Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hellofaniceguy]

Helped a friend land a gig. Went over the contract with the school owner at least 6 hours over the course of a few weeks. Why? A friend...that's why. And she was a newbie in korea.
I thought we ironed everything out. Thought. And after being here for years and years....put my time in at hakwons....I thought I had all the bases covered. IN writing! But nope....
Friend was to be paid a last week. Her contract states 120 classes a month. OT is 20,000 per class. First month...she has 104 classes and gets her full pay. 2nd month....116 classes.....and full pay. 3rd month...130 classes. 10 over. Friend calls me for help.
I talk with the owner....Owner states, let's verify this and counts and recounts 4 times and then counts again. Scratches head. I
don't have to pay...I don't agree?.
Why I ask?!! Owner says......Each class is 50 minutes!
Go screw yourself I said! Stop trying to weasel out of OT! You owe her OT!
What...last month she was short classes and you didn't count the time by the minute! So now she is over the 120 and you now want to change the contract and call it 120 hours!? Secondly...you agreed to pay her on a Friday if payday falls on a weekend. Teacher told you she would not sign if you did not agree to this and the 120 classes as well as a few other items! You agreed! I heard you and it's in writing!
So...
I feel bad. Tried to cover all bases and still get shafted.
Teacher tells the owner..."If I don't have my OT in my bank tonight...I don't come to work Monday. She goes to her desk and cleans it out and takes all her books and ESL material...owner says..what are you doing? Teacher says...pay in my bank tonight and I'm here on Monday. No pay...I don't want to have to come back here and get my books or clean out my desk....and walked out the door.
Whose right?
120 hours means 120 classes. Her classes are 50 minutes long. Owner did agree and it's in her contract...120 classes.
I say...if the owner is being a dickhead over 10 OT classes...then the school has money problems.
If it's one thing I post about on this site often enough is...DON'T agree to "X" amount of hours each month...only agree to "X" amount of classes.

[Zed]

120 hours does not equal 120 classes.
If the contract said 120 50-minute classes you're right.
If it says 120 hours he's right.

[Real Reality]

hellofaniceguy wrote,
"So... I feel bad. Tried to cover all bases and still get shafted."

Welcome to Korea.

[rapier]

You friend should be fine when they see she is serious about quitting...

Trying to shaft others is a national pastime here... this country sure toughens you up over time...its the stress and inconvenience caused by trying to simply assert your basic rights, thats the main downer...

[phaedrus]

[Real Reality]

rapier wrote,
"Trying to shaft others is a national pastime here... this country sure toughens you up over time...its the stress and inconvenience caused by trying to simply assert your basic rights,..."

Foreigners Experience Difficulties in Living in Korea
Overall living conditions, including education, housing, medical care, transportation, immigration, and access to the Internet are pointed to as inconveniences. Not only inconveniences caused by different systems and customs in Korea, but also special discriminating practices,... are ubiquitous. "Even though Korea has achieved some degree of globalization in going abroad, it has still a long way to go for globalization in embracing foreigners inward," said foreigners residing in Korea.
by Jae-Dong Yu and Soo-Jung Shin, Donga.com (July 4, 2004)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2004070522448

Giving foreigners here a hard time
by Nathan Drescher, Korea Herald (October 13, 2004)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/10/13/200410130012.asp

Chinese students face local woes
Jao Yingqing, 22, attending a college in North Gyeongsang Province, complained that language courses lacked competent teachers. Ms. Jao said she studied Korean by watching movies, after "giving up trying to understand the pronunciation of a teacher who had just graduated from college with a bachelor��s degree in Chinese Literature."..."It is hard to keep up with the lecture, but it looks like getting an 'A' is easy once you pay the tuition money," said one Chinese student.
by Im Jang-hyuk and Jeong Kang-hyun
JoongAng Daily (November 9, 2004)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200411/09/200411092231558109900092309231.html

[Homer]

Zed's interpretation is correct. It depends on the contract hellofaniceguy.

Which is it then?

[justagirl]

if the contract says 120 hours/month and a class is 50 minutes....then your friend has nothing to fight with.

Since you've been here for a while, it's too bad you didn't see this as a potential problem and solidified what a class meant before your friend signed this contract.

Did you ask the boss if a 50 min class counted as an hour of teaching? It did at my school, but because I confronted the owner before I started working and had it written in the contract.

[Homer]

Good point justagirl!

Hellofaniceguy, you yourself said you have been here for years and seen it all....strange you would miss this basic element...

[hellofaniceguy]

[Homer]

Then its clear. He owes her overtime. If thats what the contract says.

[TheUrbanMyth]

So what happened? Don't let this be another cliffhanger with no ending...

[seoulmon]

[Homer]

Seoulmon,

It does happen...and it happens more often then you think.

However, do not forget how many idiots hagwon directors have to deal with as well. That coin definitively has two sides to it and you cannot consider this problem by only looking on one side.

In this case, according to the information we have, the owner owes that teacher overtime.

[seoulmon]