book material, and it's more of the same, then you could show your previous months schedules to the school and use that as a basis for overtime pay.
If you are new to ESL teaching or new to a certain age group, then you are better off with a hagwon that allows you to teach fewer lessons more often to more classes. If you already have lessons prepared, then you can more easily teach a wider variety and therefore teach different levels of students.
I am not the kind of teacher who goes to the "school" and stays there from start to finish. I go to school, teach some, then I leave. I'll return a few hours later and sometimes that means I have prepared the next lessons at home. If you are the same, you need to also account for these hours as the school has no way of keeping track. |
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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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| depth wrote: |
ive been there for 20 months...was doing 19 classes when i started and has gone up periodically. last 3 months its been 28 classes. they plan to hit me with 33 classes during the summer intensive.
my classes are 40 minutes long.
does the contract wording allow me to stand firm on 30 max per week? |
you been there 4 months shy of 2 years so i suggest you not show any sign of not renewing with them. be very ambiguous about renewing while hinting your disapproval of increased number of classes. get all the money you've earned and move on. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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| depth wrote: |
30 hours = 45 classes of 40 minutes.
that means the directer can make incremental increases up to 45 classes a week. im not sure i will be happy waiting week by week for this to happen.
might be time to move to a public school |
If a class hour is NOT defined in your contract and your contract reads 120 class hours per month then that is exactly what that means (doubly so if the "admin" work is included in your contract as a "job requirement" for which you do not get extra pay (normal)
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depth
Joined: 01 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:58 pm Post subject: |
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in february the director verbally confirmed classes would not go above 26 per week....in march classes went up to 28
2 weeks ago the director verbally confirmed the classes would not go above 28...next week (summer intensive) classes will go up to 33
can i raise these problems with the owner (ie the bs from the director) and expect to get anywhere or do you think the owner may take take offence / or just refer to the contract?
note: the previous director held to his verbal agreement not to go above 25 classes.
thanks for all the responses, they've been v.helpful |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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| depth wrote: |
ive been there for 20 months...was doing 19 classes when i started and has gone up periodically. last 3 months its been 28 classes. they plan to hit me with 33 classes during the summer intensive.
my classes are 40 minutes long.
does the contract wording allow me to stand firm on 30 max per week? |
Once the summer intensive is over, you'll be back to a lower number than 33, in itself quite acceptable. Sounds like you've been having a royal time of it all along.
To even open your trap at this time would be to invite bad karma, I feel.
You've got to enable the joint to make some money off you, so that they can pay you and keep a going concern. |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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He's meaning 26, 28, 33 for the [url]month[/url]. Not for the entirety of the contract.
Be more proactive. Ask politely for more details into the matter. You are not Korean so it's okay to ask questions to your boss.
If you are contracted for 30 classes per week then he's having you make up for the 2 'light' months.
Be prepared for a pay issue, also, as you might get paid at your regular salary due to the missed hours. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| depth wrote: |
in february the director verbally confirmed classes would not go above 26 per week....in march classes went up to 28
2 weeks ago the director verbally confirmed the classes would not go above 28...next week (summer intensive) classes will go up to 33
can i raise these problems with the owner (ie the bs from the director) and expect to get anywhere or do you think the owner may take take offence / or just refer to the contract?
note: the previous director held to his verbal agreement not to go above 25 classes.
thanks for all the responses, they've been v.helpful |
During summer (and winter intensives) it is quite common for classes to increase. However once they are over (a month or so) the number of classes will decrease. |
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