Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sonicmatt]

I saw a couple posts on this school in the past, but whenever I use the search function it comes up empty. I was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with this school and any information they can tell me about. Thanks for any help.

[garykasparov]

SLP > (S)lave (L)abor (P)rogram

Sample SLP Contract. Err on the side of caution if you are going to sign any SLP contract. A majority, if not all, Slave Labor Programs don't have good reputations. Work at an SLP at your own risk.

TEACHER OBLIGATIONS
A. Supervision
The Teacher will work closely with Academic supervisor and other colleagues in the planning, observation, and review of instruction.

As a member of the Institute, the Teacher will contribute to the cumulative experience, wisdom, and resources of team dedicated to developing, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive program for teaching English to Koreans.

B. Behavior
The teacher should respect the rules and standards of conduct of the Institute (written, verbal and tacit) and obey the laws, regulations, instructions, and ordinances of the national and local governments.

Any teaching or employment other than at the above address shall not be permitted, in accordance with Korean Law. Non-compliance may result in discipline including fines and deportation.

C. Workload
The Teacher will normally have 19 classes (90 minute/class, lunch time is not included) per teaching week. Regular working hour is from 9am to 6 pm for preschool class(including 1~2 afternoon classes) or from 1pm to 9.30pm for afternoon class only.

If the teacher doesn�t have any class within the working hours, She/He should use the time at the Institute for lesson planning with co-teachers, phone teaching to students, student evaluations, reporting, consultation with parents, supervision of play, maintenance of the English environment during breaks, workshops, teachers' meetings, upgrading one's professional knowledge and skills without additional pay. The work-week will follow the yearly academic calendar issued by Dongjak SLP Institute .. The total teaching load including overtime will not exceed for any given week 21 classes (90 minutes each) a week, unless both parties agree.

Staff meetings will be scheduled at the discretion of the Institute Director(usally once a week). Attendance is required. Staff meetings will allow time for discussion of topics of current concern within the program such as new policies, procedures, methods of training, instruction, curriculum, and other matters as needed. Staffs are encouraged to help work out practical solutions to problems at these meetings.

D. Special Research projects
Any part of the teacher's workload may be converted into research and development work. When the institute schedules the teacher for fewer than 19 classes per week, research and development assignments will be assigned to make up the difference.

In every summer and winter vacation period of the Korean School Year (around August and January), SLP Institute opens English Intensive Courses in morning time. The teacher should teach these special classes by academic supervisor's instructions. For these special class sessions, Institute pay additional allowance to the teacher at the rate of the regular pay beyond 19 classes(￦26,000/90 minute).

E. Overtime
Overtime teaching is paid at the rate of 1.2 times of the regular pay beyond 19 classes (90 minutes). Overtime will not be paid on holidays, sick days, or emergency-leave days. The assignment of overtime above the regular 19 classes and less than 21classes is at the sole discretion of the Institute. When two classes are temporarily combined into one, the teacher shall receive 1.5 times of the regular pay.

F. Work Schedule
The work week runs from Monday through Friday in monthly periods. The teacher's schedule will be assigned by the Institute Director. If there are some special events provided by the Institute or SLP headquarter on weekends, the teacher will be required to attend and the schedule will be assigned by the Institute Director. SLP Institute will provide the teacher with a meals and transportation but no additional pay.

Events may include, but are not limited to;

Speech contest for students.
Teacher�s training courses for new program, teaching skills.
Presentations for parents
Mini Olympic for students.
Field trips
G. Covenants
The Teacher hereby agrees, covenants and undertakes that he/she will not disclose any information relating to the Teacher's employment conditions, any teaching materials, or any information relating to the academic program, whether verbally or in writing, to individuals or corporate entities.

All teaching materials including any books given to the Teacher by the Institute or made by the teachers should be returned after use and the teacher must not take out or use these materials for other purposes but teaching in SLP.

TEACHER BENEFITS
A. Monthly Salary
The Institute will pay the teacher a total monthly basic salary of(￦ 2.1 million) on the 10th day of the following month. The monthly salary is based on a calendar month, not the monthly teaching session. Korean income tax, National Pension, & Medical Insurance will be withheld from the monthly salary.

B. Housing
The Institute will provide each teacher a single sized apartment/house.. A two-person apartment/house will be provided for a married couple, if both are teaching at the Institute. The Teacher is responsible for monthly apartment utilities and maintenance/security charges, including telephone and internet.

The apartment will contain TV, refrigerator, washing machine, wardrobes, telephone, gas range, beds & Korean style bedding, stuffed chairs, dining table & chairs, and some eating & cooking utensils.

A utility deposit will be deducted 200,000won/month from the teacher's first to third paychecks to be used at the end of the contract to cover the last month's utilities and other expenses.

Any expenses due to damage of the apartment of furnishings, garbage disposal fee,

cleaning fee or replacement of furnishings will be deducted from the utility deposit.

This deposit will be paid back to the employee after all bills that teacher is responsible

for have been paid.

If the teacher wants to accommodate someone who is not related to the Institute for more than 2 days, advance permission should be asked of the institute.

C. Health Insurance
The teacher will be covered by Korean National Health Insurance. According to the government guideline for teachers, the monthly insurance charge will be shared by the Institute and the Teacher. Coverage will be from the date of joining to Korean Medical Insurance Union, commencing approximately 3 to 4 weeks after the teacher's arrival of Korea due to requirements of the immigration and taxation departments.

D. National Pension Plan
In accordance with Korean Law all foreign workers employed by Korean businesses shall pay into the Korean National Pension plan at a rate stipulated by the Korean National Pension Law deducted against monthly earnings with the employer's contribution.

Refund of the National Pension to a teacher who becomes a compulsorily insured employee, where the Pension Act of the Teacher's home country provides the benefit corresponding to the lump-sum refund of the National Pension Plan, the lump-sum refund of this plan shall be refunded to the teacher, according to Korean Law.

E. Sick Leave and Emergency Leave

The teacher who becomes ill or when an emergency arise should provide the supervisor with as much advance notice as possible and be required to submit a medical certification or comments in written from a doctor or a pharmacist until the next day.

If sick leave and emergency leave are totally over 8 classes (45minutes), the related costs for more than 8classes will be subtracted from the following month's pay.

If it is found that the hours/days of absence reported as sick leave or emergency leave were not in fact for such purposes, related costs shall be subtracted from the following month's pay.

F. Airfare

The Institute shall pay round-trip airfare between the nearest International Airport from the Teacher's Point of hire and Seoul. Before the Teacher's departure to Korea, a one-way ticket will be provided. At the end of the contract another one-way ticket to the Teacher's point of hire will be provided.

The institute will pay for round-trip air transportation to Japan for visa issuance within 30 days of the teacher�s arrival in Korea. No deduction from salary will be made for any work missed. The teacher understands that the cost of minor incidentals and the visa issuance fee itself is his/her responsibility.

If the teacher fails to complete the contract for any reason, return air transportation will not be provided. If the teacher voluntarily resigns during the contract period, she/he may be required to repay the cost of air transportation to Korea and air transportation to Japan for the visa .

G. Teacher Training

The teacher have a period of training before starting to teach in their Institute. During the training period, and for any weekdays during the break between the training and the start of teaching, the teacher should be in the Institute for classroom observation. The Teacher will receive briefings from their Academic Supervisor, and the Institute Director, and will get acquainted with the local institute policies. During this time the teacher will receive half the regular rate of pay.

H. Vacation

The Institute provides the Teacher with approximately two weeks of paid vacation in one employment year. The vacation will be scheduled according to the annual Dongjak SLP Institute academic calendar.

I. Severance Pay

On completion of one's responsibilities of the full contract period, an additional month of regular salary (￦ 2.1 million)per year shall be paid as severance pay. If the Teacher, however, does not complete the full period of one year contract, none of the severance pay shall be paid according to Korean Labor Standard Law. Severance pay will be paid by bank transfer within 45days after the Teacher has left the institute. Korean severance tax will be withheld. Any outstanding debts will be subtracted from the severance pay.

J. Period of Employment : From Jan 1st. 2008 To Dec 24th. 2008

Although pay starts the day the teacher starts Teacher Training Program, the effective date of this contract is the first teaching day in the Institute. The total period of this agreement is approximately one year, commencing from the first day of the session and finishing on the last teaching day of the Teacher's 12th teaching session. A delay in the Teacher's arrival at the Institute, or in the opening of a new Institute may call for a re-negotiation of the contract period.

The Institute reserves the right to terminate this agreement

for the following causes with written notification 40days in advance,

1> Neglect or inability to perform his/her duties stipulated in this agreement.

2> Frequent absences from work (more than twice without prior notice.)

3> Receiving two warning letters.

4> Criminal behavior or misconduct.

However , for the serious cases cited above, he/she will be dismissed from

employment immediately without any notice.

The teacher agrees to give written notification sixty days in advance of intention to terminate this agreement (limited to inevitable reason) or of interest in renewing it.

Any dispute arising in connection with this contract will be decided by a Korean court of law, according to Korean regulations and codes. The parties agree to comply with all applicable laws in their execution of the agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Institute and the Teacher have each duly executed this Agreement on the dates set forth below their respective signatures.

Date Date

_______________________ ________________________

Signature Signature

[pugwall]

Most people who work at SLP Bucheon I have met seemed to like it.

[Jaundice]

OKay....so, so much for keeping your contract private. Apparently you feel this contract proves your opinion about SLP being a "Slave labour program." I work at an SLP actually, and my contract looks nothing like this one!!!! SLP's exist all over Korea, and are run a bit like a franchise, so anyone can open one up basically. This means there are certain rules that will be regulated by the SLP head office, such as holidays and uniforms for kids etc. But, for the most part, the rules in each SLP, their policies, and even "some" of the classes they choose to teach are not head office mandated. That means, the policies and work environment in EVERY SLP will differ.

I do not consider it a "Slave Labour Program." Although the disclaimer has been made that you "should proceed with caution," this is Korea. You should proceed to EVERY school with caution.

I am extremely happy with my schedule, my pay, my holidays, my management, my housing etc. I have had no problems, nor have I felt like a "slave." If you are looking to apply to any school, ensure you have the email of teachers that are currently teaching at the school. And, here is another suggestion, that I haven't seen a lot on any forum; ask your recruiter for the email addresses of people who have "just" left, or within the past few months. If your recruiter has been with that school awhile, they should have those email addresses. These people will have a good understanding of the work environment.

Best of luck, and hopefully this provides you all with a less biased view of SLP's. Form your own opinions obviously, but be weary of disgruntled posts. Some of them are legitimate, but some may attack certain schools and even Korea unfairly.

[ttompatz]

You can add my voice to those who suggest extreme caution when signing on with an SLP franchise.

READ THE CONTRACT VERY CAREFULLY....

THEN

Contact current teachers when they are NOT at school and compare the contract with the actual state of affairs at the hakwon.

-Do they actually have NHIC medical (with the booklet) or is the boss just paying 50% of the small bills when presented with them (hope you never break a leg).

-Do they actually have a pension account with the national pension office. Many of them have taken the 4.5% deduction from the employees monthly salary and then just refunded it back at the end of the contract in lieu of the lawfully required severance. They never did enroll the employee in the national plan NOR did they make the required matching contributions.

-Are they taxed as employees or do they just get lump-sum-flat rated as a percentage of their salary (often 3.3% or 5%) because they are "contract workers" (illegal).

-How many classes per week do they actually work? SLP contracts are often for 19-22 classes of 90 minutes each (1710-1980 minutes per week in the classroom) as compared to the average hakwon at 1500 minutes per week in the class. (A difference of 3.5-6 hours per week extra work for the same money).

Then you can consider asking about the quality of life issues (housing, etc).
Then you can ask about resources in the school and teaching aids for the classroom (it sucks if there is nothing and you have to fill in the time with a crap book and broken tape player).

Are they all bad? Maybe not, but SLP has historically been known to be in a race to the bottom with places like Wonderland and Kids Club.

I will state as a matter of fact that in the last 6 years I have assisted more than 70 teachers filing claims with the labor office, medical plan and pension office against different SLP franchises.

You are forewarned.

[PGF]

[KumaraKitty]

Our friend Dave and my husband both worked at SLP Bucheon.
They were both very happy there and so are the current teachers it seems.
One teacher re-signed for an additional year recently.
The new teacher who replaced my hubby seems quite happy as well. He still socializes with the Foreign teachers and some of the Korean teachers.
The Owner is still on friendly terms with hubby and offered him work if he changes his mind(He left because we wanted more evenings off after Baby arrives) and hubby is very tempted.
SLP Bucheon seems to be run well. The staff are good, Foreign and Korean. They order in food every evening for all the teachers so you don't starve. Pay is always on time an in full. The students are mostly well behaved and some are higher level. The parents seem appreciative and hubby received some very generous gifts from them through out the time he was there.
BUPYEONG SLP is an entirely different matter! Each SLP is a franchise, and while they may have similar contracts, each one is run differently.
BUCHEON=GOOD, BUPYEONG=BAD.

[PGF]

[KumaraKitty]

Well I know one of the runners ran because of issues NOT related to the school but her private life here. I know of one teacher who was fired because of her treatment of staff and students. Other than that, in the past 1 1/2years I've known people working there, I have heard of no other runners or unsatisifed teachers.
That being said, people run for different reasons. Some friends of ours ran because they were spending all their time surfing Busan and got tired of the life of teaching. They decided to pack it up and take off to Thailand and live on the beaches till their money ran out. They worked at a CDI April.
Another friend ran because he had a great job offer come up back home in his field and his fiance found a house that was ideal for them to buy. He worked at L Bridge.
In both situations they were happy with their job and life but wanted the better opportunity that popped up last minute elsewhere. Sometimes a runner is the only way to grab that opportunity that comes knocking.
2 runners in 2 years is nothing compared to some schools.
Again, as I said, I and my husband personally know the teachers there now and they seem happy and satisifed now. 2 years ago maybe things were different.
SLP is still a franchise and each one is run differently. I say this is a good one from everyone I've talked to who CURRENTLY works there.
And yes, SLP should remove their name from Bupyeong because some crazy stuff has gone down there recently and they are apparently banned from hiring new teachers for the next year as well.