Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chessmaster9000]

There has been allot of posts regarding new contracts lateley. I thought prospective teachers could use the following information.



Key areas to pay attention to are:

* monthly wage
Expect your pay range to be between 1,800,000 Korean Won and 2,200,000 Korean Won.

Currency converter: http://www.xe.com/ucc/


* hours worked and when and what constitutes an 'hour'
You should work a maximum of 30 hours of month per week, and a maximum of 120 hours per month. Class hours are generally 45 - 50 minutes long. (Additional information coming)




* holiday and annual leave provisions

There has been some confusion lately regarding what the situation is with holidays in Korea. What is paid? What is not paid? What Koreans get and what foreigners get? What the law says and what a contract means?

First, do your homework for negotiating your contract before you come to Korea or sign a contract. Too many teachers take no notice of what is actually being written in the contract, and if it is signed and put into immigration, then you have agreed to holidays as written in your contract. Don't plead ignorance later and say you were told something else and don't blame your recruiter or director. It is up to you to get the answers, and see the correct things written in your contract. The written word is important.

The Korean labour law was written for Koreans (strange that). There is no separate law for foreigners! Most employers of foreign workers adapt the holiday rules, often more to the benefit of foreigners, than the opposite.

Maybe we are all so used to the 'cosy' holidays in our own countries we think we should get the same holidays in Korea? What happens in our Western countries when we get demanding with an employer? Can we run away and post a message against them on an Internet discussion site because we were not allowed a day or week off at a time we wanted? No, because there are some decent slander and liable laws in our countries. Lawyers would have a field day making money!

The Koreans also have a bonus pay system in their labor law. They are entitled to extra pay for every 12 full months work they do (no less and no percentage of it for 9 months work etc!). They are given 4 weeks free pay from the employer. This is to a foreigner like 4 weeks holiday pay. We call it a severance pay and feel we are entitled to it (and yes we are). To get 4 weeks extra pay and then walk away from a job is great for a foreigner. This means we can have a 4-week holiday at our employer's expense. We foreigners never think why we were entitled to this extra severance pay? To a Korean it is a bonus for good work. They stay working after 12 months, and often don't have the time off (I am speaking across the general Korean population). They will continue to get the 'bonus' pay each year they stay employed. What other western countries have a similar yearly bonus 'on top of' official holiday pay?Maybe if you are on a salary and incentive contract perhaps, but not if you are working as a Pizza delivery boy in New York! Hopefully you get some good tips?

The Korean law states that an employee can have one day off a month as paid leave. They often can only take this one day at a time each month. Often there is adherence to a set period of being 'absence free' tied to the bonus of time off for a Korean citizen. Perhaps this is why many sick Koreans go to work, because they don't want to lose their paid holiday day? If the Korean employee is not sick, then they will be able to get 12 paid days a year. but this is for full time work, which in Korea is a 44-hour week. Most teaching contracts are for 25-30 hours a week. Teachers are not on full time contracts, and it is legal to give a percentage of this entitlement. Teachers have a set term 12-month contract but with less than full time hours.

Many schools are now writing their own holidays into contracts to fit their classes and opening times (eg. the holiday must be taken at a certain time). By writing their own clauses, they are sometimes giving out more than the Koreans are getting. Almost certainly the Korean staff will be getting something different.

Maybe they get a special bonus such as paid for Korean public statutory holidays? Don't think, 'what they are getting I should be getting.' Many Korean workers are actually jealous of the Westerners and their holidays in Korea.

The law states you get the national holidays as holidays, and don't have to work them, but it does not state they are automatically paid holidays. At no time in the law does it automatically give public holidays as paid to anybody working a 30-hour contract! Many directors are actually kind and pay a foreigner for them anyway.

Don't just expect payment for them. You have no legal rights to say it is not fair if a friend gets them at his school and you don't. The law is not on your side. Your director is not a bad employer because he is not giving them to you.

As far as taking holiday time, there is no law that states you can take time off when you want to have a planned holiday with your friend etc. Don't push your employer and expect this. There is no law that states that you should get 12 days paid holiday as a 30-hour a week worker or that you can take all 12 days together.

You will be expected to fit your holidays and time off into the school program. If you are expecting one full week off (7 days in succession), then think about the impact this has on the school program, and who will cover the classes? Especially if you want to go away with your friend who works at the same school! The school can't legally employ relieving teachers. Any foreign staff must have a visa! Some schools do close down for set weeks of the year in the summer and winter period. If this is the case at your school this is when you will be allocated your holidays.

Don't bully, demand or be sour to the director when discussing your holiday entitlement. For centuries the Koreans have learnt to interact under their laws with their employers. Unless a foreigner's law becomes legal in Korea, no foreigner has the right to demand other conditions. Why not try and use adoption, understanding and negotiation when dealing with 'holidays that are paid and holidays that are not.'

If you check your own country's laws you will most likely find you are only entitled to 2-4 weeks paid holiday after you have worked 12 months, Not during the 12 months. Of course you will most likely get your country's public holidays paid for. I am sure you are now aware most Western countries have only a few Public holidays such as Easter and Christmas, Thanks Giving, July 4 etc. In Korea there are often 12-14 public holidays that MUST be taken on the day they fall.

You may notice your director shifts his calendar over an extra day or two for session times that encompass holidays. He will not want to miss a day getting paid by his students! He may have even arranged 'catch-up' classes to be taught by you!! Generally the sessions are worked to fit the 120 hours a month and are timetabled around holidays etc.

Everyone should take some time to correctly look at his or her own monthly session times, and understand that all schools will be different. You are working in private businesses. There will often be NO consistency, even in franchise situations.

Koreans will make things fit. Don't expect labor and employment conditions and laws to emulate any laws and rules from your own country as far as holiday periods are concerned. Many Western countries have almost 'constipated' themselves with 'workers entitlements and rights.'

You came to work in Korea (or are coming to work in Korea). Please do some sensible research on what Korean laws are, and think about what Korean people live and work under. This is where you are working and these are now your laws!


* health insurance (ESL Teachers pay 50% Employers will pay 50%)
http://www.nhic.or.kr

* accommodations
You should get the option of living by yourself, or with other teachers. "Option" being the key word. A clean apartment is important to have in your contract. Your apartment should also have 1 bed, washing machine, bathroom (not shared by other tenants), bedding, pots, pans, eating ware, eating utensils, bedding, telivision, microwave, dresser, and some include a VCR. Make sure there's a clause in your contract stating you will get the previously mentioned items. Inspect your apartment with your employer upon arrival. This will prevent you from paying for previous damages. Teacher's housing is included in the contract, general utility charges such as electricity and phone are your only costs.

Some schools include in their contract that the teacher must pay an 'apartment security deposit' (ASD) of 600,000 Won which is deducted from the initial pay, and is designed to cover any outstanding apartment expenses or damage caused willfully or negligently by the teacher during his stay - some schools have fabricated stories and reasons as to why the' ASD' should not be refunded - thus one should be very wary of signing this type of contract.



* contract length
Employers will usually sign one year contracts, and it's almost impossible to obtain contracts less than a year.

* taxes (Monthly withholding taxes & national pension program)
Pension taxes consist of a deduction from your salary of 4.5% matched with an equal contribution paid by your employer. It will be extremely important that you get this in your contract.

Monthly withholding taxes

http://www.nta.go.kr/menu/users/ntseng/Tax_Guide1.htm
Some employers in South Korea have a track record of taking advantage of new teachers. Click on the above website, and then click on Check My Monthly Withholding Tax. That should help you.

Your employer must deduct income tax monthly from your Wage & Salary Income, based on Simplified Tax Withholding Tabl issued by National Tax Service.

Your employer is required to pay the withheld tax amount to the District Tax Office by the tenth of the following month.

Your employer must submit in February a "Receipt for Wage & Salary Income Taxes Withholding" form. Ask for a copy of this. This must be prepared at the end of your contract and is proof of Taxes to be paid to the Korean Tax Office.


* penalty clauses
Ask that they are removed from your contract, since they are a deceptive practice

* sick leave
If you don't have sick days included in your contract, then ask for 3 days.

*severance bonus

Upon completing your 12-month contract, your employer is required by Korean Law to pay you a severance bonus equal to one months regular salary. This is usually subject to normal taxes as well. It cannot be apportioned or paid out at any time prior to the completion of 12 months work. You are not able do a 'deal' with any employer, that will have him paying this bonus earlier, or monthly, throughout your contract.

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.

This post is scheduled for improvement at a later time. Thanks for your patience.

[Son Deureo!]

And here is a good quick and dirty guide for bare minimum standards for what a newbie should look for in a kiddie hogwon job here in Korea:

2.0 million for 120 teaching hours/mo
free non-shared apartment
roundtrip airfare from and to the nearest international airport to your home
block shift (no more than 8 hours between your daily start and finish time, get that in writing)
health insurance, 50% of premium paid by you, 50% by employer
Monday-Friday schedule, NO SATURDAYS
2 weeks vacation
all national holidays off (no need to make them up)
any overtime is optional, paid at the rate of 120% of your standard hourly pay


Check any job offers/contracts for these items, and if any of these conditions are not met or exceeded, the job is substandard. Push for all of these items, or keep looking.

There are no guarantees, as a sleazy hogwon owner will cheerfully violate even the most teacher-friendly contract, but a good contract is definitely a good place to start. More importantly than the contract, be sure to speak with one or more current or former teachers to see what the working conditions are like.

[chessmaster9000]

[chessmaster9000]

Grotto,

Have I missed anything?