Korean Job Discussion Forums

[greatunknown]

Hi everyone

So I've been working at my academy for about 9 months now. Everything seemed to be going just fine up until about 3 weeks ago. My boss has been telling me from the start, that I should try to make my classes fun and to have fun with the kids. He encouraged me to play games, watch short video's in class, and basicly just keep the kids entertained. I was happy to do what was expected of me. I was quite sure my boss was pleased with my work (and in fact we even had a conversation about me staying for another year).

A few weeks ago I came in to work not feeling very good (I admit it, there may have been a bottle of soju or two the night before). In my fourth class I was seriously hitting a wall, I was very tired. I really slacked off in that class. My boss watched on the CCTV and called me out for it. I felt bad because I knew I was in the wrong. Since that day his attitude towards me has taken a very noticeable negative shift.

So yesterday I come to work and he asks to speak with me in his office. He had a long list of minor complaints about my work. Some examples "You don't make your share of powerpoint presentations for speaking classes" (I don't, but its the first time its been brought to my attention, I hardly use them, I do lots of other things in those classes though, and for the most part get good feedback). "You take too long to mark diaries." "You sometimes smell like cigarettes" (long time smoker, hasn't been a problem till now. I will try using the nicotine patch if I have too). "You misplaced a call test sheet last month" (I have to call 100 students a month to do a "call test". When It came time to turn in their marks I had misplaced one of my test sheets. Found it the next day).

There was a few other things too, I really had a difficult time understanding what he was saying for most of this. He kept asking me about the powerpoints and why I didn't use them (I actually get the kids speaking! I use news articles from the internet, photo's, related video clips, games etc). He asked how many I made since January and I just told him "A few, I'm sorry if it wasn't enough, I can make that a priority from now on if you want me to".

Then he told me to write on a piece of paper something like "If I didn't prepare 50% of the powerpoints since January then I will quit". I just said no way, but I will put it in writing that I promise to make 50% from now on! Then he ended our meeting and I went to class.

This morning my recruiter called me. She spoke with my boss. She told me that he asked her to speak to me. She had some advice about some things I can do to improve my work and hopefully win back my director's approval. She said that he had not made a decision on whether or not my contract would be terminated.

So.. Whats gonna happen? Should I be planning my return home? If I get fired will it be difficult to find another job? (I do have friends I can stay with but I have very little savings).

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[plchron]

So not the end of the world. If you make it to month 10.5 or 11 and they fire you then you can take it to the labor board and claim it was because he wanted to get out of the end of year package (severance, flight reimbursement, etc.). It doesn't sound like he is going to fire you, unless your recruiter is calling you and telling you to act like a good indentured servant while they find another one to take your place. I think the biggest mistake you made was apologizing for anything. When he hit you with you not making enough ppts (and it is easy as hell to steal them from waygook.org. Half the NET population does it and says it is their own original work) you should have argued back that you bring in other materials that help the kids. Apologizing in this country is different then your home country. I give you a 50/50 chance. A lot of bosses use this BS as a pretext to dismiss workers in a way that is financially favorable to the boss.

[nathanrutledge]

Yeah, you could be getting canned.

Just my two cents -

quit smoking. Or quit smoking at work. Or don't let the smoke settle onto your clothes. Chew some gum or brush your teeth afterward. In this day and age, smelling like smoke when you work with kids isn't going to go down well. I'd do your best to eliminate that problem post haste.

quit drinking during the work week. Seriously, know your limits. Personally, I don't drink at all Sunday-Thursday, unless it happens to be fairly early in the evening, because I know if I have a beer before bed, no matter what, I'll be dragging a little the next day. If you can handle drinking and work, great, but as you said, you drank and were hitting the wall. Make sure that doesn't happen again.

Know the expectations of the job and do them. If other people are making powerpoints, you should have asked, at least yourself "am I not doing everything I should be?" Yeah, it sucks not being given the expectations up front, but now you could get burned for not doing something that, while not told explicitly, might have been picked up from observation.

Finally, don't sign a single thing. That's how they'll fire you. And it won't even be a firing, you'll be quitting. I REPEAT, DON'T SIGN COOL ADULT WORD!!!!

Long story short, smell nice, watch the booze, make sure you meet the expectations, and don't give them your name on anything.

If you DO get fired, depending on when it is, it could be something you could fight as an 11 month thing, but if you sign something, game over - you lose. Also, if you aren't doing your job properly or well, and they can prove it (CCTV footage is very useful for that!) then you lose. So be honest with yourself - are you doing the job?

If you do get fired, it's not the end of the world. Get a d10 visa, find a new job, move on.

Good luck

[litebear]

Sounds tricky. You will get panned by some posters for the booze and ciggies but I think the fact you mentioned them in the first place is evidence enough that they are not a major problem (usually the info is ommited in an OP only to be revealed 5 posts later..."Yeah well I was the strippers till 6am...SO ModEditING WHAT!?!?")

Personally I think he is planning to fire you, this would pretty much be his last chance to avoid paying bonus and airfare (if he does it in the 11th month you can take him to the labor board). He needs to give you 30 days notice and I think since you are after the 6 month mark you could quite easily move in to a new job (Ttompatz will confirm).

Keep your head down, keep doing what you are doing (seems like you are working hard) if he fires you then it is his loss take it as a lesson learned and find a new job. If he doesn't then collect the bonus and take the flight home or stay in Korea at a new school.

Good luck!

[Skippy]

Expect a couple more meeting like this in the next month or two. Then bang month 11 you will be let go - LEGALLY.

Your boss is filling the requirements need to legally fire you. He has given you a verbal and I suspect written warning. So later when he lets you go you have nothing to go to the labour board with as you have been warned. I think labour board needs 2 or 3 warnings from boss before they can fire you (unless you do something serious!).

Your boss is devious. Start preparing now to exit. Also you may want to consider playing hardball. Give an either/or back.

Also be careful in naming this school. Libel laws and that.

This school be tricksy...

[Troglodyte]

[greatunknown]

I am really confused about how my recruiter is involved. I haven't had contact with her since she picked me up from the airport 9 months ago. Why would he call her if not to arrange for a replacement teacher? I am not naive I can think of some reasons why she would want me to do a good job right up until the day they axe me. I can't think of any reasons why she should be involved in this if they aren't planning on axing me. She said I should offer to help other teachers with their duties so that people would see that I am sincere about wanting to be a good teacher and impress my director.

I went to the pharmacy and picked up some nicotine patches. If for no other reason it is for my health. I will avoid weekday drinks.

I wasn't expecting this to happen. It all really came out nowhere. My fingers are crossed that I can make it through this contract. But, I guess I should start preparing for a worst case scenario.

Oh and just in case this matters, I have not been given any written warnings. When he was pressuring me to write and sign the sheet all I wrote was "I will make and use my own powerpoint presentations for speaking classes". He was taking his own notes during the meeting though.

[YTMND]

[Troglodyte]

You're probably right. Recruiters rarely get involved unless something bad's going down.

But the good news is that you have time to prepare for it. Get your documents in order. Find out where the nearest labor board and pension offices are. If you do get fired, it's not going to be tomorrow. You've got at least a couple of weeks, probably a month. Be ready for it. Know where to go for help when the time comes. You can complain at the labor board for unjust firing (especially if it's near the 11 month mark). Go to immigration to see about switching to a D-10 visa, which will let you look for work in Korea and then switch back to an E2 without any new documents. And lastly, check that your boss was paying into your pension. If not then you report him and stick it to him where it hurts - his wallet.

You're in Korea now, so finding a new job is no problem, especially if you're in or around Seoul. If you have a D10 visa and schools know that you can essentially start work the next day, then you'll get plenty of job offers even in the first week of searching.

One thing that you might want to take into consideration. If your boss gets angry, don't get angry back. Just nod and be polite. If you get angry and highly defensive then he won't back down. If you're going to get fired, then politely negotiate when. That gives you time to do the stuff that you need to do for getting a new job. Otherwise you'll have to hang out in a goshiwon for a week or so while job hunting (which actually isn't bad). Also remember that you can just as easily report him to the pension office AFTER you switch jobs.


EDIT:
PS. Get someone to send you a copy of all the documents that you need for another E2. Just in case you need to do a visa run to Japan.

[greatunknown]

Is there any reason I wouldn't be allowed to switch to a D-10? It would be a major hastle to get someone to get me a fresh set of documents (Canadian). I have a CPIC background check (Non-rcmp but very clearly worded saying noone with my name/date of birth has a criminal record in Canada) that has the Korean Consulate Stamp of approval on it, and my degree copy is notarized and also stamped.

[bbunce]

Save your money for now. You'll get a few more meetings with paperwork just before you're fired. That's how you can let him play it out. OR......Has he been paying into pension/insurance? Paying your taxes? Chances are either you don't know and he is probably not. If he hasn't, tell him your quitting if he doesn't take care of those things ASAP and report him to the labor board. Your quitting immediately is the only leverage you have. Try to take the light off you and put it on him. Another thing you can try is tell him you are quitting in two weeks. Hopefully, he won't be ready for you to quit yet and will try to make a deal.

The only reason the recruiter is involved is because he is about to lose his commission. If he (the recruiter) can't save your job, he loses his commission. It's all about money right now...nothing to do with your performance although your actions make it easier for the owner to fire you...Currently this is your status: The owner can't fire you now because he'll lose some students. He can't keep you past month 10 1/2 or he'll have to pay severance and air fare. Another idea is tell him you are thinking of staying for another year. This would save him recruiting fees/airfare if you are worth it.

Good luck..but I think he is setting you up to be fired...So be offensive not defensive from now on.

[greatunknown]

Wow.

I expected as much. I must say I am feeling a little bit of stress regarding all of this. When should I start looking for other work? Should I wait till I get my 1 month notice?

[myenglishisno]

[mr. positive]

Hagwon bosses know how fickle and unloyal students are, and so they jump all over any perceived "problem" in a teacher's performance. Love you one day, hate you the next, then dredge up everything you did "wrong" that they never mentioned before. If it was a real problem before, he would have mentioned it before, right? Now it's just a pretext to justify whatever emotional whim he's on.

Per labor law, even if he wants to fire you, he has to give you a month's written notice, saying basically that you are on probation, listing what you are doing wrong, and giving you that month to fix those issues. Hence you cannot be fired on the spot except for gross negligence or for committing a felony or such.

I'm an F-2 holder now, but I had an E-2 before so really sympathize with your situation. It is not easy to switch jobs, especially if you have a hostile employer. Just realize he has most of the power and play along with his games. Sucks but that's the reality. Hope it works out so that things blow over so that you can finish your contract or at least get out of there with your visa status intact.

[ontheway]

Drinking and not doing the job afterward.

Smoking and the kids can smell it on you, everyone else can smell it too. (Smokers are the last to realize that they always smell of smoke - it's on their skin, in their hair, in their pores, in their clothes.)

Not doing at least some of the required duties of the job.

Yes, you are on the chopping block and you deserve to be.


Your boss has likely had issues with you all along. He gave you time to improve, too much time, and you got worse. He should have fired you sooner.

If you're lucky he will decide that replacing you quickly is too difficult and let you finish your contract, but you will not be renewed.


The recruiter being involved has nothing to do with losing a commission. Recruiters are paid if the teacher shows up at the beginning. Very few will offer any kind of refund beyond a 3 month period, some provide a free replacement up to 6 months but no refund.

More likely the school called the recruiter about you, probably they've complained previously. The school put pressure on the recruiter who wants to be able to get paid for finding your replacement for the next year. If you finish your year the recruiter will get to provide the next teacher. If you are fired or leave before 12 months, the school will use another recruiter.


Your school seems to have an educational program that you have chosen not to follow. Your boss is more likely to know better than you if your teaching produces better or worse learning outcomes than his other teachers. You should haev followed the program, suggesting changes before making them and only making changes that were approved.


You can be fired legally with 30 days notice. Your termination notice should be, but doesn't have to be, written - fired is fired and you will still be out. The practical reality is that you have no damages so nothing to collect from a verbal firing. You can only claim damages by lying and claiming you were given no notice. If the school can prove you were given verbal notice then the 30 day rule has still been met.

You can be fired without any written warnings unless these are required by your contract. Labor doesn't care.

Although you are approaching the end of your 12 month contract, if you have documented performance issues and written warnings, even a firing in your 11th month will be justified and you will lose your year end benefits and Labor won't intervene - as long as you get your 30 day notice.

You should get busy planning for a change to a D10 visa so you can transfer to a new job without new documents or a visa run.

You should also get busy giving up smoking and plan your drinking so it doesn't affect your job performance (no school night drinking).

The next time you get a job - and you will, so have no fear - use this as a lesson that you need to follow your school's program and give 100% of what you have to give to your job and your students.