Korean Job Discussion Forums

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

A friend of mine who is not as outspoken as I am needs some help/advice! If it were me...I'd raise cane!
Story....friend is contracted for 30 hours each week. Over 120 hours in a month and an additional 18,000 Won per class is paid. Contract states that HOLIDAYS ARE PAID, vacation is PAID. HOLIDAYS ARE PAID.
Chousok.
New pay period started one week before Chousok. Friend workd the week of the 20th of September, following week is Chousok...three days off...PAID holidays and goes back to work. Fast forward to pay day yesterday. Friend has 7 extra classes counting the classes that were paid for Chousok as well. School owner tells her...you didn't teach any classes over Chousok and so you are under the 120 hours!
Both won't budge. So...opinions? Should she get paid? I told the owner yes she should. She is paid for holidays! Those holidays were 17 classes had she worked.
I told the owner....she is paid for holidays so she gets her regular pay just the same.
She has an additional extra 7 classes. Had she actually taught them she would still have 7 extra classes. Holidays are paid.
Let's settle this dispute! "In our forum...The ESL's court!"

I_Am_Wrong · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: whatever

yes she should be paid.

Gord · Joined: 25 Feb 2003

Unless her contract says something like "classes scheduled during a holiday will be credited as taught" the director is correct.

Basically your friend isn't getting penalized for having a holiday, so she is getting her paid time off. But she also agreed that "overtime" begins once 120 class hours are taught. So unless the contract says that classes that fall on holidays are credited as being taught, she isn't legally granted any credits towards this 120 hours of class time.

pecan · Joined: 01 Jul 2004

No.

She is not entitled to receive overtime pay, as she did not work over the 120 in her contract.

Vacation time is not the same as regular time, so your friend received her salary for that pay period, though she worked ten hours less (110 hours).

Nut

J.B. Clamence · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

The director is right.

If the holiday wasn't paid, that would mean that she would be paid less than her usual monthly wage for that month, OR the pay period would have had to have been extended because of the holiday. So as long as she got her normal monthly salary (even without overtime) and the pay period wasn't extended to make up for the holiday, then it means that the holiday was counted as part of the "pay period" even though she wasn't working, and therefore she got her paid holiday. However, you can't claim overtime from holidays.

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

It's not worth making a fuss about. It's not a battle worth fighting. Those might come up later, and I'd, personally, go with the director but keep an eye out for any really important stuff later. Thinking the director might have an idea I was letting stuff slip by, and he'd be right. But like I said why make a fuss? She has her slack month. Overtime is for overtime. She wasn't feeling it, any OT, for the holiday. So why get stressed? If she was tired and hauled some rope, ok.
The vibe between teacher and WJN isn't worth smashing up over little stuff to 'show you're serious'. The contract doesn't usually mean much compared to how you get along. Sure, you can go to EFL Law/labour board but the director can also pull some fast ones, like early dismissal, if you don't get along. And that's a pretence anyway, getting along. You're basically a hagwon slave, but like a slave is a member of the family Laughing

. It's thin ice. Not bull in a china shop stuff, especially over little things. I mean, who's watching? It's the director's show. And to get all dramatic when WJM's already love, since they get no real, extended vacations, their little 'teacher on a rope tease and tug' games for excitement/sport is just squirming for their enjoyment, a 'freebie'/bonus set of squirms Smile

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

Thanks all for your input!
She is concerned....next pay period she figures she'll have 16 hours over the contract limit...based on the current schedule...but the school owner will come up with another reason to not pay her she thinks.
7 classes here, another 6/7/8 here, a dozen or so here and it all adds up!
Anyway...thank you!
She is going to let it go...unless no OT pay next month.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

technically the director is correct.

However your friend could also step forward and refuse to teach any more of these 'extra classes' until the school compromises.

An extra class should be an extra class however that is not the way the money grubbing hogwan owners view things.

sadsac · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Gwangwang

Yes, she worked additional hours. The Chuseok holidays are paid public holidays. They count. Smile

Canucksaram · Joined: 29 Apr 2003

Gord is correct again on this one, folks. In this case, "paid" means not being penalized for having days off.

Ilsanman · Joined: 15 Aug 2003 Location: Bucheon, Korea

I agree that she should not get overtime. She is guaranteed the minimum contract agreement, and if she doesn't work 120 hours, she still gets it. Did she work 120 hours? No.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

As I said before the director is not violating any laws as per say

BUT

You should just tell your director that you will not be teaching any of the extra classes that fall in a month with any holidays then. Why should you work extra to line his pockets.

He sure as hell gets paid for those extra classes. He is just using the holidays as a way to screw you out of money while lining his own pockets.

Illegal? No. Morally correct? Hell no!

tomwaits · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Location: PC Bong

Saw a solution on another thread-maybe another country.. Ideally the contract should mention "scheduled hours." So canceled classes or holidays still count when figuring overtime. Of course this would not apply if teacher is late or off sick whatever...

IMHO she is NOT getting paid for holidays. She is simply making the classes up at some other point in the month. Average a day a month and it might be a big deal. Not sure how to get around it though without something in the contract...

gypsyfish · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

I hate this situation, but I think the director is right.

And it's 'raise Cain', unless you were going to hit the director with a cane.

paperbag princess · Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Location: veggie hell

i had a similar situation and i called MOL about it. the director is wrong, but getting him or her to agree is really hard. have your friend call 1350 and talk to the labour board about her rights. think about it, if her director screws her out of 16 hours a month that's 3.4 mil per year. it adds up.