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weebil
Joined: 24 May 2009
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 Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:22 pm Post subject: is release letter mandatory? |
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"Contracts are generally for one year (12 months) especially for teachers. You cannot leave your position, even if, in your view, your employer is in �breach of contract�. In Korea, your employer must sign a letter of release before you can get another job prior to the termination of your contract � even if you haven�t been paid in months, or even if you have been 'fired' after 5 or 11 months."
[url]
http://www.korea4expats.com/article-contracts-for-ESL-teachers.html[/url]
i've heard some odd things about the ESL business in korea, but is this accurate? i mean if i get over there and my employer won't pay me or reimburse me airfare i can't leave unless they give me a letter of release? what are the consequences for leaving the country before the contract is up without a letter of release? |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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I think this has changed some in the last couple of years. It was the case before. I knew a teacher who had to get a new boss to bribe an immigration official to accept a fake release letter even though the guy's old boss had run away to China to avoid arrest for embezzlement. The boss was a fugitive overseas, and there was no way the teacher could get a release letter, but immigration still wouldn't process the new visa.
I read here at Dave's recently that the law has changed so that a teacher can legally get out of a contract if they officially give 60 days notice.
I don't know the details of what "officially" means. You can try looking through the Labor Law in English. Here are a few links that I dug up for someone else in another thread:
Here is a website called KangNam Labor Law Firm which has highlighted and made searchable parts of the labor law.
http://www.k-labor.com/tiki-index.php?page=labor_laws
Here is the Ministry of Labor's English page:
http://www.molab.go.kr/english/main.jsp
Check out the section under the Employees heading.
Here is a page with links to the pdfs regarding the law:
http://www.molab.go.kr/english/Legislation/Legislation.jsp?grp=1&l_title=Labor%20Standards
I should probably check it out as well since I'll be returning to Korea in the near future... |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:49 pm Post subject: |
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What hasn't changed, IMHO, is the requirement for an employee to obtain a Letter of Release still violates the South Korean Constitution. Plus, the "usual suspects" for why it's such a nifty idea for a boss don't pass muster:
- The employer paid for the employee's airfare!
- Big whoop. The usual contract addresses that with the requirement to reimburse the employer if quitting during the course of the employement
- The employer needs someone at work.
- Big whoop. Again, the usual contract addresses that with the requirement to give the employer notice 30 (or more, depending on the contract) days notice of resignation.
That's enough for now. You should get the drift from those. |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject: Re: is release letter mandatory? |
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| weebil wrote: |
| "Contracts are generally for one year (12 months) especially for teachers. You cannot leave your position, even if, in your view, your employer is in �breach of contract�. In Korea, your employer must sign a letter of release before you can get another job prior to the termination of your contract � even if you haven�t been paid in months, or even if you have been 'fired' after 5 or 11 months." |
Whoever wrote the above is a misinformed idiot.
One can leave any position for any reason at any time.
However, because an employer sponsors an E-2 visa, one can not work for a different employer during the period of sojourn for that visa unless:
1. the employer cancels the visa;
2. the employee cancels the visa by leaving the country (and making sure the Immigration officer cancels the visa upon departure); or,
3. two employers (and Immigration) agree the employee can hold a second job - which cannot be for a different purpose than the original status of stay, or for longer hours.
Under Korean law -
Breach of contract manifests on the part of the employer if pay is more than 14 days in arrears.
On the part of an employee, there is no statutory requirement to give notice; and, an employer must give an employee 30 days advance notice of dismissal.
Last edited by cruisemonkey on Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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Why is the person an idiot? The person was clearly talking about leaving a job to work at another: It specifically mentions the release letter. He was not simply talking about leaving a job. Of course anybody can just flee a position and go home.
I do think the person is wrong about "breach of contract". It has been awhile since I read the labor laws, and that was many years ago, but even back then, there were provisions for handling breach of contract situations where an employee could technically have his Visa legally voided due to an employers breach of contract which would free the employee to get another visa with a different school. |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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| iggyb wrote: |
| Why is the person an idiot? |
Because -
"You cannot leave your position, even if, in your view, your employer is in �breach of contract�."
This is not true.
"In Korea, your employer must sign a letter of release before you can get another job prior to the termination of your contract � even if you haven�t been paid in months, or even if you have been 'fired' after 5 or 11 months."
This is not true either. |
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Young FRANKenstein
Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 12:29 am Post subject: |
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| cruisemonkey wrote: |
"In Korea, your employer must sign a letter of release before you can get another job prior to the termination of your contract � even if you haven�t been paid in months, or even if you have been 'fired' after 5 or 11 months."
This is not true either. |
It used to be true. |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 12:47 am Post subject: |
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| Young FRANKenstein wrote: |
| cruisemonkey wrote: |
"In Korea, your employer must sign a letter of release before you can get another job prior to the termination of your contract � even if you haven�t been paid in months, or even if you have been 'fired' after 5 or 11 months."
This is not true either. |
It used to be true. |
If it was written when it was true, I apologize to the writer. |
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iggyb
Joined: 29 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:10 am Post subject: |
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As I thought about it, I think even back in the late 1990s, there were contract resolution procedures for employees working for employers who had broken the contract - at least written into the letter of the labor law...
...but I never heard of anyone getting a new job without getting a release letter.
Even in the cases I knew where there were gross violations of the contract, and the teacher had gone to the local labor board, and the labor board had agreed to help them out, the result was their putting pressure on the hakwon boss to give the release letter. |
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travelingfool
Joined: 10 Mar 2008
Location: Parents' basement
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 3:35 pm Post subject: Re: is release letter mandatory? |
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| cruisemonkey wrote: |
| weebil wrote: |
| "Contracts are generally for one year (12 months) especially for teachers. You cannot leave your position, even if, in your view, your employer is in �breach of contract�. In Korea, your employer must sign a letter of release before you can get another job prior to the termination of your contract � even if you haven�t been paid in months, or even if you have been 'fired' after 5 or 11 months." |
Whoever wrote the above is a misinformed idiot.
One can leave any position for any reason at any time.
However, because an employer sponsors an E-2 visa, one can not work for a different employer during the period of sojourn for that visa unless:
1. the employer cancels the visa;
2. the employee cancels the visa by leaving the country (and making sure the Immigration officer cancels the visa upon departure); or,
3. two employers (and Immigration) agree the employee can hold a second job - which cannot be for a different purpose than the original status of stay, or for longer hours.
Under Korean law -
Breach of contract manifests on the part of the employer if pay is more than 14 days in arrears.
On the part of an employee, there is no statutory requirement to give notice; and, an employer must give an employee 30 days advance notice of dismissal. |
Number 2 above is not always true. In my case I turned in my ARC and told them very clearly to cancel my visa, which they did not. I later told immigration about this but they informed me that the employer has to actually cancel the visa (in person) and that the letter of release I got from my school was no good because I had not been at my job for 9 months. They said the LOR was only if I were going to transfer jobs after the nine month mark. The school never canceled the visa so I was SOL.
Of course, had I gone back the next day and talked to someone else I probably would have gotten a different answer  |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:51 pm Post subject: Re: is release letter mandatory? |
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| travelingfool wrote: |
| In my case I turned in my ARC and told them very clearly to cancel my visa, which they did not. |
Herein lies the 'tricky' part -
You must be prepared to stand at the Immigration wicket and refuse to move until you actually witness the visa has been cancelled. Due to human nature, simply turning in your ARC and requesting the visa be cancelled, in most cases, will not result in cancellation. It takes a couple of minutes for the officer to enter all the data and many just can't be bothered. When he/she figures out it will be easier (for them) to cancel the visa than not, he/she will. Of course, to do this you must be able to read Hangul... and not care that an ever-growing line of people behind you are getting irate. |
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VFRinterceptor
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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