Mike410
Joined: 23 Sep 2011
Location: Canada
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 Posted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:13 pm Post subject: Re: First time teaching - What to expect in a contract |
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| ontheway wrote: |
| Mike410 wrote: |
| To all those experienced with the current ESL market in S. Korea, what should first timers expect, and what is the norm ... |
1. Salary: 2.1 million won per month is currently the norm. It's still possible for a newbie to find 2.2 and sometimes better. Beginning salaries rose as high as 2.3 before the Great Recession in 2008, since which they have fallen to 2.1 and stagnated.
2. Hours: 30 teaching hours per week is normal for a hogwan. 22 teaching hours is normal for government schools. The number of classes, class size, class prep time and office time required are also important factors.
It's easier to teach fewer classes that add up to the same total hours. 20 90 min. classes or 30 60 min. classes are easier than 40 45 min. classes. Beware of schools that schedule breaks that don't count as teaching time between short time classes
It's much easier and more enjoyable to teach smaller, well-behaved, classes, organized by level, with fewer than 8 students in a hogwan than to teach 30 to 40 undisciplined, mixed level students in a government school.
22 hours of class time seems easy, but, for many indivudals, being required to put in 40 plus hours in the school dealing with bureaucracy is far worse than teaching. Watch out for required office hours in both government schools and hogwans. I'd rather teach students who are actually learning something than sit in some government offices doing useless reports and bowing to some principal. Deskwarming sucks.
3. Working hours and days: M-F, 5 days per week, plus standard red days for holidays. Watch out and avoid jobs with required weekend work.
4. Overtime: Overtime should be optional. Watch out for required OT in contracts and say "no." OT rates are usually low. Many contracts (maybe most these days) offer less than 20,000 won per hour of OT. I'd set 20k won as a minimum and shoot for something higher. OT rates alone are probably not a deal breaker if OT is optional and you don't really want any.
5. Vacation days: 10 days for hogwans: 5 in winter and 5 in summer set by the school. It's better in government schools, but less generous than it used to be - largely up to the principal.
6. Weekend / holiday work: Watch out for both in the contract and refuse such contracts. However, some teachers seem to thrive on the extra hard work and claim to make much more than the standard by working terrible hours including weekends and holidays with little or no vacation, long hours, split shifts, hourly pay etc. Choose your own level of abuse.
... a few more ...
7. Independent Contractor jobs: Watch out for these. For most E2 teachers, although legal with a correctly written contract, these jobs are a bad deal.
Some schools will plainly state that you will be an IC in the contract - honest and legal - although it's almost always still a bad deal. Some will use terms other than "Independent Contractor" in the contract, such as "teacher" or "instructor" for example, to hide the fact that you are an IC and mislead you into signing. Still others will state that you are an "employee" and then register you as an IC anyway - this is an act of fraud against the teacher.
Nearly every E2 teacher, and especially newbies, should just say "no" to IC contracts.
8. National Health Insurance: This is required by law. Under an employee contract the employer signs you up and the employer and employee each pay half. Under an IC contract you are legally required to register yourself and pay 100%.
Watch out for other forms of health insurance in the contract. This is a clear indication of an IC contract that you do not want.
At the present time the withholding for National Health Insurance is a bit under 3% for the employee with the school paying a matching amount. Premiums are paid in whole month increments from your first full month of work. Your school cannot enroll you until you get your ARC from Immigration. You should take care of that in your first two weeks in Korea - forget the 3 month rule.
If National Health Insurance is not in your contract, don't sign.
9. National Pension: This is required by law and linked to the Health Insurance - if you sign up for one, they will compare lists to make sure you enroll for the other as well. If you are an employee, your employer must sign you up and each will pay 4.5% for a total of 9%. If you are an IC you must register anyway and pay the full 9%. Teachers from some countries can get a refund of all the money in their account when leaving Korea, so this is one place you can really lose as an IC.
Payments into the National Pension usually begin from your first full month of work. The employer pays when billed by the Pension Office. Your employer cannot register you until you get your ARC.
The required payments for both Pension and Health Insurance are fixed monthly amounts according to your base salary as reported to the Pension and Health Insurance Offices. They do not change according to your hours worked or increase when you earn OT.
If National Pension is not in your contract, don't sign.
10: Income Taxes: Income taxes should be calculated according to your salary. Korea has progressive income tax rates. Your withholding should be calculated according to the Korean Tax laws and not a flat rate. You can use the Withholding Tax Calculator (see the FAQs) to calculate the correct rate for your salary. For most E2 teachers the rate will be under 2% - unless you are very well paid.
(Be aware that a local tax of 10% of the Income Tax is also added on. So, multiply your Income Tax by 1.1 to get a better estimate.)
Beware if you see a tax rate of 3.3% in the contract. It means that you either have an uninformed school that doesn't know the correct rate or a school that plans to register you as an IC. Try to get the rate changed to use the Tax Calculator. If they are not planning to make you an IC they should be willing to change.
Some schools promise to withhold at a rate even higher than 3.3%. You may see 5% or some other higher amount. RUN. This is a sure sign of a crook.
11. Housing: Nearly all schools offer some kind of small studio or one room apartment. Never accept shared housing. Make sure that all the furnishings are included - especially an A/C - you'll need it.
Some of the best schools offer bigger one BDR or two BDR apartments, fully furnished. Lucky you if you can get one of these.
12. Airfare: You should have your airfare paid to and from Korea from your nearest international airport at home. Some schools will prepay your one-way incoming ticket. Government schools and many hogwans will reimburse after you arrive. The best hogwans these days only reimburse after arrival - generally during your first week.
If you work less than 6 months you should expect to repay your incoming airfare. If a contract calls for your to repay after 6 months - do not sign.
When you complete one year your should get a return one-way ticket home. Look for a cash option in lieu of a homeward ticket in the contract. The best schools will pay you cash if you don't need the ticket or plan to travel to another destination - but make sure it's in the contract.
13. Severance: Your contract should include an additional one month severance pay if you complete a full year. Under current law, if you renew with your school the severance rolls over and continues to accumulate each month until you finish working at that job. |
Thank you for taking the time to write a thorough reply. Very helpful to all new teachers who read this! |
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