Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dcwm81]

Simple question. Hopefully a simple answer.

Are E2 Visa holders limited to only working for the school that employs them, or is it for the address they work at? (Or both)

Basically, school "A" at address "X". You can do no work for no other school, or work at any other location.

[DongtanTony]

Technically....and there's always a technically here....YES.

If school "A" tries to tell you to go work at company "B," or school "C," yes that is technically illegal.

Who is going to receive the ramifications if it is found out that you are working "illegally?" Let's just say that it won't be the school. You'll be held responsible and will deal with the consequences.

Personally...I worked a program last year...established by the Gumi city board of edu., that put some local teachers in public schools. Every morning I worked two public school classes...then would boogie back to my hagwon on my scooter...to work my normal day.

The program was through the local gov't...and my director compensated me accordingly...he was obviously receiving some kind of kickback for my labor. But...again...technically illegal.

Be careful...be informed...and above all...be well compensated. If you've weighed the pro's and con's...you'll see the path to take. But...would I ever tell a NEWBIE...assuming you are one...that it would be wise to accept a job that put you in this type of position immediately upon arrival...NO WAY IN HE**!!

[dcwm81]

I'm not really a newbie. Been here just over a year now.

My situation was my school putting on a seminar outside of school. He called it a "favor" for him. I refused to do it because he wouldn't pay us teachers. He has since fired me. If I wanted to stay at this school I probably could fight it, considering it wasn't really work, but a "favor". However, he tried to call it work in the termination letter. Thus if it was work, it was probably illegal work.

[cruisemonkey]

[DongtanTony]

Ahhhhh....well....seminars are not teaching...are they??

Favors...well...favors sometimes happen here!! Did you ever ask what was in it for you?? Did you demand overtime since this "seminar" does not appear to be part of your contract??

If it's a favor to him...maybe you come in late a day or two?! Maybe you get out early on a Friday?! Maybe you have an extra coffee machine...who knows.

The point is...it doesn't sound to me like this "seminar" was actually teaching. Were you the same poster I just read about on a different thread...something about a 3 1/2 hour "mothers" thing that you were informed was lame by your co-workers??

If you weren't actually instructing a group...IT WASN'T ILLEGAL...it might have sucked really really bad...it may have been totally above and beyond the parameters of your job description....but was it illegal....NO.

Again...if it was a favor...did you ever attempt to negotiate what the benefit was at your end of the whole "favor thing?"

Apparently other teachers went...if you spearheaded the negotiations...maybe the whole thing would've been called off??!! 2, 3, 4 teachers or more...how many were there anyway...all calling for favors...especially in front of a group of mothers...you know you had him by the family jewels having to do a song and dance...you could have made out.

If I'm thinking of a different poster...sorry for the rant...but if you're the same individual...personally...I think you mishandled the situation. SORRY!!

[dcwm81]

It was my posts you would have been looking at. We did try to negotiate. He called our school the worst CDI in Korea. He blamed his business short-comings on the teachers. He said these "favors" happen in Korea. We asked for compensation, he said no dice. I have worked for the man for a little over a year now and he NEVER gives us favors.

When it comes to getting set up in the country he is very hands off. Us teachers have had to go and get cell phones, go to immigration and get bank accounts set up on our own, etc, etc. Very little help for newbies.

He is short changing my pension and also another teachers. The pension office thinks I make 1 million won less in salary a month than I actually do, and he has also NOT added the extra overtime pension he has deducted from my pay. I am over 300,000 short on my pension because of this. I've gone to the pension office and they said to get the money from him. He says he put it in there. It's not there.

He originally gave us only 20 minutes of break time over 6 hours teaching, then finally gave us the required by law 30 after we pointed it out to him. Maybe he considers that a favor.

He also makes us find our own substitute for vacations (and threatened to not give us our vacation if we didn't)

As for giving a day off, or coming in late???? Fat chance. They get mad at us if we get sick! The schedule has almost no room for error.

As for us teachers as a whole. There are 6 teachers working there. One is a manager, and completely brain-washed by the company. Before she was made manager she spoke up, complained. Now she tries to convince us how its for the greater good. So basically we have 5 teachers opposed to his extra work for no pay. BUT, when we tried to negotiate with him, he said "do this or quit". When he said that, 2 teachers freaked and were afraid he'd fire us all, and they want their airfare home. To make a long story short, I don't want to work at a place where they want favors, but never repay them, and work with teachers who have no backbone when it comes to issues they complain about.

[PGF]

yeah, always, before you say NO! to a request or demand, start negotiating. Always.

"Oh, you want me to come in early on thursdays to teach Kim?
Ummm, usually I have a yoga class on thursdays. I've already paid for the next three months.... Maybe if you paid me what I've paid the yoga class I could do it for a month."

or you say something along the lines of...

"ooooh, ummmm, gosh..... you want me there when? ummm, I already made plans with my girl friend's mom.... She'll be angry if I don't go...we're going to her father's grave..." start dialing, hand your phone to the *beep* and ask if he'll explain the situation to your girl friend's mom. He won't. The best thing work wise for me was dating a Korean woman. Every time something came up, I always had to call and ask permission first..... "you want to pay me Xwon for working Saturday? Ok, let me ask my wife...hold on...."she says we are going to Han Nam Saturday to cisit her sister....I'm sorry. I would do it, but she won;t let me..., do you want to talk to her? No? Ok. See you Monday.

[dcwm81]

One more thing to add....

I agree with the point that the work for the seminar would not be illegal, mainly because it would have been a favor and not teaching. The point I was trying to make was that he basically fired me for not doing him a favor (or doing any teaching), then turned around and called it work in the termination letter. Thus the cycle begins.

[DongtanTony]

If his behavior was well established....WHY DID YOU SIGN ON FOR ANOTHER YEAR???

I'm correct in that....right? Don't I recall you saying that you just recently signed on for year two??

If he poses these ultimatums...it doesn't sound like it's the first time...you should have known that your "insubordination" of not going to this seminar would be met with your "termination."

And...one more thing...it is "fairly" common for schools to put a little clause in the job description portion of your contract that may read something like:
Attendance at weekly staff meeting and teacher training workshops and attendance at other activities directly related to teaching.

Am I saying that your boss sounds like the greatest man ever? NO....frankly he sounds like a bozo...he's put you through the ringer more than once obviously.

But...your OP was about illegal work...then it's a seminar for mothers...sounds like marketing or advertising to me...then it's all of your other complaints.......but yet......I believe you just recently re-signed. Sorry...you and your staff should have stood up for yourself...he's not going to can five teachers...his doors would close.

[dcwm81]

Actually his behavior wasn't this well established. When I first got here I thought it was the norm the way he conducted business. I've found out over my time here that it isn't.

As for some of the things I wrote about. Ya, it does make you wonder why I re-signed. But the fact is, that things were tolerable before. I was making good money, and could make more if I re-sign. I have a nice apartment in a nice area and I am comfortable. There were a few bumps in the road, but it never seemed like a horrible job. It wasn't until AFTER I re-signed that it all started hitting the fan. Adding more work for no pay. This Seminar. Parent-meetings (more of them), and he even changed the schedule so if we work Saturdays we have to come in at 10 am now instead 2pm for twice a month. None of these things were written into my next contract, so I thought my year would just be the status quo. I also never found out about the pension until after I re-signed as well.

If I knew all this was going to be the way the school was going for my next contract I would NOT have re-signed and there would be none of these posts.

Also, both myself and 2 other teachers knew that he'd never fire us all, but my boss turned the other 3 teachers into individuals and they couldn't see that fact. They were more concerned with "finishing out their time" and "doing what they are told".

As for the contract, you are correct that meetings with regards to training, and improving teaching ability are in the contract. Seminars and parent meetings aren't. Everybody knows that, but nobody has any backbone to stand up to that.

If you want to discuss this anymore then PM me. This thread doesn't need to turn into an on-line argument