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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 11:37 pm Post subject: Boss refusing severance - options |
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back story: my wife visited my boss a few months ago to talk about why they tried to screw me with tax and 4.5% pension contributions. (they registered me as earning 700k a month, not 2.3m).
boss says that they've been paying my pension wholly (the whole 9% - 62,000ish) and that instead of me paying them back for my half, my wife agreed to waive 4.6m in severance payment for 2 years.
i know this is wrong as my wife wouldn't give up that money for pension and i never agreed to anything myself. plus my boss is a liar.
what are the options? of course i need to visit the labor board once i finish this month.
do you think i have a decent case? it's her word against mine and my wife's and under korean law, i should be entitled to the severance.
ideas? i'm seriously raging right now. |
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ttompatz

Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 11:51 pm Post subject: Re: Boss refusing severance - options |
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fezmond wrote: |
back story: my wife visited my boss a few months ago to talk about why they tried to screw me with tax and 4.5% pension contributions. (they registered me as earning 700k a month, not 2.3m).
boss says that they've been paying my pension wholly (the whole 9% - 62,000ish) and that instead of me paying them back for my half, my wife agreed to waive 4.6m in severance payment for 2 years.
i know this is wrong as my wife wouldn't give up that money for pension and i never agreed to anything myself. plus my boss is a liar.
what are the options? of course i need to visit the labor board once i finish this month.
do you think i have a decent case? it's her word against mine and my wife's and under korean law, i should be entitled to the severance.
ideas? i'm seriously raging right now. |
His word, your word, her word - just noise and doesn't matter.
You cannot contract to break the law.
You cannot contract to less than the standards set out in the labor standards act.
The labor board for severance and unpaid wages, etc.
The pension office for pension issues (you will need to prove income and pay YOUR contribution then they will chase him for his share.
http://www.nps.or.kr/
If you really want to pee in his cornflakes (and you don't have a big outstanding tax bill) the tax office might be another place to make a visit.
Nothing like a tax audit to ruin someone's day.
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:07 am Post subject: Re: Boss refusing severance - options |
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ttompatz wrote: |
fezmond wrote: |
back story: my wife visited my boss a few months ago to talk about why they tried to screw me with tax and 4.5% pension contributions. (they registered me as earning 700k a month, not 2.3m).
boss says that they've been paying my pension wholly (the whole 9% - 62,000ish) and that instead of me paying them back for my half, my wife agreed to waive 4.6m in severance payment for 2 years.
i know this is wrong as my wife wouldn't give up that money for pension and i never agreed to anything myself. plus my boss is a liar.
what are the options? of course i need to visit the labor board once i finish this month.
do you think i have a decent case? it's her word against mine and my wife's and under korean law, i should be entitled to the severance.
ideas? i'm seriously raging right now. |
His word, your word, her word - just noise and doesn't matter.
You cannot contract to break the law.
You cannot contract to less than the standards set out in the labor standards act.
The labor board for severance and unpaid wages, etc.
The pension office for pension issues (you will need to prove income and pay YOUR contribution then they will chase him for his share.
http://www.nps.or.kr/
If you really want to pee in his cornflakes (and you don't have a big outstanding tax bill) the tax office might be another place to make a visit.
Nothing like a tax audit to ruin someone's day.
. |
thanks for the info.
i have no qualms paying back taxes or pension. i had no idea they were lying about my earnings until a few months ago. i'm sure the tax office would be very happy to know.
this will not be resolved peacefully.
so, when all is said and done, she will try to claim that i agreed to waive my severance and that won't stand up in a court? (no such agreement was ever made) |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 2:24 am Post subject: |
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out of interest, how bad would the tax bill be for a school when i report them?
i'm paying jack all really as they registered my earnings as 700,000. however, the tax calculator says that nothing under 880,000 should be taxed.
once i report them that i'm earning 2.3 and pay my hit, will they make the same contribution or higher?
i really want to hit this b***h where it hurts |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 6:12 am Post subject: |
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fezmond wrote: |
out of interest, how bad would the tax bill be for a school when i report them?
i'm paying jack all really as they registered my earnings as 700,000. however, the tax calculator says that nothing under 880,000 should be taxed.
once i report them that i'm earning 2.3 and pay my hit, will they make the same contribution or higher?
i really want to hit this b***h where it hurts |
I'm assuming you're from a country that gets the pension refund. If so, your contribution should be about 103,000, matched by another 103,000 by the employer.
Income taxses are so low anyways, you might go from under 1% to 1.5%. Hardly a hit for you. It is the pension that will kill your boss, becuase he has to MATCH your contribution of 4.5% of your salary. You get yours back plus the employers chunk, so it doesn't hurt you at all. It only hurts your loser boss. |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 7:10 am Post subject: |
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Wildbore wrote: |
fezmond wrote: |
out of interest, how bad would the tax bill be for a school when i report them?
i'm paying jack all really as they registered my earnings as 700,000. however, the tax calculator says that nothing under 880,000 should be taxed.
once i report them that i'm earning 2.3 and pay my hit, will they make the same contribution or higher?
i really want to hit this b***h where it hurts |
I'm assuming you're from a country that gets the pension refund. If so, your contribution should be about 103,000, matched by another 103,000 by the employer.
Income taxses are so low anyways, you might go from under 1% to 1.5%. Hardly a hit for you. It is the pension that will kill your boss, becuase he has to MATCH your contribution of 4.5% of your salary. You get yours back plus the employers chunk, so it doesn't hurt you at all. It only hurts your loser boss. |
unfortunately my country doesn't do the pension refund but she will sh*t a brick over having to pay any more than necessary. my work has been paying 9% for a year or so, therefore i owe them money. it's this issue that they;re trying to claim as an excuse to avoid paying severance |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:59 am Post subject: |
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Are you sure she's been paying the 9%?
Shaddy hakwons often take money out of your pay but pocket the money - relying on the fact many new people don't know the system especially when there is little chance the person will catch on. If you don't come from a country where instructors would be applying for the lump sum refund, you are unlikely to every put in the paperwork to check what your pension account holds. |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:03 am Post subject: |
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fezmond wrote: |
Wildbore wrote: |
fezmond wrote: |
out of interest, how bad would the tax bill be for a school when i report them?
i'm paying jack all really as they registered my earnings as 700,000. however, the tax calculator says that nothing under 880,000 should be taxed.
once i report them that i'm earning 2.3 and pay my hit, will they make the same contribution or higher?
i really want to hit this b***h where it hurts |
I'm assuming you're from a country that gets the pension refund. If so, your contribution should be about 103,000, matched by another 103,000 by the employer.
Income taxses are so low anyways, you might go from under 1% to 1.5%. Hardly a hit for you. It is the pension that will kill your boss, becuase he has to MATCH your contribution of 4.5% of your salary. You get yours back plus the employers chunk, so it doesn't hurt you at all. It only hurts your loser boss. |
unfortunately my country doesn't do the pension refund but she will sh*t a brick over having to pay any more than necessary. my work has been paying 9% for a year or so, therefore i owe them money. it's this issue that they;re trying to claim as an excuse to avoid paying severance |
Is your boss a moron? When they get the pension receipt it clearly states half of the 9% must be taken from the employee. Tell them to learn how to read. If they want to pay the full 9% without deducting half from you, they can do it and they did. Not your fault, tell them to shove it. As far as the pension office is concerned, you are paid up.
Just collect your retirement pay, with labor board help if needed, and go about your merry way. It is Korean law, and it is probably written into your contract as well. |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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my boss said there was an 'administrative error' so they ended up paying the whole 9%. i will check with the pension office on monday.
presumably i can head to my local office and show my ARC to find out what's going on? |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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I would guess. I'd bring my passport too. |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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fezmond wrote: |
my boss said there was an 'administrative error' so they ended up paying the whole 9%. i will check with the pension office on monday.
presumably i can head to my local office and show my ARC to find out what's going on? |
It has nothing to do with the pension office. The administrative error happened with your boss. The pension office doesn't deduct it from your pay, YOUR BOSS does. He screwed it up, he needs to get the 4.5% money back from the pension office, you should not have to pay more to fix his mistake. |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 12:06 am Post subject: |
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Wildbore wrote: |
fezmond wrote: |
my boss said there was an 'administrative error' so they ended up paying the whole 9%. i will check with the pension office on monday.
presumably i can head to my local office and show my ARC to find out what's going on? |
It has nothing to do with the pension office. The administrative error happened with your boss. The pension office doesn't deduct it from your pay, YOUR BOSS does. He screwed it up, he needs to get the 4.5% money back from the pension office, you should not have to pay more to fix his mistake. |
ooh, that makes things more interesting. i always thought the pension comes out automatically like national insurance in the uk or elsewhere.
so my boss effed up and paid my share too because she's as dumb as a rock.
however she wasn't at all scared by my threats to go to the labor board. maybe she was just bluffing.
as things stand right now i will meet with her on monday morning with wifey translating. i feel confident enough as i can go to the labor board for severance and the tax office to report their tax evasion.
any other ways i can stick it to them? |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:03 am Post subject: |
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fezmond wrote: |
Wildbore wrote: |
fezmond wrote: |
my boss said there was an 'administrative error' so they ended up paying the whole 9%. i will check with the pension office on monday.
presumably i can head to my local office and show my ARC to find out what's going on? |
It has nothing to do with the pension office. The administrative error happened with your boss. The pension office doesn't deduct it from your pay, YOUR BOSS does. He screwed it up, he needs to get the 4.5% money back from the pension office, you should not have to pay more to fix his mistake. |
ooh, that makes things more interesting. i always thought the pension comes out automatically like national insurance in the uk or elsewhere.
so my boss effed up and paid my share too because she's as dumb as a rock.
however she wasn't at all scared by my threats to go to the labor board. maybe she was just bluffing.
as things stand right now i will meet with her on monday morning with wifey translating. i feel confident enough as i can go to the labor board for severance and the tax office to report their tax evasion.
any other ways i can stick it to them? |
It's suppose to come out automatically in Korea too, unless the business falls under an exeception. Your boss gets monthly bill from the national pension office telling them to pay 9% of your salary to the pension office. They should deduct half from you and remit it to that office.
The problem with Korea is this is a new thing for most middle sized to small businesses (within the last 10 years or so), so they always try to invade it. Add this to the Korean culture of corruption, and you can see it's not a perfect system (unlike back in the UK).
Tell them you are not liable for their error, but that you will pay your share of the pension when ordered by the pension office or a court. Also give them a copy of the labor laws which state they must pay all wages and retirement pay of one months salary for each year of service no later than 14 days after the termination of the contract.
If you don't need airfare from these clowns then you are golden. You have no obligations to them other than to work, get your wage, and leave.
I don't think complaining to the tax offices would help you much, since you technically would have to pay the short-fall, however your boss would get tagged for fraud. So if your willing to pay up to ding your boss, then by all means do it. |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:13 am Post subject: |
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I'd check with the pension office first to make sure money has been turned in for you. No reason chasing your tail unless you know for sure the boss has been sending in money... |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 3:27 am Post subject: |
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i'm more than willing to pay my half of the pension back to the school. with the lies they told about my earnings, 4.5% x 24 months only comes to 700k or thereabouts.
i have no airfare anyway or housing from them so i've got nothing to lose but the time it takes for the case to be heard.
regarding the tax issue, i'm seriously considering paying my back taxes so she gets screwed.
cheers for all your help guys. roll on monday morning |
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