Korean Job Discussion Forums

[keetrainchild]

Hello, this is my first time teaching English internationally. I've been teaching for a certain school whose name I shall not reveal until my contract has officially ended, since it states that I shall not make defamatory or disparaging remarks regarding them.

This is my tenth, and final month. I am having trouble making a couple decisions regarding what to do. They basically came together with me about a month ago and told me that they wanted to make a 'mutual agreement' for dismissal. At this time they said that they were going to look for a new teacher, but that they would pay my airfare home and the majority of my severance pay.

They claimed that they wanted to do this due to parental complaints, but when I asked them to elaborate, they refused to tell me who was complaining or when they had complained, even though I offered to speak to anyone who was bothered.

I was a bit suspicious of my employer, so I actually recorded the conversation on my Pocket PC. In any case, a couple weeks ago my supervisor, the boss's assistant, who handles most of the finances, told me that she never heard that part of my severance would be paid. This sounded odd to me, as the head boss supposedly translated our conversation into Korean for her during our initial meeting. It wouldn't be the first time that they failed to communicate effective, either with eachother or with teachers. Anyways, she said that the boss must have meant pension, which I would get.

Naturally I was angry at this and asked my boss if it were true, and she said it was, and that she made a mistake during the interview. Great, a $1700 mistake. I know that severance is not a legal requirement unless one has worked for one year, but she said I would get it, and now she was recanting. The trouble is that there is nothing that I can do, because my airplane leaves in one week and I'm not going to miss it.

I could file a complaint through the labor department. I know that they're violating Article 27 of the Labor Standards Act, and probably Article 23:

Article 23 (Restriction on Dismissal, etc.)
(1) No employer shall dismiss, lay off, suspend, or transfer a worker, or reduce wages, or take other punitive measures (hereinafter referred to as "unfair dismissal, etc.") against a worker without justifiable reasons.
Article 27 (Written Notification of Reasons for Dismissal)
(1) If an employer intends to dismiss a worker, the employer shall notify the worker of reasons for dismissal and the date of such dismissal in writing.
(2) The dismissal of a worker shall take effect only after the written notification is given to the worker pursuant to paragraph (1).

On top of this, they asked me to work on Monday, when my flight leaves Tuesday at 10am and I'm hours away from the airport, and asked me today to write lesson plans and student evaluations before I leave.

I'm wondering if I should bother filing a complaint with the labor department. I'm also seriously thinking of just not coming to school on Monday (well, I'd probably tell them on Friday, after they payed me) because I have a wife and a son here and it's going to take a very long time to pack and prepare. I know it's not very nice, but they're definitely not helping me, either, and I truly need to extra time, so I might just not bother with the lesson plans or report cards, and stay home and pack on Monday. I wonder, though.. if I did this, could they avoid paying the last payment for my pension?

What do you think? Thank you for your advice.

[Atavistic]

Get thee to labor TOMORROW. Bring a Korean speaker. DO NOT GO TO WORK. GO TO LABOR.

[keetrainchild]

I'm sorry, I posted this in the wrong forum. I tried to delete it, but someone had already replied. *sighs* Oh, well. Anyways, I've never used any of my sick days.. Objective Alpha: Find Doctor / Objective Bravo: Convince Doctor that Being Sick of Work qualifies as excuse to stay home.

[the ireland]

Tell them you will turn up and do the evaluations and lesson plans!!

then don't turn up and when they call you, tell them you made a mistake when you said yes and what you actually meant was go f**k yourself!!!

[matthews_world]

Simple.

Just go to your local pension office during their office hours. Apply for the refund bringing in your bank information, ticket, passport and ARC. They will wire it to your home bank. I've heard it takes about 3 weeks to process. You might be surprised if they haven't actually been paying into the scheme. It happens quite frequently here.

You may need a 'certificate of employment' from them for other jobs you may have in Korea in the future. Get that from your employer.

The might try to put a mark on your record at immigration for not doing the report cards or other housekeeping duties, 'blacklisting' you essentially.

You leave in a week. Perhaps the labor board could be helpful in this amount of time.

[keetrainchild]

I already went to the pension office and completed all my paperwork. The only problem is that my current payment does not include my final month of work. I want to get that extra money! Under my contract they can't even fire me unless I'm absent from work for two full days without notice, and I know that pension is a legal requirement (my boss tried convincing me that it's an extra.. ha), but I wonder this: If I don't come on Monday, might they not pay the last part of my pension?

[Bailsibub]

Keetrainchild,

I recently read an article about unfair dismissal. It was written by a man named Gerald Staruiala, a paralegal at Kangnam Labor Law Firm. Send him an email. Here's his address: [email protected]

Hope you get your money.

[Missihippi]

[michael5799042]

I had a similar situation sprung on me on my last day of work. They tried to screw me out of $1,000 vacation pay on my last day.
I think the main thing is to refuse to be "guided" in anyway. You know how you get told everything is "normal" and slowly pushed along course.
I had a polite argument with my former employer in the bank when I found out the money was insufficient. Then we returned to the school and I simply refused to leave the front desk. They tried everything to get me to move but I just said no (very un-Korean of me). I didn't go to teach my class. I didn't go to the bathroom. I just stood there and looked pissed. (All the while I was contemplating making a break for the bosses chair)
First they tried to barter, then after a while I got the entire $1,000.
Then I moved.
Good luck!

[Bagpipes11]

Get a Korean friend to help you translate a document into Korean saying how you believe that you were unfairly treated and that the parents should find a hagwon where the director is more concerned with their child's education.

Show the director and tell him that you had just put a copy in each child's bookbag and told them to bring it home and give it to Mom.

Koreans are not used to people standing up for themselves. Especially people who they perceive as below them. Hope it all works out for you.

[ttompatz]

You are being screwed out of airfare, pension and your last months salary.

Get your butt down to a labor office and FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT. IF it doesn't have your signature it is not a formal complaint. Do NOT walk out until you have one started.

If you need the location call 02-1350 (extension 7 for English). 1350 from a land line.

Do not go to work, do not pass go, DO go to labor.

11th month early terminations are illegal and labor takes a very dim view of hakwons who do it to avoid paying out legal entitlements and benefits.

[southern boy]

Yea man, the labour board is definitely going in favour because of the conversation you had recorded. You could try to threaten him with that make sure you have an extra copy in case they yank it off you. Make sure to tell us the name of the the school after it's over, it's such an immoral thing to do especially to a person with a child and a family.

[Voyeur]

I would not go to labor right away.

Tell them very nicely that you insist on a pro-rated percentage of your severance ad airfare as was agreed to in the meeting. Tell them that you will go to Labour if they don't give it to you. If they still don't budge, perhaps mention the recording - though that might be illegal so I'd figure that out first.

THEN, if you can't intimidate them into doing what is right, go to labor. That would be my play.

[DongtanTony]

All this director is going to need is a written statement from the pissed off parents outlining the reasons why this particular teacher was terminated.

This termination should have been outlined...in writing, stamped and signed...by both parties.

If they misspoke...and said severance when meaning pension...other than your pocket PC recording...you have no proof of that.

One question...were you given proper notice according to your contract?

That may be the leverage you have with the labor board...otherwise...if your director was paying his/her proper taxable deductions and pension contributions for you....you're going to have a huge uphill battle.

Writing writing writing...stamped stamped stamped...signed signed signed...it's a basic rule of thumb for all termination negotiations.

[keetrainchild]

Thank you for your replies, everyone. To the question's I've received, or things I want to comment on:

"You are being screwed out of airfare, pension and your last months salary. "

Please read my original post. I know you're trying to help, but they're not cheating me out of my salary or my airfare. They paid my airfare (but no one else's, which is typical) and they said they'll pay my last month's salary on Friday.

"One question...were you given proper notice according to your contract?"

My contract, as well as Korean labor law which supercedes my contract, indicates one month's written notification. We made a so-called mutual agreement, partly based on the idea that I would get part of my severance pay, which they are now denying.

Part of what annoys me about them is that they're lazy. They even offered to put the terms in writing. I told them that I definitely wanted everything in writing. Then, they never gave it to me.