Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Curious George]

Hi all,

I am re-signing a contract with SMOE but a question has arisen about the 1 month severance pay we are supposed to get.

My school is telling me that they think this severance all gets paid when you finally leave and not after each completed year. This has not been confirmed by SMOE yet.

So, for example if you make 2.2 million and re-sign for 2.3 million then you get paid out 4.5 million severance when you leave after 2 years, 6.8 million after 3 years, and so on.

Now this is making me a little nervous, letting SMOE hold onto this and not paying it out every year. The english part of the contract is a little vague on this payout as well. It does not clearly state that this severance pay is cumulative. The way it reads is that you get 1 month severance when you finally leave. Naturally, I dont want to loose this money should I stay another year or two.

So, can anyone who has worked for 2 or more years with SMOE confirm that they got the total cumulative severance pay when they finally left?

Thanks

[ddeubel]

Your school is correct. You get this money not when you request it but at the end of your teaching at SMOE.

This is fully in line with Korean law and how all other Korean companies pay their employees. So don't fret and worry......

Also, this money will be paid out and calculated based upon your final monthly salary level multiplied by years or part years...... nobody cheating you.... There need be no perfect clarity because this not an SMOE thing but rather a government requirement for all employers.

DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

[Zaria32]

ddeubel is correct, however, most schools pay out annually even for returning teachers. The US embassy suggests that unless they have a provable history of making multi-year payments, insist on payment each year.

[pecan]

Interesting...

In other government programs, like EPIK, they pay your severance after the completion of each contract. The contract stipulates that each year is "noncontinuous" employment (Article 13, section 7).

The S.M.O.E. contract is a bit different in regards to the other programs. The wording in Article 13, section 5, opens the door for more than one interpretation of the severance pay issue by contradicting Article 10, section 1, of the contract.

You are not allowed to have a contract for more than 1 year, so each year is a new contract (you "leave" at the end of each contract, so your severance should be paid then). The term of the contract does not allow for "continuous" employment, as is clearly stated in Article 10, section 1.

I don't understand how they are allowed to interpret the contract in this way.

Continuous employment would require them to abide by higher standards of treatment towards those particular employees, but they have avoided that by making it clear that each contract is noncontinuous!!!

I would really like to get some clarification on this one, because when you renew, it is not an extension. It is a new contract for 1 year.

If they consider it an extension and not a renewal, under the labor laws, etc., they would be required to provide other benefits, like a change from temporary worker status to permanent worker status, annual cost of living increases, etc.

Do you follow?

-Nut

[xtchr]

[pecan]

xtchr,

No doubt the experiences are going to vary from school district to school district, but do you know if your case was the exception or the norm for Cheollabuk-do?

Thanks.

-Nut

[Young FRANKenstein]

[xtchr]

[xtchr]