Korean Job Discussion Forums

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 3:31 am Post subject:

The OP ended up being cheated and in that way was a victim. The reason he got cheated is unclear: meaning did his boss just fall victim to bad economic times, did poor financial planning or was just dishonest.

Still, that changes nothing for the OP who should leave and find other work.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

The reason is unclear? Really?

How many other people has this "boss" not payed?

How many times must a boss not pay their employees before you can start to see a pattern developing?

Poor economics might be an excuse for the first or even the second time.

But when employee after employee ends up on the short end of the stick you've got to start asking,

"what is going on here?"

The boss has no money. You can go on making excuses all day if you want to, but bad management is bad management. Why do so many hagwon managers/owners have this attitude?

I've never understood it and I doubt I ever will.

I've had the misfortune to be in the OP's position, and I was fool enough to keep working, hoping things would turn around. They didn't.

The hole just got deeper.

Good on you OP for getting out now before it gets any worse.

s.tickbeat · Joined: 21 Feb 2010 Location: Gimhae

I'm with Patrick on this one. Sometimes times are hard, and people who would normally be pretty decent and scrupulous start cutting corners. Since E-2 visas are so strict, it makes sense to me that one of the first things to get 'cut' is the foreigner's salary and benefits. That's what started happening to me just a few months ago. It started as my salary being paid a day or two late, then moved on into two weeks late, at which point I wrote my boss a nice letter explaining how I just couldn't burden them with my salary anymore.

Then they paid me for August, signed my release letter, and if they don't pay up for the month of September I'm rolling them into the labour board.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Did you read what the OP has posted about the boss's previous history?

A good manager would come up with some other plans to make things work,

rather than just expect employees to bear the brunt of their own

lack of planning.

YTMND · Joined: 16 Jan 2012 Location: You're the man now dog!!

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

So the OP was facing this problem right from the get go,

that would indicate to me that this school is in serious financial difficulty,

and has been for some time.

If the school can't afford to pay its teachers, the least that could have been

tried is to share the teachers with other hagwons.

ThingsComeAround · Joined: 07 Nov 2008

Glad to hear you left the job.

I'd send the others an anonymous email stating they may not get paid.

Leave legal action alone since you wrote that letter (stupid!!)

Good luck and make sure you see the school and talk to the people next time.

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:32 am Post subject:

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:33 am Post subject:

CentralCali · Joined: 17 May 2007

I think the reason's rather clear, crystal clear. The boss had absolutely no intention of reimbursing the airfare nor even of paying the salary.

Perhaps the boss freaked out when "the moms" found out that the school's native English teacher is Korean and thus, in the moms' opinion, cannot teach their tykes "real English." Or maybe the boss felt that she got the short end of the stick when the recruiter sent her a gyopo worker.

In either case, the boss had no intention of paying jack. She likely planned on canning the OP and then using the time-honored, but unethical and illegal, hagweon owner stunt of refusing to pay earned salary to the employee she canned. The only monkey-wrench on this plan was that she didn't find herself another native English teacher.

Of course the boss isn't as broke as she's acting. Her husband's certainly not broke and he could float her a loan. The simple fact that the boss isn't paying other people in full and the OP at all shows that she really had no intention of doing the right thing--ever.

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:26 am Post subject:

Cali, that is entirely possible. All I am saying is that there could have been unknown factors, none of which justify not paying the OP. Maybe this manager did in fact plan poorly and did not plan at all. Maybe they had no intention of paying the OP or reimbusring the airfare. Mixed in with that it is also possible that the manager did meet with financial dire straits but thought she or he could work them out in time to pay her or his employees.

At any rate, this is over, the OP left.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:41 am Post subject:

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Well sir, I don't understand your point of veiw.

I don't understand how you can say that I or anyone else is judging this manager unfairly, given all that has been posted so far.

Given the situation, would you agree to work there?

Would you recommend others work there?

If your answer is yes, then please explain your rationale.

Because your position is quite baffling to me at this moment.

PatrickGHBusan · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 6:24 am Post subject: