Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ptewkesb]

Would someone please give me some advice on how to respond to the following working-hours clause in a tentative contract? I've told both the recruiter and the school that I do not want to work Saturdays and that I do not want to work split shifts. Both have agreed that that is fine, but the terms and conditions of the contract I've been sent include the following statement regarding working hours:

"The employee��s weekly face-face teaching hours will be no more than 33 hours. Any face-face teaching hours exceeding 33 hours will be paid as over time. Hours may be scheduled from Monday to Saturday and may involve morning, afternoon and/or evening work. The employee will be entitled to 2 days off per week. The employee may be assigned different classes during the day . . . .

"In addition to the face-face teaching hours prescribed above, employees are responsible for the planning and programming of their classes, and for the accurate maintenance of student records. Meetings are compulsory and will be advised by the Director of Studies.

"Therefore, the working day will be 8.5 hours, with 6.5 hours face-face teaching, 30 minutes meeting, 45 minutes administration and preparation and 45 minutes lunch-break. The schedule may change according to the institute��s needs but the institute management will do so through negotiation with the employee. The employee shall devote your working hours to the activities and interests of the company."

So is this type of wording in a contract fairly standard? Would I be out of line to ask the school to be more specific in this clause and write something like "Monday through Friday, 2:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m.?" I'm not sure what the protocol is. I've read and heard that Korean employers are turned off by "haggling" over contract language, but the clause above seems like it could be so broadly interpreted that I could get royally screwed. Any tips? Thanks!

P. S. I've got a few other questions about some other points in the contract. If anyone is feeling particularly altruistic, I'd love for him or her to review the whole thing.

[zappadelta]

You don't need to review anything else about this contract, say "NO" NOW

[Ya-ta Boy]

[sheba]

I agree.... say NO!!!

The average teaching contract is 30 hours per week including admin and breaks... right? Well, all the jobs I applied for were...

Seriously, this contract sounds REALLY bad... it is not standard! But if youre still interested Id be happy to give my 'opinion' on any other matters...

[Canucksaram]

Short answer: no, your employer should not be unwilling to specify your normal working hours (i.e., 2 to 10 PM).

Your hours will almost certainly change according to the exam period the kids have at their regular day-to-day public schooling. Try to add a clause to your contract that requires your employer to give you as much notice as possible about such changes.

As for the trickier non-specified work and meeting time "activities," I suggest the following:

Add a "notwithstanding" clause to your contract.

Basically, add to the body of your contract the following "notwithstanding" clause:

(a) the teacher shall not be required to "work" (i.e., perform any employment-related duties/responsibilities) on any weekend day or national holiday, notwithstanding any other section/part/clause of the contract; and that,

(b) where the Korean Labor Standards Act and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights supersede any section/part/clause of the employment contract, they shall, notwithstanding any other section/part/clause of the employment contract, supersede the employment contract

And that should be that.

[Derrek]

Tell them to take that out of the contract, specify exact hours, and only Monday-Friday, or go somewhere else.

If this was an honest mistake where they did not change the contract, then fine -- just point it out and have it changed.

But if they insist on this being in the contract, then NO MATTER WHAT THEY PROMISE -- DO NOT SIGN!!!

Look elsewhere.

[Squid]

Yes, point out via e-mail to your pimp, sorry recruiter, the parts you've highlighted here and ask for the hours to be specified... and look elswhere 'cause there's fat chance they'll change it.

[ptewkesb]

Thank you all very much for responding.

Upon your advice, and fully expecting no response whatsoever, I sent the school a lengthy email outlining my major (but not all) concerns. To my surprise, the director emailed me back, "We can modify these matters" and even said, "If you want to fix your teaching hours and write down in the contract, please do so. And send the contract back to me." The director closed the email with "You are always welcomed to email me if you have any other questions."

Y'all are way more experienced with contracts than I. Is the school's response a good sign, or is the subtext "Sure, dude, write whatever you want but we're still going to do whatever we want"?

I'm tempted to rewrite the whole contract using the EFL-Law template, but am not sure if it's worth my time and trouble if the school is just going to f me over anyway.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Son Deureo!]