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HELP!! Any info on these schools would be much appreciated
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:04 pm    Post subject: HELP!! Any info on these schools would be much appreciated Reply with quote

I have been offered contracts from the following schools: YBM Songpa, SLP Suji and I have an interview with JEL Sonban. I have read awful things about SLP, but I have to admit it was by far the best interview I had. Does anyone know about the Suji SLP specifically? I've pretty much decided against YBM, but any info on JEL would be appreciated too. Thanks a bundle.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:43 pm    Post subject: Re: HELP!! Any info on these schools would be much appreciat Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:
I have been offered contracts from the following schools: YBM Songpa, SLP Suji and I have an interview with JEL Sonban. I have read awful things about SLP, but I have to admit it was by far the best interview I had. Does anyone know about the Suji SLP specifically? I've pretty much decided against YBM, but any info on JEL would be appreciated too. Thanks a bundle.


When you interviewed with the Slave Labor Program in Suji did you talk to the foreign teachers or just the whitey wrangler?

Did you get the e-mail addresses of the other foreigners there so you could chat with them when the boss wasn't looking over their shoulder?

Did you ask specifically about:
How long they have been there?
What about pay and OVERTIME? They ALWAYS used to use creative book keeping to avoid overtime.
What about VACATIONS and RED DAYS? Do you get block holidays so you can travel or just a day here and a day there?
What about medical and pension? They NEVER used to pay these.
What about the tax rate? They ALWAYS used to charge 3.3% (about double the legal rate).

What about classes? How many per day, week and month?
What is the length of the classes? 80 minutes - counted as 80 minutes = 7200 contact minutes per month as compared to other contracts with 120*50 minute classes = 6000 contact minutes per month. It means standing in front of the students for an extra 20 hours per month with NO extra pay.

The chain's reputation is well deserved. BEWARE.
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I spoke with a recruiter and then the director of the school and then another Korean lady whose job I'm not sure of. Heres a copy of the contract...


Is it a bad contract??


Last edited by cdedbdii on Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:38 am; edited 1 time in total
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laogaiguk



Joined: 06 Dec 2005
Location: somewhere in Korea

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:

7. Compensation
A. Monthly Salary
Except for the period of orientation and teacher training, the Institute will pay the Teacher a total monthly basic salary of million won.
The monthly salary is based on the monthly teaching session and payment will be made on 5th ~ 10th day of the following the month. Korean income tax, National Pension and Medical Insurance will be deducted from the monthly salary.

No set pay day. That's crap!

Quote:

B. Overtime
Overtime teaching - beyond 22-80 min. units classes - is paid at the rate of 1.2 times of the regular pay. The assignment of overtime above the regular 22 units classes is at the sole discretion of the Institute.
Payment for teaching class on Saturday is made at the rate of 1.2 times of the regular pay per class(80 minute). Payment for special event on Saturday is upon the discretion of the SLP director.

1.2??? That's crap! And payment is at the discretion of the director. That's a whole lot of crap!
Quote:

In case of substitute teaching, the Teacher will receive substitute teaching fee
20,000 Won/unit(80 minute), only if the substitute teaching class hours exceed the Teacher�s contractual class hours. In case the Teacher is about or misses his/her classes, the Teacher shall be responsible for the substitute teaching fee Won/unit(80 minute). That means the substitute teaching fee shall be deducted from the monthly payment or the substitute teaching fee will be directly paid by the teacher who is about or misses his/her classes.

You have to pay if you miss a class. That's crap!
Quote:

C. Orientation and Teacher Training
The teacher will receive up to 3 ~ 10 days of orientation and training. 40,000 won per a day will be paid during the period of orientation and training. The orientation and training schedule will be approximately 8 hours a day.

5 bucks an hour. That's crap!

Sorry, I stopped reading after that crap!
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seoulsista



Joined: 31 Aug 2005

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's pretty bad.

Here are the things I found fishy:

In the "termination" section they state they can fire you for unsatisfactory performance and there's no mention of warnings. So basically, if enrollment is down and they can't afford you they can fire you at will and claim it as "unsatisfactory performance" and then you are stuck with reimbursing your plane ticket there and paying your way home.

The amount of job responsibilities is unreal.

Saturdays with only the possibility of getting paid.

Two hours prep!

You can also be fired for defamation by falsehood. This should be a big red flag that they have had serious problems in the past.

There's a million other little things about this contract that are also pretty dead give aways but you get the picture.

Be patient. You deserve better and you can find better.

[/list]
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Dan The Chainsawman



Joined: 05 May 2005

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I stopped reading after I saw 22 classes of 80 minutes a piece. I would politely turn them down and seek better employment elsewhere.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cdedbdii wrote:
I spoke with a recruiter and then the director of the school and then another Korean lady whose job I'm not sure of. Heres a copy of the contract...
(edited for brevity )

The teacher�s daily working hours � including preparation, class teaching, etc. � are 8 hours. The Teacher will have at least 22 classes(80 minute) per teaching week. Monday through Friday are teaching days except for scheduled public holidays and vacation days.

The Teacher is expected to devote no less than 2 hours a day at the Institute for lesson planning with co-teachers, student evaluations, reporting, consultation with parents, supervision of play, and maintenance of the English environment during breaks, workshops, and teachers� meetings.

(edited for brevity)

Is it a bad contract??


It is a really bad contract.

A typical hakwon job is 30 classes of 50 minutes per week (1500 contact minutes).

This contract is for 22 classes of 80 minutes (1760 contact minutes per week.) 260 minutes = 4.33 hours of MORE contact time than any other hakwon PER WEEK.

A typical public school job by comparison is 22 classes of 40 minutes per week for the same salary.

It doesn't surprise me that you were NOT given the chance to talk to or get the e-mails of the foreign teachers. Anyone who has been here for more than 6 months KNOWS that SLP is a crap franchise and there are NO good schools in that chain.

Sign on with them at your own risk. You have been warned.

.
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cdedbdii



Joined: 09 Aug 2006

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow.... I didn't realize this was such an awful contract... the 80 minute classes seemed like a bit much... but I didn't realize the rest was so bad aswell... Thanks for the help... Has anyone heard of JEL? I have an interview with them next week and I haven't been able to find any comments on them... here is a sample contract... I would really love some advice... Im new at this... so I don't see the red flags the vets are seeing:

Last edited by cdedbdii on Fri Aug 25, 2006 1:56 am; edited 1 time in total
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seoulsista



Joined: 31 Aug 2005

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Two weeks of training seems excessive and I certainly wouldn't want to live with a roomate but those are upto you to decide. Overall, a signifigantly better contract. Although I should tell you they probably might not like you posting their contract on here though.
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