Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kurtz]

is it just actually payment owing to you for working a month but only getting paid for 28 days? hence the 2-3 odd days per month that hasn't been paid over the year becomes a little over a months pay which is what your "bonus" is but it's not really a bonus at all, it's just the free days you were working because of this dishonest method of payment.

Has this been discussed before? if it has, very sorry, but I have a cold and need to end the year swinging.

[ChinaBoy]

ok, less cold medicine, more sleeping

[Big Mac]

Your severance pay is not a bonus. It is something that Koreans have just decided to make part of their labour law.

It isn't just foreign teachers who get severance pay after one year of working in Korea. Every worker in Korea gets it.

I can't remember exactly how it works, but I think after one year of working with a company, you actually start earning more money at a better rate towards your severance pay. You get it all when you eventually leave the company.

I think it's regarded as some sort of savings or retirement plan.

[Colorado]

I think the OP is talking about the 2 million won signing bonus that's in the new public school contracts for EPIK. This is different and in addition to severance pay.
It seems to me that the signing bonus replaces the airfare allowance for a home visit at the end of your contract.

[Kurtz]

Let me explain.

In a civilized country, one gets paid per annum, that is for 52 weeks in the year. That's why you see jobs advertised as such. For the sake of simplicity, let's say John gets paid weekly or monthly. Let's say John starts his job on a Monday. John gets paid every Friday, every week for a year, that equals 52 pays.
John might get paid monthly, so he gets paid on the Friday on the last day of every month. Look at a calendar, Fridays (and all the days in the week at different months in the year) occur 5 times in one month on 4 occasions. This means John gets paid for 5 weeks work in one month. This will happen 4 times in one year. This means John is also getting paid for 52 weeks of work, even though he is getting paid monthly.

In an uncivilized country Korea, the punters are paid monthly too but it's not the same.
Those 4 times a year a half week occurs in which you get 5 weeks pay in one month is not accounted for in the Korean system.
This means you are working one year in Korea, but are only being paid for 48 week (as the aforementioned extra days in the week are not accounted for).

This BONUS of staying one year or this re-signing fee or whatever that happens in hagwons and public schools to either make you stay a year or re-sign is not extra money, it's in fact the 4 weeks pay OWING to you for working a year only being paid for 48 weeks.

Understand?

[Ramen]

^^huh?

[Kurtz]

what don't you understand?
do you think being paid on the last Friday of every month is the same as being paid on the (eg) 25th of every month?
No it isn't.
If you're paid on the last Friday of every month, you will receive 4 extra weeks pay than only being paid the same monthly salary on the 25th of every month why? because 4 times a year, Friday appears 5 times in one month, so you will be paid for an extra weeks work on those occasions. This method means being paid for the 52 weeks in the year.
The Korean method means being paid minus those 4 weeks.
It's not so difficult

[passingtime]

Or maybe just an annual salary divided by 12 for simplicities sake? How it works in the UK anyways

[Kurtz]

I've never seen wages advertised as a monthly salary back home, as you are not working the same number of weeks in one month.
These uneven number of weeks unpaid for in Korea equates 4 weeks pay which you don't get in Korea.
Look at December this year, 4 weeks plus 3 work days
Novemeber=4 weeks
October= 4 weeks plus 3 days etc
These plus days are not getting paid for.
This means you're working a month in Korea, but getting paid for 28 days.
In the West, you work a month, you get paid for a month.

[kprrok]

[Kurtz]

You just don't get it.
I'm not talking about holidays as they are paid.

Getting paid the same amount every month times 12 (to make a year) is NOT the same as getting paid for working 52 weeks as I have explained already.

[Ramen]

[Kurtz]

and.............this means your BONUS for working the full year, which is nearly the same to a months pay in most cases, is in fact not a bonus, as it's actually the money you worked for, but didn't get paid for due to working 52 weeks, but not being paid for 52 weeks.

I don't care about what I signed on the contract, I know fully what I signed, I signed up to be getting short changed 4 weeks pay which is reinbursed when I re-sign or stick out the year.

I've never seen this system of getting paid using this Korean system at home as the unions wouldn't stand for it.

[Kurtz]

OK last time!!! hurray!

I get paid x amount per month in Korea on the same date.
I get the same amount every month.
12 months make a year, so there is my yearly salary in Korea, x times 12.

At home, I got paid monthly too, on the same day at the end of the month
Due to the uneven weeks in a month, I would usually get y amount
I always got at least y amount every week. If you multiply this y amount times 12, this is the same as the Korean method.
BUT! about 4 times a year, I would get y+1 week, as that was an extra pay week in the month, look on the calendar it happens a few times.

Getting paid x every month times 12 in Korea , and either getting paid y or y+1 week means I'm getting more money back home, not because of my actual salary, but because of the y+1 week amounts.

Thus getting paid per month in Korea is less than getting paid back home.
The difference is the y+1 week factor as back home the y+ 1 week factor means you are getting paid the full 52 weeks in the year.
In Korea, you are not getting paid the full 52 weeks in the year, you always only get the x amount.
The "bonus"/ "re-signing fee" is the missing + 1 week factor which happens 4 times a year. So it's not actually a bonus.
This is what I mean about the missing 4 weeks pay.

Amen.

[Kurtz]

I would like the change "I always got y amount every week"

to
"I always got at least y amount every month"

sorry.