Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ewlandon]

Ive been here since September and my employer is telling me that the parent company no longer owns this branch and the principal owns it now so I need to sign a new contract. The contract they gave me is basically the same except for no mention of severance or pension (not signing it till they fix that). My question is will signing the new contract change the dates or my eligability to recieve pension and severance in 2 months?

[YTMND]

First, make sure about the dates. I doubt they are having you sign a 2 month contract. This means the contract would cease, you lose out on the severance, and the clock is reset for another year.

Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do to get your severance because they could just fire you now if you don't sign. Are you going to stay with them or leave?

If you leave, don't tell them, and try to negotiate something for severance (you probably won't get all). The pension should already be paid to the pension office, so you can still collect on that regardless (when you leave Korea). They 2 different things.

If you stay, then the severance would rollover into the next year anyway. So, still negotiate, but try to negotiate a higher salary 200,000 more in lieu of not receiving the severance now.

I am sure some out there will tell you to fight for all of it, but I just don't see it happening. Make the most of it. Looks like you are staying since you said nothing about airfare.

[ewlandon]

the contract they are giving me is (will be once they add the pension clause) exactly the same as my original contract but it will be from july 1st - August 31st. It includes a flight and pension and all that but its 2 months. I am planning on extending too and they know that. I have never delt with any bs with the school and I pretty much trust them (only distrust I have is based on stories on daves).

Basically the contract will say that I get a years severance after I complete this 2 month contract. I dont thin they are trying to screw me esp since Im not leaving. I was worried about pension but it sound slike that wont be a problem?

Also, what do you mean severance goes to the next year if i odnt leave. Does that mean i get severance for 2 years after my second year or do they just pay me my first years severance after 2 years. Im a little confused how that works.

[YTMND]

Let's deal with the easy one first. Severance can be paid for EACH year, but you have to complete one year at least. After that, you can get 13/12 of your salary, then 14/12, 15/12, etc... if you leave before the end of the 2nd year. If you work 2 full years at a 2.1 salary then you get 4.2. This is all based on you not collecting your severance at the end of a particular year. Check this thread, http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=220936

He is going to collect on about 5 years severance at least. Good luck to him.

Why don't they have you sign a 14 month contract instead of 2? Couldn't they just write up an addendum to the current contract updating the employer's name? That would make the most sense to me. It keeps your current track record together with them and just updates who you answer to. Then, in one month, you would sign a new contract anyway for the next year to extend your visa.

So, actually, you don't need 2 months. It's only one month before you would get paperwork ready for the next year. It makes no sense to me (someone who knows more please chime in) why or how it would benefit you to end a 10 month contract and take up a 2 month arrangement where you would modify the last month in order to get a new 12 month contract.

If you can modify the 2nd month, why can't you modify the first and second? I am confused too unless they are simply going to avoid paying your severance. That's what it looks like. Have you talked to your new employer? What did they say? When will they agree to pay your severance?

Another thing about severance is that if they pay it after 12 months, then you have to work another full year to get severance for the second year. It starts all over as if it were a new first year. However, considering they are playing these 2 month games I wouldn't want to wait 2 years to get 2 months pay. Get your 1 year the best way you can, and then let it reset. If they are trustworthy, then you will get your second year when you complete it. If they aren't, then you don't want to work 2 years for them.

[Troglodyte]

Don't listen to YTMND. He often gives bad advice. I sometime wonder if it's on purpose.

You've completed 10 months and you're in your 11th month now, right? The school can't fire you on the spot. If the parent company sold the school then one of 2 things happened.

1. The school (a business) simply changed ownership. This will not affect your contract. You're contract is not with an individual person. It's with a legal entity (the school itself). In this case, it does not matter who owns the school. The school is still in existence and is still employing you. No need for a new contract.

2. The school was shut down for financial reasons. The former owner sold the physical assets of the school along with various rights, etc to someone (e.g. your boss). In this case, you are no longer employed by the school because the school no longer exists. The building is still there. The books, the tables, the chairs are all still there, but the school as a legal entity no longer exists. If they are going out of business then it's considered a legit reason to fire you. In this case, your employer would need to give you 30 days notice (or more if it's stated in your contract). If they do not give you notice then you go to the labor board and report the school. Since the 30 days notice would put you into your 12th month, then the labor board will probably force the employer to pay also the full 12th month and severance. They don't take a kind view to 11th month firings. To boot, you could transfer your visa without new docs (the school is now out of business so you are released from your contract).

Severance is not a contractual thing. It's part of the law. ...BUT the law says that you are only eligible for severance after having worked 12 months for the same company. So if you agree to leave the company now, then they are no longer obliged to pay you severance for the 10+ months that you've worked.

If you want to go with the new contract, then it should state that you will receive 150% of a normal salary for July and for August. Forget about the severance. It's a tricky matter and anyway it would be a lot easier for the school as well to pay you the equivalent of the severance pay split into 2 parts. Or have it written in that after working these two months you will receive a bonus of ______ Won (1 month of salary).

If I were you though, before signing anything I'd ask the labor board what your options are. I would be very reluctant to sign that new contract because it basically puts you at the mercy of your new boss. If he wants, he can fire you the day after you sign it for some made-up reason. And then you're out severance and a plane ticket. Who knows, maybe he's a really honest guy.

[YTMND]

[ewlandon]

i wish i could talk to someone in person. You both give good advice but both are difficult to implement. Please dont use this thread as a way to attack other posters. No one is trying to troll or give bad advice.

I think i found a solution. My mom is a lawyer and her firm has lots of connection in seoul and she is going to get me a lawyer to look at the contract and the situation for me this weekend.

This is complicated and sucks but I dont want to be screwed and I also dont want to taint my relationship with the school by making accusations. They have treated me well.

As for the situation I think the principle of my branch is buying the branch from the larger parent company. He has been nothing but nice to me this year so i dont want to assume the worse but I also know the situation they ahve presented me with has put me in a situation where they can easily take advantage of me.

[YTMND]

One thing you can do in the meantime is check to make sure the pension office has been receiving contributions. Good luck!!!

[ewlandon]

Update. called the pension office and the school has made all of the contributions but except for 2 months. The pension office also told me that I had "retired" from my current company as of may 31st and that I should tlak to my employer about that. I'm going to talk to them today but it seems strange that they would have "retired" me from the current employer before I signed a new contract.


As for the new contract my lawyer mom said it should probably be ok as long as everything that used to say "1 year or 12 months" now says 2 months. So where it says after completing a 12 months contract i will recieve one months severence of (X won) it will now say after completing a 2 months contract i will recieve 1 months severance of (x won). Also changing the flights to say after completing the 2 month contract I am eligable for a flight.

If it says that and everything else is exactly the same and they assure me they will catch up on those pension payments than I should feel safe signing this contract. What do you guys think? TTom, if you read this let me know your expertise.

[YTMND]

[ewlandon]

so my school said they will go back and pay the month of junes pension after the new contract is figured out. THey said the company changed in june and that it is just taking them a month to get all the teachers paperwork together to sign and that is the reason.

My question now is will the break and company change have any affect on me getting my lump sum pension when I leave korea in a another year.

The severance is another story and I think my hogwon is honest since they have been paying pension and again never screwed me at all or paid me late or anything like that. Also as I said my lawyer mom seems to think the way they are doing the new contract is correct. She says in the US when a company is bought out that the first thing they do is "fire" and "rehire" all the employees and that is basically what is happening here. And they are wording the new contract so that I am not losing any benifits from the old one.

But again my main concern is will I still be eligable for the money in my pension fund even though it was only 10 months not 12 of my first contract? Did this company change screw up my pension fund?

[YTMND]

[ewlandon]

they arent really holding me hostage. If I were to leave now I would be out about 200,000 won from junes pension that they took from my paycheck and did not put into the pension fund. But as far as the pension office is concerned I no longer work for the company I had worked for for 10 months, so if I were to leave and what you say is correct I would be able to collect the money in the account.

What the school did do was tell the pension office I no longer work for the company as of june 1st. They took the money out of my paycheck but didnt contribute to pension. They tell me that once the new contract is signed they will go back and put junes contribution in. So at most they are holding me hostage for 200,000 won.

[YTMND]

If that's the case, then I still wonder why they won't pay it until you sign the contract.

"so my school said they will go back and pay the month of junes pension after the new contract is figured out."

[ewlandon]

The reason they gave was that the company is now a new name but they needed time to get all the paperwork for all the teachers.

Anyway i used this as an opportunity to talk about my extension and they agreed to pay for a round trip flight, and give me a week paid vacation back home at the end of the contract and give me a raise for next year.

Again this hogwon seems to do me right and my worries all come from the scary stories i read on daves lol.