Korean Job Discussion Forums

[orro3790]

I am in the process of reviewing a contract which says that I must undergo 7 days of unpaid training before the contract begins. Is unpaid training common or am I getting ripped off here? I see that programs like EPIK require teachers to take 9 days of unpaid training, so I thought maybe this is kind of standard?

Also, my contract doesn't explicitly say how many vacation days we receive, but it does say that they must be taken within permitted times. Is this also a rip off?

I'm a first time ESL teacher, so I'm sorry for the noob questions, I've tried to find the answers myself. Thanks so much.

[tanklor1]

Yes.

[ippy]

Bottom line is: If its in the contract, its 100% usual.

If you dont want it to be in the contract then you say to the recruiter that youre not prepared to accept this clause and please remove it.

If you arent image friendly (and have no experience) then prepare for the recruiter to say "sorry, its a standardized contract, im afraid it cant be amended".

At which point you can just turn it down or accept it.

If, on the other hand youre kinda image friendly and the school really wants you, then well done, you stuck up for yourself and got a better deal.

It doesnt matter a crap what everyone elses contract is. It matters what youre prepared to sign.

[kingplaya4]

Why take a job with unpaid training when there are still plenty of jobs out there that have paid training (or none at all). I hope you're not coming from overseas. I've heard (thirdhand) of hagwons using this as kind of feeling out period and cutting some teachers they didn't like. If you are set on this job, at least make sure they pay for your plane ticket upfront.

[mysteryadam]

[FastForward]

[orro3790]

[Drew345]

My school pays the trainer for the training and considers that to be a "benefit" for the teachers. A request for the teachers to be paid for the training would probably be laughed at. Still, I like the idea.