Korean Job Discussion Forums

marktoronto · Joined: 02 Jun 2003 Location: Seoul

Ok, I need some advice. My girlfriend and I were hired at our private english institute a few months ago. By hiring the 2 of us, they were able to save money on our apartment because they crammed us both into a bachelor, therefore they're basically paying the same rent as if they had one teacher. We're absolutely fine with this. Our problem is that we would like to take our 10 days of paid vacation together. We don't have any other english teachers at our school to cover our classes, but this is something our school needed to consider when they decided to hire a couple. We've asked when a good time to take our 10 days is so we can make the neccessary arangements (tell parents the school is closed for 2 weeks, or move kids into different time slots so the Korean teachers will teach them.) They told us it's not possible to take the vacation at the same time. In attempt to resolve things with us, they offered to allow us 1 day off before a Korean holiday begins which would give us a total of 5 days to go on vacation (this includes the weekend), so in fact, we are not getting our paid vacation days, they are just giving us days off that all people working in Korea are entitled to.
So my questions are: what do you think of the above? How does your vacation time work at your school? They are violating our contract by not allowing us 10 days paid vacation (other than national holidays which was specified in our contract), is this grounds to cause a bigger fuss or even leave our school?
I would like to know what others would do in my position.
Thanks.

J.B. Clamence · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

kylehawkins2000 · Joined: 08 Apr 2003

They owe you 10 days of paid vacation time. Those ten days should not include weekends, and they should not include puplic holidays.

If you accepted the contract with the understanding that you would be granted 10 days of vacation then that's exactly what you should get. Don't back down! 10 days is not much in the course of a year.

I would ask him to specify exact dates, then make him stick to those dates. If he refuses to give you vacation time seek legal advice. I would suggest contacting efl-law.com and talking to someone there.

Another option is to simply tell your boss that you are taking the time whether they like it or not. Just give him a list of the 10 days you'll be absent. Don't ask for the days....just take them! Taking a forward approach like this has worked well for me in the future....but you could destroy any legal position you might otherwise have over your employer.

Hope this helps in some small way.

Kyle

justagirl · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Location: Cheonan/Portland

My husband and I also work at the same school. We both knew that we would not be able to take our vacations at the same time. That's just part of the job. I don't think any school would allow it's teachers to do that, especially if they only have two teachers. Hakwons cannot afford to shut down for 2 weeks! If they did shut down so you could go on vacation, they wouldn't be able to pay you. It's kind of like at home. If you work in a small store, the employer will not let his employees schedule vacations at the same time. It sucks, but what can you do? Insist and ruin the rest of your time in Korea? I'm not saying be a pasty, but try to find something that is middle-ground.

Most schools can cover classes for 1 teacher who is on vacation, but not for 2. Perhaps you should have discussed this with your boss before signing on at this school? Did you not realize it would be a problem for the school? I'm not trying to put all of this on your shoulders, just so you know.

Is there a possibility of having the entire week of Lunar off? That would be a Monday and Tuesday off for both you and your SO. That wouldn't be quite so hard on the school as shutting down for an entire week. However, this should only be 2 days of your 10 days off. Vacation does not include the holidays/weekends, like mentioned in the other posts.

Oh, most schools don't allow 2 weeks off in a row, either. I've never heard of anyone working for a hakwon to get 2 weeks in a row. Usually it's one week every 6 months--or at least spead out a bit.

This is my 3rd job in Korea, andI get only 1 week of vacation, I also live in a studio with my husband (director saving lots of $!), and we can't take our vacations together. I guess we knew it all before we started, so that helped.

Ok, don't know if this is making you feel any better or not, but I can relate and I know you don't want to make things a h*ll at work for the rest of your contract. I hope you can find something that will work out!

justagirl

wylde · Joined: 14 Apr 2003

spot on justagirl

a 1 year contract.. ya can't wait 1 year? you want your boss to close his school (his bread and butter for his family) so you can have a holiday together?

fair is fair..

if you do get the whole week off at choosuk, don't forget that 3 days are public holidays and they shouldn't count towards you holiday quota..

i'm a sucka.. my school is great, conditions are good and the people are nice... just today i found out my 30 days of paid winter vacation include weekends and choosuk Laughing

but the deal is.. if i was a pig, due to the wording of the contract, i'm sure i could have them in court... but do i want to? no

i prefer to have 16 days of paid vacation and a very merry life during the rest of my contract..

just understand... i believe no school in this country would close to satisfy a teacher.. this should have been cleared up initially if it was going to pose a problem for you....

never assume... it makes an ASS out of U & ME

Juggertha · Joined: 27 May 2003 Location: Anyang, Korea

I get one week in the winter and one in the summer. The school closes so everyone gets the same time off. I have never heard of a school closing down for more than a week though.. suicide for the institution IMO.

Heh, i'm about to ask my director for a month off next contract.. lets see how that goes.

Sejong · Joined: 01 Jun 2003 Location: Wally World

My wife and I work at the same hogwan, and we're the only foreign English teachers there. Our school was in a similar bind, but offered us the option of taking a month off together, unpaid, rather than have separate, paid vacations for a shorter period. It was the second last month in our contract, so they gave us our "severance pay" upfront to cover that month, when we came back. We thought it was a pretty decent deal, so we accepted. It helped that they knew we wanted to re-sign for another year, as well.

They didn't have any foreign teachers present for the entire month of August, but when we came back, most of our kids classes were intact. They didn't seem to suffer too much.

wylde · Joined: 14 Apr 2003

sejong.. too cool

must be a good boss, nice job

Austin · Joined: 23 May 2003 Location: In the kitchen

If you have a problem with taking the vacation on your own, why not see if your employer will buy the ten days back from you?

By complaining about your employer being reasonable, you are only going to make things worse for the two of you.

It is your choice.

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

It sounds like the boss has offered a compromise of sorts by offering you an extra dayoff before a holiday.

I'd say go for it. And try to ask for the day after Christmas and New Year's off so you have several shorter vacations.

It may not be ideal, but the boss does seem to be trying to meet your needs.

It is selfish and unrealistic (sorry to be blunt) to ask them to close the school for 2 weeks.

marktoronto · Joined: 02 Jun 2003 Location: Seoul

Thanks for all your replies. We have reached an agreement with our school. We will take one week vacation in the winter together, and one week vacation in the summer. I think that's completely fair and I really appreciate my school for doing that for us.

kylehawkins2000 · Joined: 08 Apr 2003

that's normal. Whoever said schools won't shut down is off base. Lot's of schools do. There is a week at the end of July/beginning of August where about half of the businesses in Korea shut down and take a vacation.

The two schools I've worked at have both shut down during vacation times.

wylde · Joined: 14 Apr 2003

well... it wasn't me kyle.. i said schools won't close because of a teacher.

ie sign your contract, come to korea and then say the holidays we agreed upon are no longer suitable.. i want different dates now and if the school can't work around those dates maybe it should close.. Laughing

unlikely

ps o yea... never get 10 days in 1 hit either.. the 10 days are 5 winter & 5 summer. unless the contract mentioned 10 consecutive days..

i'm getting the impression mark you are thinking as i did my first contract... cool 10 days, where can i go? what can i do? but when i asked, it was explained to me that i take my holidays when they say.. not when i want. we're all in the same boat.