Korean Job Discussion Forums

[peppermint]

If all else fails, there's an English hotline for the pension office ( dial 1355), and they might be interested in this little game your employer is playing

[lastat06513]

Actually, making back payments is kinda common, especially after some time if the payments were not made at the start of your E2.

I started work at my college at the beginning of the Spring semester (march) and they didn't start making payments into the pension plan until June. So when the time came, they deducted 4 months worth from my pay in one fowl swoop~ that was a whopping punch for me, especially with summer vacation coming up.

But if the high rate of deductions is steady and continuous, then they are trying to deduct the whole amount from you.

Then you know its time to either;

1. Talk kindly to the boss and politely explain the situation to him and what he is doing is a tad illegal.

2. Scurry on down to the local labor board, with your contract and pay stubs in tow, and kindly and politely tell them how your boss is duking you up the 5th point of contact without lubrication.


You got to get those "poops" and "scallywags"

[ontheway]

Kermo,

You still haven't explained how the employer will be taking 9% from you. You keep saying they'll be taking 4.5% from your salary. But you haven't said how they'll be taking the other 4.5%.

Are they reducing your pay level by 4.5%? and then additionally deducting 4.5% from that new pay level? How do you get to 9%??

[JeJuJitsu]

[kermo]

[ontheway]

This still doesn't answer the question.

4.5 % is deducted from your pay for pension. The insurance is another deduction. Now, do you pay the other 4.5 % for pension in cash back to your employer? How do you pay it? It's the employer that has to send in the whole 9%. You send in nothing. So, if the employer deducts only 4.5% then thats all you are paying.

[some waygug-in]

If it were me......I would tell them to forget the insurance and I would just pay cash when I have to.

Medical costs in Korea are not that bad. Of course this does not account for serious injuries.

Any jobs that I've had so far either didn't have insurance........ or if there was insurance it was such a collosal pain in the arse to administer that I ended up paying cash anyway and getting nothing from the insurance.


I find that I am better off just telling them that I will look after it myself.

[riley]

Kermo,
I think some people may have missed a very important point here, because I thought in your previous (other threads) posts, you made reference from being from the southern hemisphere. If you are from New Zealand, (Australia, also?) you don't get the pension back. This may be an even more important issue for you than your boss being a lazy, dumb, con artist.

[JongnoGuru]

(I was going to write, "But Kermo, you should be used to this sort of treatment coming from Canada, where things and people are basically the same there as here, or so I've been schooled on Dave's". But I decided not to be an uncaring pr1ck today, so....)

[joe_doufu]

i too was snookered out of medical coverage, and no way am i going to pay back payments. i only got sick once, tonsilitis, and the boss paid for my medicine. it was less than US$20, though, so it was cheaper than insurance would've been.

[Kimchieluver]

I think all you people without coverage better stop eating chicken then. I wouldn't want some bird flu without coverage, but that's just me.

[some waygug-in]

If bird flu is as dangerous as they say, insurance ain't gonna help..


Just my thoughts.

AS a related subject, I've become interested in alternative treatments.
Things like folk remedies, certain herbs and vegetables are quite useful in boosting the immune system.

Garlic for example, when I start to come down with a bad cold, garlic does help but the taste and the bad breath that accompany its use can be off-putting. So my solution is to go eat Sam Gye tang with lots of garlic, (that way the taste is not so strong) then go to bed early.

Hydrogen peroxide can also come in handy for a sore throat, although it tastes like ........I don't know ......but it makes me want to hurl if I take too much. It really does help for a sore throat though. If you can't handle it straight (3% bottles from the pharmacy) you can mix it with a bit of fruit juice and gargle. Don't believe me... look here:

http://www.h2o2-4u.com/

As far as medical insurance goes, it's only useful for serious injury or long-term hospital stays......... I don't plan on having either of those in Korea, but who knows?

It's up to you.

[ajuma]

some waygug-in:

[kermo]

Okay, here's the long awaited explanation from the management...

The school intends to pay their share (4.5%) of the pension IF I SO CHOOSE, but only after they will "adjust my salary" by negative 50,000 to help defray the cost of the school's contribution. According to their math, I will still come out slightly ahead.

Why haven't they had the pension plan in place before this? Well, apparently the Korean teachers who slave away six days a week are not full-time employees: they are "freelancers."

I'm scratching my head about why they're trying to put this system in place to begin with. Maybe after getting busted by immigration for employing an unqualified teacher (in the recent crack-down), they're being told to dot some 'i's and cross some 't's.

Anyway, I'm calling the pension office tomorrow to discuss this "freelancing" malarkey and the "salary adjustment" bologna.

[JacktheCat]

Mostly likely you'll get nowhere with the pension office.

Your best bet is too take a trip down to your local Labour Board. I am sure they would be most interested in this little game your school is playing.