Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nahanni]

Must leave at end of contract and have given hagwon plenty notice.

Problem is they will have difficulty finding a replacement and not sure how they will react when it all comes down.

Let's say they end up screwed without a teacher and i'm trying to get my deserved severance, salary etc and they start stalling. I have my flight booked and must meet someone 2 days after final day.

So, what to do? I make a fast trip to the labour office and file a complaint? I plan to come back to Korea after trip but won't for at least 4 months. Would I be hopelessly lost if I returned trying to get my money ???????

Thanks for any insight,

[Hootsmon]

Have they given any indication that this might happen? Have they been late with payments ever? I'm just wondering if you have reason to believe they might try to screw you over, of if it's this-website-inspired-paranoia...

I'm not saying it doesn't happen but plenty of jobs will happily pay you everything you're owed. My hagwon director was as deranged as Scrooge McDuck but he gave me every penny that was due.

That aside...the best thing you could try to do is arrange a pay day in advance of your departure. Say you need an extra week or so to make sure you can pay all your bills and send the rest of the money home. Then, hopefully, you can check it's all there and tie up your loose ends in a relaxed frame of mind.

[nahanni]

no, they haven't been late in past and haven't given any hint that there will be a problem aside from finding replacement.

already told that i will be paid on final day.

not paranoid, simply understand that there's a small chance that things won't work out and then i'll only have 1 day to sort it out....then i'll be posting here with people shaking their heads saying yes yes heard that before.

[Flash Ipanema]

I would have your flight out at least a week after your last day. I was always paid on time and had no reason to think anything would go wrong on my last day, but I was wrong. I did receive my final pay and severance, but with a severe (and illegal) deduction. My flight was the next morning at 11 am, so there was nothing I could do about it.

Supposedly you can file a form to appoint a person in Korea to act on your behalf and file a complaint with the Labor Board if you're out of the country, but I don't know how that works. The consulate here (in the US) told me to go to a lawyer and have them draw up a power of attorney which they would then authorize or something. I decided to skip all that and just deal with it all when I return next month.

So give yourself about a week or so between last day and flight just for the peace of mind. If nothing goes wrong, then you can have a mini-vacation. You'll probably have to stay in a motel or something though, so be prepared to pay for that.

[Hootsmon]

Yeah, I agree...try to get them to change the date of your last pay or the date of your flight. Or if you have the ticket already, maybe you can call the airline and see if you can change it yourself...but I don't really know anything about that...

Basically, I also think it's important to try and get yourself a week between the final pay and leaving the country, however you manage it. Have you got any vacation days left you could use at the end of the contract? Anyway you can, try to get a little time. As Flash says, even if they have the best intentions at heart, never rule out the possibility of them being hugely incompetant and messing up the figures somehow.

If they're having a problem finding a replacement, a real danger could be that they'll start begging for you to stick around an extra week or two until they find someone...that's when things could get even more messy..

Anyway, good luck! Try to get that week of free space if you can. You'll enjoy the wee vacation at the end and not feel rushed on your way out.

[jellobean]

I am fairly certain that if you are coming back a few months later you can probably file a complaint then.

Does anyone have some better information on this option?