Korean Job Discussion Forums

[2CuteNCanadian]

Figure it best not to write anything

[buddy bradley]

Yes.

[itchy]

[Mr. Pink]

My first 3 years I didnt get paid vacations.

I worked at a Korean hawgwon. It said I have to work XXX many hours per month. I did that and some months there were 2-3 extra days where we got a "holiday" like chusok and new years...but I was never paid "extra" so they were not paid holidays.

[some waygug-in]

It's pretty standard for hagwans to not give you vacation days.

They always say they do, but then it turns out that they are talking about regular Korean holidays and weekends. I think in another thread Gord mentioned that the standard Korean work week is 5.5 days, so in the Korean's mind, if you are only working 5 days a week you are already getting holidays.

Welcome to Korea, have a nice day.

[schwa]

Jobs I've held in Canada didnt offer any vacation till the 2nd year.

Going by ads & the experience of friends, it seems to me a week in winter & a week in summer is quite standard here.

[Squid]

National holidays are usually termed "Vacation" in the chain hagwon contracts. A trap for young players. It's not paid.

[osangrl]

I have never had a job where i wasn't given paid vacation!!!! For these people that have, they looked in the wrong places. Keep looking Canadian girl, cause that is just sick.

[2CuteNCanadian]

Thanks Osangrl
Good to have you in my corner!!!! I've been offered a dozen contracts. These have all included all Korean National Holidays and an additional 10 days holidays. Sometimes they say 14 days in addition to KNH....which are meant to include the weekends....One week to be taken in the summer, the other to be taken in the winter, others to be taken at schools discretion....
etc...
GOD...will I EVER find a school...

[kylehawkins2000]

Korean businesses are required by law to provide you with a certain amount of vacation time per year (exclusive of National holidays). Check the Korean labor standards act to see how the laws apply to you. Know your rights and make your employer give you what you are entitled by law.

http://www.molab.go.kr:8787/English/index.jsp is the Ministry of Labor website (in english)

Check out Article 59(Annual paid leave)

[Gord]

I couldn't find the article laballed #59 and dealing with paid leave, but this link was on the main page:

http://www.molab.go.kr:8787/English/ladm/sub_3.jsp

Basically it says a work week in Korea is 44 hours. It also said that it must include one paid day off a week, one day per month, and ten days per year.

One day per week-> Sunday for us.
One day per month + ten days per year = 22 days. Stretched out over the half day Saturday that the labour law says is normal for workers in Korea (and offset by stat holidays that land on Saturdays), and we get a five day work week. I had thought it was 24, but it's actually 22.

The labour standards for where I am from are that we get 4% time off saved up as a bankable item we can use whenever, and I believe that's pretty common. Korean standards are minimum amounts of time off per week. With a five day work week, the minimum requirements have been met per Korean law.

[Pusanpoe]

When will hogwon employees learn their rights-and responsibilities Go to EFL LAW, check the Labour board web site (if its still there in English) and fight like mad for at least a little dignity like a basic vacation.-especially if you have truly done a decent job. And if you do not get it quit at the end of your contract and go elsewhere. It's a big world out there.And for the guy who implied he got no vacation until the second year in a developed country job, well there are crappy bosses everywhere as well. That does not mean it is right.

On the other hand, some employees do bloody little in terms of real quality delivered teaching (not that many care as a clown or monkey sometimes does the trick, yet they do that badly too). And at 20,00 to 30,000 won an hour for an untrained BA recent graduate, you should be quite happy to have any teaching job. There are people who have lots of experience and teaching credentials who are not getting much more-not that this is acceptable either. So in a way, I have sympathy for hogwon bosses who have a difficult time getting productive staff all in an economy that is going down the pipe. Then they are asked to deliver a lot of vacation time.

Like Rob Hyde's excellent article (See eFL LAW, breaking news) states or implies there are a lot of teachers here who are not qualified or whose state of mind may not be up to adjusting very well to Korean conditions. From the employers side and with low profit margins in many operations, it is all becoming a big pain with little profit. That is not to say the employers could help to make the adjustment process better. but they are not responsible on the whole for culture shock. Hence, I think they should hire less native speakers and only those with personalities and/or experience which tend to show relatively good adjustment and teaching abilitiy. Many Koreans capable of teaching English well are begging for jobs at hogwons and paid much less. Some of whom have teaching credentials. Korean hogwon bosses may look as a whole beastly but native speakers need to look at themselves critically too.

Oh yes. Merry Christmas.

[kylehawkins2000]

Article 59 is like 'section' 59 of the Labor Standards Act. Go the the actual act and scroll down to article 59. As I understand it most of us are entitled to two weeks of annual paid leave per year of employment and this amount increases every year you are employed by the same company. Paid leave excludes National holidays.

You might also want to dig up the new legislation on the 5-day work week to see how this affects the "44 hour" week and the 'One day "Vacation" per week'.

[Gord]

[Mankind]