Korean Job Discussion Forums

[maddog]

Please give me your thoughts on this contract. I've highlighted the areas of particular concern.


This EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT has been made on this day ______________ between W Institute with its principal office at: (hereinafter referred to as the "Employer") and , a citizen of _________, passport No.: _____________, (hereinafter referred to as the "Employee"). The Employee will teach English at W branch located at: ____________________________. (hereinafter referred to as the ��Institute��). The Employer hereby hires the Employee and both parties agree on the following terms and conditions:


I. Period of Employment

A. The total agreement term is ___12_____ months, commencing from the date of teaching in Korea and finishing on ______________.
B. The term of this Agreement includes an orientation period, six (6) consecutive teaching sessions, and all scheduled vacations and holidays that fall between or during teaching sessions.
C. The Employee will discontinue residence in Korea under the visa status sponsored by the Employer upon the completion of this contract unless the both parties agree to renew the contract.



II. Conditions of Employment

1. Employee��s Duties:

During the term of this Agreement the Employee will perform the following duties:
1.1. Instruction in any phase of the Institute's program.
1.2. Curriculum design and implementation.
1.3. Development of educational programs and materials.
1.4. Extracurricular activities for/with students when needed.
1.5. Grading, evaluating and counseling of students.
1.6. Attendance at teachers' meetings and workshops.
1.7. Class preparation
1.8. Cooperation with the Principal/ Vice-Principal/ Academic Director in all aspects of employment.
1.9. Participation in other related activities.
This seems very vage

2. Working hours

2.1. Classes will be held from Monday to Friday during regular sessions and two intensive sessions during summer (July-August) and winter (December-January). It may vary from branch to branch upon needs of the Institute.
2.2. The Employee will be required to work at the times the Employer shall direct.
2.3. Working hours is from 2pm to 9:30pm for regular sessions. For two intensive sessions, from 9am to 6pm (it may change on the needs of the the Institute). However total teaching hours will not exceed 30 hours per week. The Employee is required to arrive at school at least 40 minutes before the first class.
2.4. Working hours may be modified from time to time at the sole discretion of the Employer depending upon a session and needs of the Institute.

3. Salary and Overtime

3.1. The Employee will be guaranteed (2,100,000) Won per month (before taxes for teaching 110 hours or 165 classes per month (1 class is 40 min.). This is to be considered as the Employee��s contract hours.[for teaching 110 hours or 165 classes per month (1 class is 40 min.). This is to be considered as the Employee��s contract hours]
3.2. Only the time worked in excess of contract hours will be considered as overtime. The Employee��s overtime pay will be (20,000) Won per (60) minutes. Attendance at scheduled teachers meetings, workshops and class preparation (which is mandatory) will not be considered as overtime.
41 classes per week!! No OT for workshops
3.3. The salary will be paid on the 15th day of each teaching month.
3.4. Computation of the initial (first month of employment) salary will commence from the 1st day of actual teaching at the Institute and, therefore, will not include the orientation period necessary for familiarization with the Institute��s curriculum and the Employee��s duties.

4. Severance Pay

Upon successful completion of a full contract period (12 months), the Employee will be given severance pay which is equivalent to his/her monthly salary of (2,100,000) Won. It will be paid in a month.

5. Benefits

5.1. Housing
(a) The Employer will select and provide free furnished living accommodation for the Employee usually located not far from the Institute (about 20-25 min. subway ride). (b) The accommodation may be a private apartment (bachelor/studio) or a two-three room apartment shared with other Employees with a private bedroom for each Employee and a shared kitchen and bathroom. (c) The Employer will also provide furnishings which will include: bed, table, two-burner, refrigerator, wardrobe, TV set and some bedding (pillow, comforter, sheets). (d) The costs of all utilities (gas, water, electricity, cable TV, and telephone charges) and a monthly maintenance fee will have to be paid by the Employee. In the case of shared accommodation, the costs will be divided between the housemates.

5.2. Vacation, Holidays and Emergency Leave
The Employee will have: (a) [paid]) short-term breaks between sessions as determined by the Employer.[in total approximately 15 days]. If the Employee wishes to take additional (unpaid) vacation, he/she must give the Employer at least a two-month notice before taking a vacation; (b) paid statutory/ public holidays detailed in a yearly calendar; (c) up to 5 days of paid emergency leave in a year in the event of a death or serious illness of an immediate family member, such as grandparent, parent, spouse, children, brother or sister. The emergency leave will be granted and/or extended after a close consultation with the Principal. The Employee will bear the cost of transportation.

5.3. Health Insurance
The Employee will be provided with health insurance coverage from the designated public health insurance corporation with 50% of the premium paid by the Employer and 50% - by the Employee.

5.4. Transportation
The Employer will purchase for the Employee a one-way economy class air ticket to Korea from a main international airport in the country/city where the Employee resides and from which he/she was hired. After completing a one-year contract the Employee will be provided with a return economy class air ticket.

5.5. Visa Sponsorship
If the Employee does not obtain work visa in the country of his/her residence, the Employee will receive full visa sponsorship from the Employer upon arrival in Korea. This will include a paid round trip air ticket to Japan (to obtain work visa there) and money to cover travel expenses.


III. Taxes and Other Deductions

The following taxes and deductions will be withheld from the Employee��s monthly salary:
A. Income tax required by the Korean Tax Law (approximately 5%, which may be adjusted pursue on the changes of the Korean Tax Law);
Isn't tax about 3.5%
B. National Pension Contribution according to regulation (approximately 5%, which may be adjusted pursue on the changes of the regulation).
NOTE: Upon completion of the contract (agreement), pension contributions will be fully reimbursed to the Employee from USA
& Canada by the Korean government;
C. Health Insurance (at present 1.7%);
D. 100,000 Won per month for the first three months as a security deposit for unpaid utilities and phone charges even if the Employee pays them each month. This deposit WILL BE refunded to the Employee one month after this contract is completed.
How many employers do this? How many teachers accept it?

IV. Employee��s Conduct and Dress Code

1. During the term of this Agreement the Employee is expected to conduct himself/herself in a professional manner that would project a good image of the Institute. Therefore, the following forms of behavior will NOT be permitted:
A. Coming to the Institute and conducting class under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs and while smoking;
B. Making sexual advances towards or entering into relationships with the students or employees of the Institute;
C. Using bad language in class that would offend or discredit students, the staff and the Institute.
D. Not following scheduled class timetables, canceling, starting classes late without the prior approval of principal.

2. The Employee should present himself/herself to students as a professional.

V. Duty of Confidentiality

A. The Employee shall not disclose information relating to the contents of lectures, teaching material and business operation of the Institute to any third party.
B. The Employee shall not disclose information regarding his/her salary, overtime payment, and contract hours to any third party, including other Employees of the Institute.

VI. Outside Employment and Conflicts of Interest

A. According to Korean Immigration Law, foreign workers are allowed to work legally in Korea ONLY for the Employer/Institute for which they have received a work visa.
B. By signing this Agreement, the Employee agrees to devote his expertise, time and attention to discharge his duties to his legal Employer and not to engage in any other activity that would in any manner whatsoever compete with the Employer and pose any conflict between the interest of the Employer and the other party and/or interfere with the performance of the Employee��s duties.
C. If the Employee wishes to accept any other employment, such as private or part-time teaching, editing and so on, he/she must get the Principal��s approval before doing so. Failure to comply with this rule may result in immediate dismissal.


VII. Dismissal, Voluntary Resignation and Liquidating Damages

1. The Employer will have the right to dismiss the Employee if or when:
A. The Employee repeatedly fails to perform his/her duties stated under this Agreement including but not limited to frequent absences from the place of Employment/Institute without approval of the Principal/ Vice-Principal.
B. The Employee fails to conduct himself/herself in a professional manner (as described in Employee��s Conduct and Dress Code section of this Agreement) resulting in damaging the image of the Institute.
C. The Employee places any student or a staff person in jeopardy or causes significant material damage to the Employer as a result of his/her negligence or reckless behavior.
D. The Employee commits any criminal act inside or outside the place of employment/Institute. This will result in immediate dismissal with neither warning nor time for remedy being given to the Employee.
E. The Employee has already received three (3) reprimands (warnings) from the Employer of dissatisfaction with the Employee��s performance, and the Employee has not rectified the situation.
2. The Employee may not earlier terminate this Agreement without a good reason. If required, 45 days prior notice must be given to the Employer before termination of the contract.

3. In any case of dismissal or voluntary resignation, the Employer will not provide a return ticket and will not give the severance pay. In addition, if the Employee voluntarily terminates this contract before six (6) months of employment, he/she will have to reimburse to the Employer the initial airfare and other expenses that the Employer has incurred in the process of hiring of the Employee, such as recruiter��s fee, housing utilities deposit and other expenses (if applicable).
So he can fire me after five months and I owe him money!!


VIII. Understanding

A. Both parties have read the above terms and conditions and agree to fulfill them in good faith and will resolve any dispute in a reasonable manner.
B. All issues that cannot be solved by the two parties above will be solved in accordance with the appropriate laws of the Republic of Korea.
c. The contents of Ewha Teachers�� Manual are to be incorporated to be part of this employment contract.

The employer will evaluate the employee every semester. The employer may
dismiss or transfer the employee to other branch, if employee fails to observe his/her duties stated above.
The Employer and the Employee have executed this agreement and appended their signatures on the date below:

[TheUrbanMyth]

You've noted the main problems. Also vacation seems to be a problem. If you look at the wording he could break up your vacation into 1 day breaks throughout the year. Also the number of vacation days seems oddly close to the number of legal paid holidays in Korea, leading me to think that maybe, just maybe they are one and the same.

I wouldn't work there.

[zappadelta]

Grotto, you are getting soft. You used to be all over these things 10 seconds after they came out. Where are you??

[Big Mac]

I don't think I would sign this contract. Here are the things I noticed....

1.4--So you might have to play soccer with the kids after classes? Get them to define extracurricular activities.

2.1--Classes will be Monday to Friday, unless you're unlucky enough to be at a school where things are different?

2.4--Makes everything in section two meaningless.

3.4--So you don't get paid for orientation? Hmmm.

4--Why can't they pay severence pay immediately? There's no reason you should have to wait a month.

5.1--So you may or may not have private accommodation? I wouldn't agree to that.

5.3--get the percentages written in here so he doesn't overcharge you. It's 2.4 per cent a month for both you and the employer.

Taxes are too high. On 2 million won I paid 1.6 per cent. It may be slightly higher for 2.1 million, but not that high.

Pension is 4.5 per cent for you, 4.5 per cent for your employer. If he tries to tell you in the future that the government has raised it, don't take his word for it and check it out yourself.

I think most contracts have the deposit clause in them, so yes, it is common. I accepted such a clause. Some people will tell you to just say no, but I think it is a reasonable request if you agree to it. However, you should not have to wait a month for a refund. You should get it immediately after your contract is over. Your boss can check to find out the final totals for your bills and deduct them off your final pay without witholding that money.

At the bottom of the contract it mentions that the contents of the Ewha Teachers' Manual will be incorporated into the contract. I wouldn't sign this contract until you get your hands on that manual to make sure you agree to whatever is in it. It might not be a big deal, but you don't know.

[maddog]

Cheers for the replies. I emailed my CV like crazy yesterday, so I'll see what appears in my inbox tomorrow. I'm sure there are better contracts than that one.

MD

[Grotto]

Sorry Zappadelta....was out having fun this weekend


This EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT has been made on this day ______________ between W Institute with its principal office at: (hereinafter referred to as the "Employer") and , a citizen of _________, passport No.: _____________, (hereinafter referred to as the "Employee"). The Employee will teach English at W branch located at: ____________________________. (hereinafter referred to as the ��Institute��). The Employer hereby hires the Employee and both parties agree on the following terms and conditions:


I. Period of Employment

A. The total agreement term is ___12_____ months, commencing from the date of teaching in Korea and finishing on ______________.
B. The term of this Agreement includes an orientation period, six (6) consecutive teaching sessions, and all scheduled vacations and holidays that fall between or during teaching sessions.
C. The Employee will discontinue residence in Korea under the visa status sponsored by the Employer upon the completion of this contract unless the both parties agree to renew the contract.



II. Conditions of Employment

1. Employee��s Duties:

During the term of this Agreement the Employee will perform the following duties:
1.1. Instruction in any phase of the Institute's program.
1.2. Curriculum design and implementation.
1.3. Development of educational programs and materials.
1.4. Extracurricular activities for/with students when needed.
1.5. Grading, evaluating and counseling of students.
1.6. Attendance at teachers' meetings and workshops.
1.7. Class preparation
1.8. Cooperation with the Principal/ Vice-Principal/ Academic Director in all aspects of employment.
1.9. Participation in other related activities.
This seems very vage

Typical stupidity of hogwan contracts....Extracurricular activities? Counseling? Are you applying for an ESL teaching position or something more?
2. Working hours

2.1. Classes will be held from Monday to Friday during regular sessions and two intensive sessions during summer (July-August) and winter (December-January). It may vary from branch to branch upon needs of the Institute.
2.2. The Employee will be required to work at the times the Employer shall direct.
2.3. Working hours is from 2pm to 9:30pm for regular sessions. For two intensive sessions, from 9am to 6pm (it may change on the needs of the the Institute). However total teaching hours will not exceed 30 hours per week. The Employee is required to arrive at school at least 40 minutes before the first class.

If you are 'required' to be at school 40 minutes early then that time should be counted towards your 30 hours per week. I dont know where they learned how to do math but: 2-930=7.5 hours a day X 5 days a week = 37.5 hours a week....and that 9-6 is absolute crap!

2.4. Working hours may be modified from time to time at the sole discretion of the Employer depending upon a session and needs of the Institute.

Major red flag! No way in hell should you agree to this insanity!

3. Salary and Overtime

3.1. The Employee will be guaranteed (2,100,000) Won per month (before taxes for teaching 110 hours or 165 classes per month (1 class is 40 min.). This is to be considered as the Employee��s contract hours.[for teaching 110 hours or 165 classes per month (1 class is 40 min.). This is to be considered as the Employee��s contract hours]

Way too many classes! Thats about 65 more classes then you should agree to per month. 5 - 6 classes a day is more than enough!

3.2. Only the time worked in excess of contract hours will be considered as overtime. The Employee��s overtime pay will be (20,000) Won per (60) minutes. Attendance at scheduled teachers meetings, workshops and class preparation (which is mandatory) will not be considered as overtime.

If its mandatory it should be paid!...If its not paid then dont go!

41 classes per week!! No OT for workshops
3.3. The salary will be paid on the 15th day of each teaching month.
3.4. Computation of the initial (first month of employment) salary will commence from the 1st day of actual teaching at the Institute and, therefore, will not include the orientation period necessary for familiarization with the Institute��s curriculum and the Employee��s duties.

Salary should be paid at the end of the month....not 45 days after starting..there is no reason to let them keep half a months of your wages!

4. Severance Pay

Upon successful completion of a full contract period (12 months), the Employee will be given severance pay which is equivalent to his/her monthly salary of (2,100,000) Won. It will be paid in a month.

Paid upon completion of contract! One month my ass!

5. Benefits

5.1. Housing
(a) The Employer will select and provide free furnished living accommodation for the Employee usually located not far from the Institute (about 20-25 min. subway ride). (b) The accommodation may be a private apartment (bachelor/studio) or a two-three room apartment shared with other Employees with a private bedroom for each Employee and a shared kitchen and bathroom. (c) The Employer will also provide furnishings which will include: bed, table, two-burner, refrigerator, wardrobe, TV set and some bedding (pillow, comforter, sheets). (d) The costs of all utilities (gas, water, electricity, cable TV, and telephone charges) and a monthly maintenance fee will have to be paid by the Employee. In the case of shared accommodation, the costs will be divided between the housemates.

just say no to shared accomodations!

5.2. Vacation, Holidays and Emergency Leave
The Employee will have: (a) [paid]) short-term breaks between sessions as determined by the Employer.[in total approximately 15 days]. If the Employee wishes to take additional (unpaid) vacation, he/she must give the Employer at least a two-month notice before taking a vacation; (b) paid statutory/ public holidays detailed in a yearly calendar; (c) up to 5 days of paid emergency leave in a year in the event of a death or serious illness of an immediate family member, such as grandparent, parent, spouse, children, brother or sister. The emergency leave will be granted and/or extended after a close consultation with the Principal. The Employee will bear the cost of transportation.

I dont like the short term breaks clause...it looks like they can schedule you for several long weekends...it would be nice to know exactly when you would have your vacation!

5.3. Health Insurance
The Employee will be provided with health insurance coverage from the designated public health insurance corporation with 50% of the premium paid by the Employer and 50% - by the Employee.

5.4. Transportation
The Employer will purchase for the Employee a one-way economy class air ticket to Korea from a main international airport in the country/city where the Employee resides and from which he/she was hired. After completing a one-year contract the Employee will be provided with a return economy class air ticket.

5.5. Visa Sponsorship
If the Employee does not obtain work visa in the country of his/her residence, the Employee will receive full visa sponsorship from the Employer upon arrival in Korea. This will include a paid round trip air ticket to Japan (to obtain work visa there) and money to cover travel expenses.


III. Taxes and Other Deductions

The following taxes and deductions will be withheld from the Employee��s monthly salary:
A. Income tax required by the Korean Tax Law (approximately 5%, which may be adjusted pursue on the changes of the Korean Tax Law);

Tax is not a set rate...go to the NTS tax website to find out your monthly withholding tax....it comes out to about 2.5% on 2.1 mil

Isn't tax about 3.5%
B. National Pension Contribution according to regulation (approximately 5%, which may be adjusted pursue on the changes of the regulation).
NOTE: Upon completion of the contract (agreement), pension contributions will be fully reimbursed to the Employee from USA
& Canada by the Korean government;

its not 5% its 4.5%.....approximations dont belong in a contract!

C. Health Insurance (at present 1.7%);
D. 100,000 Won per month for the first three months as a security deposit for unpaid utilities and phone charges even if the Employee pays them each month. This deposit WILL BE refunded to the Employee one month after this contract is completed.

It is illegal for them to deduct money from your cheque...dont let them! One month after your contract my ass!

How many employers do this? How many teachers accept it?

IV. Employee��s Conduct and Dress Code

1. During the term of this Agreement the Employee is expected to conduct himself/herself in a professional manner that would project a good image of the Institute. Therefore, the following forms of behavior will NOT be permitted:
A. Coming to the Institute and conducting class under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs and while smoking;
B. Making sexual advances towards or entering into relationships with the students or employees of the Institute;
C. Using bad language in class that would offend or discredit students, the staff and the Institute.
D. Not following scheduled class timetables, canceling, starting classes late without the prior approval of principal.

2. The Employee should present himself/herself to students as a professional.

V. Duty of Confidentiality

A. The Employee shall not disclose information relating to the contents of lectures, teaching material and business operation of the Institute to any third party.
B. The Employee shall not disclose information regarding his/her salary, overtime payment, and contract hours to any third party, including other Employees of the Institute.

VI. Outside Employment and Conflicts of Interest

A. According to Korean Immigration Law, foreign workers are allowed to work legally in Korea ONLY for the Employer/Institute for which they have received a work visa.

Not true! With permission from immigration it is possible to work at a second job site!

B. By signing this Agreement, the Employee agrees to devote his expertise, time and attention to discharge his duties to his legal Employer and not to engage in any other activity that would in any manner whatsoever compete with the Employer and pose any conflict between the interest of the Employer and the other party and/or interfere with the performance of the Employee��s duties.
C. If the Employee wishes to accept any other employment, such as private or part-time teaching, editing and so on, he/she must get the Principal��s approval before doing so. Failure to comply with this rule may result in immediate dismissal.


VII. Dismissal, Voluntary Resignation and Liquidating Damages

1. The Employer will have the right to dismiss the Employee if or when:
A. The Employee repeatedly fails to perform his/her duties stated under this Agreement including but not limited to frequent absences from the place of Employment/Institute without approval of the Principal/ Vice-Principal.
B. The Employee fails to conduct himself/herself in a professional manner (as described in Employee��s Conduct and Dress Code section of this Agreement) resulting in damaging the image of the Institute.
C. The Employee places any student or a staff person in jeopardy or causes significant material damage to the Employer as a result of his/her negligence or reckless behavior.
D. The Employee commits any criminal act inside or outside the place of employment/Institute. This will result in immediate dismissal with neither warning nor time for remedy being given to the Employee.
E. The Employee has already received three (3) reprimands (warnings) from the Employer of dissatisfaction with the Employee��s performance, and the Employee has not rectified the situation.
2. The Employee may not earlier terminate this Agreement without a good reason. If required, 45 days prior notice must be given to the Employer before termination of the contract.

3. In any case of dismissal or voluntary resignation, the Employer will not provide a return ticket and will not give the severance pay. In addition, if the Employee voluntarily terminates this contract before six (6) months of employment, he/she will have to reimburse to the Employer the initial airfare and other expenses that the Employer has incurred in the process of hiring of the Employee, such as recruiter��s fee, housing utilities deposit and other expenses (if applicable). So he can fire me after five months and I owe him money!!

Yup thats one to avoid for damn sure!

VIII. Understanding

A. Both parties have read the above terms and conditions and agree to fulfill them in good faith and will resolve any dispute in a reasonable manner.
B. All issues that cannot be solved by the two parties above will be solved in accordance with the appropriate laws of the Republic of Korea.
c. The contents of Ewha Teachers�� Manual are to be incorporated to be part of this employment contract.

The employer will evaluate the employee every semester. The employer may
dismiss or transfer the employee to other branch, if employee fails to observe his/her duties stated above.
The Employer and the Employee have executed this agreement and appended their signatures on the date below: