Korean Job Discussion Forums

[MantisBot]

I work at a hagwon in Apgujeong that is tanking fast. I got sick mid December and it knocked me on my ass a week later at the beginning of intensives, causing me to miss a few classes. I gave fair warning and the sick days were all part of my contract. I was told I was being fired the second of January.

Blah blah blah.

What infuriates me the most is that I can't warn teachers away from the school because of libel laws. I can't post up here saying, "Stay away from this school, the manager has no idea what they're doing and is excessively vindictive and childish to boot." I'm used to being able to spread the truth around, but in Korea you can get sued for it.

Argh.

Anyway, since I can't tell people the name of the hagwon or who owns it, let me remind people of some basic tips when going in for an interview:

1) Demand to speak to current teachers, foreign and Korean. More than one is always better. If you aren't allowed to unsupervised, there's something wrong with the school.

2) Ask about enrollment for the past year. If the school has around 100 students and they used to have something like 300 and something like 10-15 classrooms, something is wrong. Words to watch out for: "upswing," "we're getting more," "we're in a slump," "things are slow."

3) Ask to specifically speak with the person you are replacing. If they aren't available, ask for an e-mail/phone number. Do not take the job if you aren't allowed to speak freely with the person you are replacing.

4) Ask to be given a tour of the school as well as a chance to observe some classes. Do not let the school push you in to quickly accepting. Right now, things are dicey for hagwons in terms of foreign teacher replacement, so if you're in Korea already and are looking to switch schools, you are way ahead of the curve.

5) In the contract, make sure clear and specific disciplinary steps for teachers are listed starting with verbal warnings, continuing on with written warnings, then a probationary period. This is what's screwing me now. I was given no warnings of any kind and had no complaints about my job up until the point I got sick. Then they came up with all of these random complaints that were easily disproven with quick looks through their own records.

That's all I can think of for now. Here's the punch-line for my firing though... My contract ends on the 26th of February. My last day after their 30 days notice is the 5th. Three weeks until the end. That's what I get for working hard for my frickin hagwon. ARGH!

*fewm*

I am fighting this and hopefully some kind of agreement can be reached. However, I'm not optimistic as my boss is a small and petty person who cannot permit being "beaten" by a foreigner. They might lose some face... oh noes! No rescinding bad decisions! grrr.... :evil:

Anyway, please remember these tips, ESPECIALLY if you're interviewing at schools in Apkujeong. You just might be looking at mine...

[R. S. Refugee]

[Thunndarr]

Actually, if what you say is for the public good, then you have a right to say what you want to say. (Got that directly from the mouth of a Korean prosecutor.)

[R. S. Refugee]

[MantisBot]

[Zaria32]

For crying out loud, go to the labor board, they don't like 11th month firings at all, they see it as an attempt to get out of paying severance. Go NOW!

[OiGirl]

What kinds of complaints have you been receiving? Always good to document...

[MantisBot]

@Zaria: But does this constitute an 11th month firing? I had just under 2 months left in my contract when they gave me notice. I'm more than willing to argue that point, I just want to make sure it's valid before I open my mouth. I am going to the labor board this week if my boss doesn't change their tune on Monday. I've been collecting LOTS of evidence these days.

Funny thing, I was given "official" notice of my firing on plain white paper with no signature, name, or date affixed to it. Last I checked, something like that's only official if it's on company letter-head, signed with printed names, and dated by both parties. I told my boss this several times. Still nothing.

@Oigirl: I actually got the school's record of complaints dating back to a few weeks after I started working there. They're all explained and easily shown as not usable against me with the evidence I have collected through doctor's notes and the school's own records.

There was a complaint written down that I "didn't stand enough" in class. It was written down the day I went to a doctor (with the school's secretary's help) for a spasm I had in my back.

Another complaint is that I didn't grade homework (three times from the same kid). The first complaint came when I was on vacation, the second shortly after I got back, and the final one two weeks later. After looking at the student's record, it was shown that he hadn't handed in any assignments since I got back.

Another complaint was that I sat around giving answers in class and never taught. There was one of these a month after I started for a Novel class I had. Around that time, we had a meeting about how to teach those classes and I mentioned that situation because I felt like there was nothing else I could do and I was frustrated. I sought to fix that problem, again without it being brought to my attention. The AD at the time remembers the meeting clearly and wrote up a statement about it.

The only other complaint was that I left class too often. There were a few of these spread out over my tenure at the school. It was never brought to my attention. I never thought much of it, because when I did leave (and it wasn't that often) it was only for a second to grab stuff from the copier while my kids were studying for a vocab test or to grab an A/C remote because someone said it was too hot or cold. Because it was never brought to my attention (and this is shown because there's a "solution" column that was left blank for every one of them) it says three things:

1) It was resolved before being brought to me.
2) It didn't matter enough to the school for it to be mentioned.
3) They were storing complaints to use against me at a later date.

As I said, it's all BS.

[buymybook]

call #1350 from a land line and speak with the labor ministry about the notice of firing(have your ARC or passport # ready).

Or possibly 02-1588-1350 from your cell?

They gave you a 30 day notice, then by the time you leave it will be the 11th month.

[Thunndarr]

[OiGirl]

Document:

Marking of homework
(Student's completion of homework)
Sitting in class (and the reason)
Every time you leave the classroom

[MantisBot]

I just wanna say to all of you, thanks for the support. I've felt a bit adrift the past few weeks dealing with this. Thanks for the quick responses!

[OiGirl]

I know it sucks at the moment, but you'll be okay, and in the end you will have learned something from this. (Exactly what is not going to be obvious now!)

[Thunndarr]

[MantisBot]