Korean Job Discussion Forums

[laughter28]

Hi,

I'm new to the site. And I am seriously considering teaching English is Korea. However, I don't know what schools have great reputations for treating their foreign staff well (i.e. paying on time, accommodations provided, workload, etc.). I would like to work in Seoul. I just wondered if anyone could give me some suggestions based on their experiences. Thanks.

[formerflautist]

You might want to try the FAQ section for this question. I'd also recommend posting any contract you get. There are several people on this board who are willing to help you with that.

[alabamaman]

When you receive a contract you can use this if you wish for a "general guideline."

Hagwon labor contracts




Korean Labor Standards Act

http://www.molab.go.kr/download/_20051220144304549.pdf

FAQ

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewforum.php?f=7&sid=8a2620842bae5752221b8a26c59508d7

Paid sick days

[i]If there are no paid sick days, then ask for 3 to be written in your labor contract.

Working hours

What are your working hours throughout the contract period?
It would be ideal lfor you to work 6 hour shifts (ex. 2-8/3-9/4-10).

What days of the week will you work? (Monday through Friday)
How many hours will you work per month? (120 is the norm)

How many hours will you work per week? (30 is the norm)

What constitutes a working hour? (Classes are usually 40-50 minutes long)

There should be no more than 8 hours between from your daily start time until your daily finish time when working block shifts throughout the contract period. Ask for that to be written in your labor contract.

Is there contractual language staing your employer will allow you a recess period of more than 30 minutes for every 4 working hours and more than 1 hour for every 8 working hours? Korean Labor Laws state that recess periods may be used freely by workers.

Article 53 (Recess Hours)

(1) An employer shall allow a recess period of more than 30 minutes for every 4 working hours and more than 1 hour for every 8 working hours during the working hours.
(2) A recess period may be freely used by workers.

Annual leave/Holidays

Most contracts have 10 days of paid leave. If you have 8 days of Annual leave, ask for 10. Be polite when asking for 10 days to be written in your contract. You are entitled to all Korean National Holidays. No deductions in pay should occur on any Korean National Holidays. There are some schools which count weekend days as annual leave days. You should ask for this to be changed because you take annual leave days on working days.

Penalty clauses

Penalty clauses should be removed from your contract.

Monthly wage & overtime

You shouldn't settle for wages less than 2,000,000 Korean Won per month. Workers should be paid once per month according to Labor Laws. There are alot of employers who pay on the 10th of the following month. You should ask to be paid on the last working day of every month throughout the contract period. Employers pay Foreign Language Teachers on the 10th of every month to prevent the "midnight run."

Article 42 (Payment of Wages)

(1) Payment of wages shall be directly made in full to worker in cash; however, if otherwise stipulated by special provisions of laws or decrees or a collective agreement, wages may partially be deducted or may be paid by other than cash.

(2) Wages shall be paid more than once per month on a fixed day; however, this shall not apply to extraordinary wages, allowances, or any other similar payment or those wages provided for by the Presidential Decree.

If they want to alter your work schedule, then both parties should mutually consent in writing.

If you are earning 2,000,000 Korean Won per month, you should earn around 20,000 Korean Won per overtime hour. You should work overtime hours after you've mutually consented with your employer. Keep a record of all overtime hours work. Your employer can never force you to work overtime hours.

Employers should also pay additional remuneration according to Article 55 of the Labor Standards Act for hours worked from 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. There are many hagwon contracts that omit additional remuneration from employees labor contracts.

Article 55 (Extended Work, Night Work and Holiday Work)

An employer shall pay additional remuneration of more than fifty percentage points of normal remuneration for extended works (extended works as set forth in the provisions of Articles 52 and 58, and the proviso of Article 67) and night works (works provided from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.), Sunday or public holiday works.

Severance bonus

You add the last 3 months of your pay, and divide that total amount by 3. That figure will then be your severance bonus.

Article 34 (Severance Pay System)

(1) An employer shall establish a severance pay system whereby an average wage of more than 30 days shall be paid for each year of consecutive years employed as a severance pay to a retired worker; however, if the worker was employed for less than one year, this shall not apply.

(2) In establishing the severance pay system stipulated in paragraph (1), a differential severance pay system shall not be permitted within one business.

(3) An employer may, at the request of workers, pay severance
pay in advance for the period of continuous employment of the worker concerned by adjusting the balances of remunerations before his retirement, irrespective of the provisions of paragraph (1). In this case, the number of years of continuous employment for the computation of severance pay shall be counted anew from the moment the latest adjustment of balances has been made.

(4) In cases where an employer has enrolled in pension insurance program for retirees or a retirement lump sum payment trust as prescribed by the Presidential Decree(hereinafter referred to as �pension insurance, etc.�) for workers, whereby workers, as the insured or a beneficiary, receive lump sum payment at the time of retirement, or draw their pensions, it shall be deemed that the employer has set up a severance pay scheme in accordance with paragraph (1). The amount of lump sum by the retirement insurance, etc., however, shall not be smaller
than that of severance pay pursuant to paragraph (1).


Airfare

Roundtrip airfare from and to the nearest international airport to your home, or cash equivalent thereof! Employers may ask you to reimburse them for the total cost of the airfare for dismissal, or resignation any time throughout the contract period. Ask that airfare reimbursements are waived after completing 6 months of employment.

Emergency leave

Ask for 5-7 days of emergency leave in your labor contract. Emergency leave days are unpaid, separate from paid sick days, and separae from annual leave days. Emergency leave is for a major death in the family, and your employer will require proof.

Dress code

Ask for a dress code clause to be written in your labor contract.

Health Insurance

Korean National Healthcare Plan:

http://www.nhic.or.kr/wbe/faq/faq.html


How much will your employer deduct from your monthly salary for premium payments throughout the contract period in Korean Won? (2.24% of your monthly salary)

How much will your employer prepay per 3 month lump sum (2.24% x monthly salary x 3) for Korean National Healthcare Insurance Premiums?

When will your employer enroll you in the KNHIP?

When will you recive your KNHIP Medical Insurance Card?

Income Taxes

http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/default.html

*Go to check my monthly withholding tax

How much will your employer deduct from your monthly salary for income taxes in Korean Won throughout the contract period ?

Korean Pension Fund

http://www.nps4u.or.kr/eng/enpsk.html?code=./enpsk/a02.html

How much will your employer deduct from your monthly salary to be paid into the Korean Pensiond Fund throughout the contract period (4.5% of your monthly salary)?

How much will your employer contribute to the Korean Pension Fund in Korean Won per month throughout the contract period (employer shall match the deduction from your monthly salary)?

Korean Pension Fund contribution and return of said pension contribution at the end of contract.

http://www.npc.or.kr/social/index_en.html
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=45302

Accommodation

The following items should be in working condition, and your apartment should be clean upon arrival.

Rent (A majority of ESL Teachers prefer a one bedroom apartment)
Bed
Desk
Closet
Table
TV
Washing machine
Clothes rack
Pots
Pans
Dishes
Forks/Knives/Spoons
Phone
Refrigerator
Stove
Air conditionar
Heating system
Utilities are paid by the employee.
You're are not responsible for the previous occupant's unpaid bills.

contract length

Contracts are one year. For your protection, insist that you have contractual language stating, "Them emploee shall work for the employer when the employee has been issued an E2 Visa from Korean Immigration Officials." It's illegal to work without an E2 Visa.

[b]Letter of Release

Will update later

Termination Clause

There are hagwon contracts that state, "The employer will give an advance notice to the worker at least 60 days before dismissal." Article 32 (Advance Notice of Dismissal) of the Korean Labor Standards Act States:

Article 32 (Advance Notice of Dismissal)

(1) An employer shall give an advance notice to a worker at least thirty days before dismissal(including dismissal for managerial reasons). If the notice is not given thirty days before the dismissal, normal wages for more than thirty days shall be paid to the worker, except in cases, prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Labor, where it is impossible to continue a business because of natural disaster, calamity, or other unavoidable causes, or where a worker has caused considerable difficulties to a business, or damage to properties on purpose.

Article 31 (Restriction on Dismissal for Managerial Reasons)

(1) If an employer wants to dismiss a worker for managerial reasons, there shall be urgent managerial needs. In such cases as transfer, acquisition and merger of business which are aimed to avoid financial difficulties, it shall be deemed that there is an urgent managerial need.

Grounds permitted under Korean law for termination of employment

http://www.efl-law.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1361

When it comes to the matter regarding termination of employment, Korean labor laws are known to apply strict criteria in determining whether a specific termination was just or proper. Let's look at the specific grounds for termination of employment that are prescribed in the Labor Standards Act of Korea (LSA).

Under LSA, an employer may terminate employees pursuant to (i) taking any disciplinary actions taken (with regard to any improper acts committed by the relevant employee) and (ii) laying off of employees due to managerial reasons.

(i) Dismissal by disciplinary action
It is first noted that Article 30 of LSA requires a justifiable cause if and when an employer takes disciplinary actions, including termination of employment, with regard to its employees. Korean courts have held that a justifiable cause refers to such causes as criminal offense, serious illegal acts, and gross negligent acts, etc. which would make maintaining of the relevant employment relationships no longer possible under generally accepted public notions.

Article 30 (Restriction on Dismissal, etc.)
(1) An employer shall not dismiss, lay off, suspend, transfer a worker, or reduce wages, or take other punitive measures against a worker without justifiable reason.

(2) An employer shall not dismiss any worker during a period of temporary interruption of work for medical treatment of an occupational injury or disease and within 30 days thereafter; nor shall any female worker before and after childbirth be dismissed during a period of temporary interruption of work as provided herein and within 30 days thereafter; however, if an employer has paid the lump sum compensation due under Article 87 hereof or is not able to continue his business, this shall not apply.

Especially, because a termination of employment is the most extreme measure, taking away an employee's means of making a living, Korean courts are known to be very strict in applying the above-noted criteria, when it determines whether a particular termination is justified. Thus, unless an employee's specific conduct is something that makes current employer-employee relationship no longer possible to continue, it would be advisable for an employer to take less severe disciplinary actions such as suspension of employment, reduction of salary, or reprimand.

In addition, under the LSA, where an employer wishes to terminate an employee in compliance with (and validly under) the law, there must also be procedural justification to that termination. In other words, the law requires that proper (legally justified) procedures be taken in disciplining the employee, including providing the employee with a proper opportunity to defend himself/herself, no matter how egregious the employee's actions are, and failure to do so will constitute an invalid termination.

(ii) Dismissal due to managerial reason

Further, as regards the employment termination, under LSA, an employer may also terminate employees where the employer can establish an imminent managerial reason. Article 31 of LSA provides that before an employer terminates a group of employees, the employer must have made its best efforts to avoid termination and have fair and reasonable standards of termination in place. The termination of employees must have been based on such standards for termination and the employer must have given notice to and consulted with the employees?relevant labor representative (i.e., labor union).

It is the firm position of the Korean Supreme Court that an imminent managerial reason exists if the employer's termination of employees is rational from an objective standpoint. The Korean Supreme Court has recognized the existence of an imminent managerial reason in the following cases: (a) the employer has continuously experienced deficit operation; (b) due to continuous labor disputes, the operation of the employer is expected to worsen to a degree that half of the capital amount of the employer has decreased for one year; (c) a part of the business is changed to a sub-contract system due to continuous deficit operation and, as a result, the employer terminated the employment of related employees; or (d) in the course of privatization of a public corporation, reorganization of the corporation has been taken.

In light of the foregoing, it can be concluded that an imminent managerial reason to terminate will be found to exist where it is inevitable that the employer must terminate employment in order to overcome actual difficulties in management. However, even where an employer with a positive balance sheet terminates the employment of a group of employees in order to overcome actual difficulties or to generate additional revenues, the existence of an imminent managerial reason will not be found to exist unless the inevitability of such termination can be proven objectively.

Therefore, as described above, unless there is a legitimate, objective reason to terminate employees, it is not easy under current Korean labor laws to establish a justifiable cause or imminent managerial reason to terminate employees under LSA. However, as an alternative to termination, it is sometimes recommended that an employer attempt to persuade those employees whom it wishes to terminate to voluntarily retire from his/or her office. It is customary practice in Korea for an employer to induce the early retirement of employees whom they wish to terminate by offering them a reasonable severance package. Though not required by Korean law, a Korean company will ordinarily offer early retirement employees additional severance pay in addition to severance pay in accordance with standards set forth in LSA or the employer's employment rules and regulations.

2. Procedures regarding a court-sponsored mediation

There are two kinds of mediation that could take place in the course of litigation before a Korean court, which we briefly note below.

Under Korean law and practice, courts sometimes suspend pending litigation to request that the parties in the litigation try to reach a settlement. The courts may take such measure even after the close of hearing. The courts often rely on such procedure, which is called court-sponsored meditation, when the legal issues are highly complex or are not clear-cut, or if they believe that the dispute is better suited to a settlement rather than a decision entirely in favor of one party. In such a procedure, the court will typically hold a mediation session in court. If the parties cannot reach a settlement, then the mediation is stopped, the suspension on litigation is lifted, and litigation resumes.

It is also noted that there exists a less voluntary variation on court-sponsored mediation (so-called court-ordered mediation). Under this approach, rather than request the parties to try to reach an agreement, the court may present a settlement proposal for the parties?consideration after listening to the parties during the mediation hearing(s). In such case, any party can reject the settlement order within 2 weeks of receiving the written notice of the court's settlement order. However, if neither party files their objection within the 2-week period, the court's order becomes final. It is then entered into court records as the final decision in the case. If any party rejects the settlement order, the mediation is dissolved and litigation resumes.

Article 26 (Violation of Conditions of Employment)
(1) If any of the conditions of employment set forth in accordance with Article 24 is found to be inconsistent with the actual conditions, the worker concerned shall be entitled to claim damages resulting from the breach of the conditions of employment or may terminate the labor contract forthwith.
(2) If a worker intends to claim indemnity for damages in accordance with paragraph (1), he may do so with the Labor Relations Commission. If a labor contract has been terminated, an employer shall pay travel expenses to a worker who changes his residence for the purpose of securing new job. (There should be contractual language pursuant to this clause that defines reasons you can terminate your labor contract. Allot of hagwon contracts use such contractual language as, "The employee may annul the contract if the employer doesn't complete the terms of the contract."

[ttompatz]

[HamuHamu]

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=57901&highlight=

[laughter28]

Thanks you guys for your advice. I'll start the research and reading right away.