Korean Job Discussion Forums

[yakey]

I just signed a second contract with my college.

At the last moment, they put in some changes. The change that affects me most is that this contract doesn't say we get a bonus after 12 months of work. And the Korean English Professor that handles the English faculty says we're not getting it, although we will get the bonus after our first contract ends at the end of the month.

I thought the bonus of one month's pay at the end of a 12-month contract was a guarantee according to Korean labor law. Am I right?

Apologies for going through a subject that's maybe been rehashed a million times, but I need some proof that I can use if in fact it is my right to get the bonus.

[Real Reality]

Is it a bonus or severance pay?
A bonus may be optional. Severance pay is required.

== How severance pay works ==
Severance pay, or Twae Ji Kum in Korean, is a form of worker's insurance in South Korea. It began as a way to give workers some security, a small nest egg to fall back on if suddenly unemployed.
It works in this way: After completing one calendar year of full-time employment at an establishment with more than six full time workers, you have earned the equivalent of one month's salary. This money is owed to you, but your employer is not required to pay you until the end of your employment. At that time, your employer is given 14 days to pay you all of the severance pay owed.

It is important to note that you earn severance pay for every month of employment after completing your first year. This means that if you work for 14 months, you have earned severance pay for one year and two months.
http://severancepay.freeservers.com/index.html#c

SEVERANCE PAY
Canadian government offices in Korea receive many questions and complaints about severance pay (taechikum) issues. It is important to make sure that your contract contains a clear statement about severance pay, even if your employer is reluctant. By Korean law, discussed below, all full-time instructors (if you have an employment visa, you are considered full-time), whether Korean or foreign, are entitled to receive severance pay of one month's salary for each year of employment. Employers cannot ask you to waive this right, nor can they evade it by employing you on an 11-month contract.

The Ministry of Labour has jurisdiction over matters of severance pay. You can reach the Severance Pay Division at 82 (2) 503-9732/3; the general number for the Ministry of Labour is 82 (2) 503-9727 or 82(2) 2110-7062. The Ministry of Labour or the Ministry of Education may, at your request, call employers to remind them of their legal obligations. If you have exhausted all other avenues in trying to obtain severance pay and feel that you need to take legal action, the Canadian Embassy in Seoul can provide you with a list of attorneys.

Severance pay rights are covered by the Labour Standards Act of the Korean Legal Code. English-language translations of the Code are available at the Kyobo Bookstore, located near the U.S. Embassy. The key provisions of the Labour Standards Act relating to severance pay include:

Article 28(1) (Retirement Allowance System): An employer shall establish a system by which an average wage of not less than 30 days per year for each consecutive year employed shall be paid as retirement allowance to a retired employee. Provided, however, that this shall not apply in cases where the period of employment is less than one year.
Article 5 (Equal Treatment): No employer may include any discrimination in the terms of labour conditions because of nationality, religion or social status.

Article 10 (Scope of Application): The Act applies to all enterprises except small family businesses, domestic servants, and those exempted by Presidential decree.
When there is a dispute with your employer on your salary or severance payment, you should contact the local labour office in the area.
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/pubs/korea-en.asp#severance

The list of local labour offices are available at the following website at www.molab.go.kr/English/abou/sub_3_2.jsp.

Or you may wish to contact the following offices for legal advice;

Seoul Bar Association
Legal Center for Foreign Workers
1817-1 Seocho-dong Seocho-gu
Seoul Korea
Tel: 02-3476-8080 (ext. 5)

English speaking consultants are available on Mondays from 14:00-17:00.

Foreign Workers' Council
14 Bomun-dong 5-ga Sungbuk-gu
Seoul
Tel:02-928-2049 or 924-2706

Korea Legal Aid Corp.
1703-10 Seocho-dong Seocho-gu
Seoul
Tel:02-3482-0941

Seoul YMCA
Lawyers are available for consultations from 10 am to 4 pm
4th Fl.
9 Jongro-2-ga Jongro-gu
Seoul
Tel: 02-733-3181 or 734-3904

You can get information on small Claims Action on the following site;
www.scourt.go.kr/english/civil.html.

[People's Front of Judea]

Hello Yakey. I had the same question about severance pay about 2 weeks ago when I signed a contract for a college position. Check out the link to EFL Law's website. Another person asks a very similar question and gets a rather specific, practical answer about severance pay at university or college.


http://www.efl-law.com/faqans7_Sev_Pay.html


I hope this helps.

[J.B. Clamence]

If it is a private university, they can offer a private pension plan instead of severance. Some universities offer pension as well as a "bonus" equivalent to one month`s salary at the end of the year, which looks like a severance payment but it is not, since they are not required to pay it. As long as they are paying pension, then they are not required to offer this "bonus." So if it`s a private university and you are getting pension, then basically that means that they were really generous in the past by offering you a bonus as well, but now they have decided not to be so generous. It sucks, but it`s legal.