Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gnomead]

I'm hoping that other JLS employees out there can give me their take on this:

This is my first attempt to negotiate a (Korean) contract and I've been under the impression that it's common practice. So I was surprised to hear from the hiring manager that JLS contracts can't be changed/negotiated.

I've already posted the contract in the sticky. Based on the feedback from that and from reading the Labor Standards Act, I tried to have some minor changes made in the wording-mostly just to make some vague or nonexistent clauses jive more with what the hiring manage had told me during the interview.

Overall the contract-aside from a lack of specific details-seems reasonable compared to other hagwon contracts that I've read, so I haven't turned the offer down yet. However, my biggest concern is from something that's not in the contract: the summer and winter intensives hourly rate. I was told that there will be 4 extra hours/day for each 3 week period at a rate of 20,000/hour. That goes against the overtime clause in the contract that states anything more than 30 (teaching) hours/week will be 30,000/hour.

Almost as troubling is the fact that I'm pretty sure (according to my notes and memory) I was told during the interview that the overtime rate during the intensives would be 50,000/hour and, since it's not mentioned in the contract, had I not brought it up when I did it would have been a much bigger surprise come payday. Sounds like a classic bait and switch unless I misinterpreted the wording during the interview (the contract does state that any classes on Saturdays will be 50,000/hour).

Like I said, the fact that I can't negotiate the contract-although a little off-putting-isn't neccesarily a deal breaker. But the seemingly underhanded intensives rate makes me wonder what other surprises could be in store.

So, without risking getting fired , can anyone help shed some light on whether they were able to negotiate and/or what I should make of the intensives rate?

[ChinaBoy]

If you have already signed the contract, you can't re-negotiate it.

if you haven't already signed the contract, they can't fire you.