Korean Job Discussion Forums

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

In the comments to another post, I quoted some parts of the SMOE contract which I read as giving half the contract completion bonus at the start as a "loan" and calling it (at points) an airfare reimbursement loan - then giving the 2nd half of the bonus when you have actually earned it by completing 12 months.

I reread the contract in whole, and now I'm not sure that is correct. I'll put the quotes up and see if you can make sense of them:

prideofidaho · Joined: 19 Mar 2008

I think you are confusing the entrance / exit allowance with severance pay. They are not the same thing at all.

You get severance pay for every year you complete with SMOE. I will have completed three years at the end of next year, so I'll get three years worth of severance, plus the exit bonus, as I won't be renewing.

zipper · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:38 am Post subject:

It looks like that the school will loan you the 1.3 million won as a flat rate for the air ticket coming in. If you stay beyond 6 months, then you don�t need to pay it back.

If you finish the contract, then the school will pay you one month severance pay plus, the 1.3 million for your return ticket home.

But if you extend your contract then you don�t get the 1.3 million won since you are not leaving the country, and you don�t get the severance either since you are not severing yourself from the job. However, you will get 2 million won instead of the severance if you extend the contract.

If you extend the contract, then I would suppose after the 2nd year, you would get the 1.3 million won and the severance pay if you choose not to extend for a 3rd term�

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

I've quoted all the clauses in the contract that pertain to completion bonuses and Entrance/Exit Allowances. At least I think I have.

You will have to find a section of the contract that talks about the 1 year, 12-month completion bonus for your idea to work.

That is the key. I can't find anything in the contract that specifically mentions the completion bonus -- except in Article 13 Section 5 - and it seems fairly clear that that section is talking about renewal and successful completion of 2 years.

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

zipper · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:55 am Post subject:

Unfortunately, contracts are subject to schools� administrators where interpretations vary, and often than not, administrators leave said schools without leaving any details about NEST�s current contractual status. Then as bassexpander hinted, administrators or bosses may pull the old �the Korean Translation� is supreme to the English translation routine�

buildbyflying · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:58 am Post subject:

the new contract states:
- you only get two weeks of paid vacation. (article 10.2)
- the vacation occurs in the last two weeks of the contract.
- the employer can delay the vacation (with no mention of how that vacation carries over into the new contract)
- the Contract Renewal Allowance is 2mil. (art. 10.3)
- the CRA replaces the exit allowance and the entrance allowance for the new contract.
- if the employer cancels the contract after paying the 2mil, the empolyee is responsible for paying back 700k.

SO... entrance = 1.3m, exit= 1.3m, entrance + exit = 2.6mil.
one way flight 800USD. round trip 1500 USD.
There's no bonus there. Period. Just enough to cover your plane tix.
And SMOE saves 600k per renewal. Good for business, bad for teachers.

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

I think a better way to describe it is that --- they are giving you the 1 contract, 12 month completion bonus but call it airfare.

1.3 + 1.3 = 2.6 which is about an average for a one month salary. Slightly higher for some. Slightly lower for others. That is why when I first read the contract and signed it, I took the allowances for being splitting the bonus up into 2 part to help teacher meet initial needs when first in country.

I didn't really focus on airfare, because my recruiter said they would pay for the ticket over and get the money back from SMOE. --- That changed at the last minute -- a day or so before they dropped me -- when the recruiter said SMOE had changed the system and now I had to buy the original ticket and get the money back when I arrived.

I guess now he must have heard or realized just what I did -- that SMOE was breaking the bonus up into two parts and calling them airfare.

Look at it this way:

I checked on tickets yesterday, and Korea Air was offering $833 for a one-way ticket. That is a little over 1.0 million Won. (There were lower tickets.)

Does anybody really think SMOE is going to give you 300,000 Won extra for your ticket? Or is it more likely they split the 12-month bonus in two and called the first installment something else?

buildbyflying · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:42 am Post subject:

It really only matters how it's stated for the purpose of Korean Labor law.
Otherwise "layman's terms" are good enough for me.

I don't disagree with you on what it means for us. In short, the cost of us getting over there and back is likely greater that what we get reimbursed.
In previous contracts, we'd get reimbursements and a month's salary bonus. And on renewal we'd get another ticket.
What this means for future teachers is that SMOE has decided to shaft teachers for 2mil +.

Ben Glickman · Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada

Teachers receive one month severance pay in addition to the 1.3 million won entrance/exit allowance. The entrance and exit allowance is to cover airfare.

This was implemented by both SMOE and EPIK a few years ago because of the accounting nightmare they encountered attempting to reimburse teachers for specific airfare amounts. They decided to offer a flat reimbursement fee coming in and going out for airfare.

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

Can you look at Article 13 Section 5 and tell me if it was the same last year in SMOE's contract?

If they do give the severance pay, they really worded the clause badly.

iggyb · Joined: 29 Oct 2003

Also, my recruiter was ESL Seoul, and on their website in the Q&A section, they said they pay for airfare and get reimbursed by SMOE, but I was told earlier in the week by them that SMOE had changed how they were handling airfare and that I'd have to buy the ticket and get the money reimbursed myself from them.

Now, if these changes you are talking about happened several years ago, it seems likely ESL Seoul would have been following those rules too. So, I wonder -- and know you can't answer this --- what the new thing was that SMOE did this year that had ESL Seoul changing the way they handled it?

I'd really like to see a SMOE contract from last year....

buildbyflying · Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2009 9:57 am Post subject:

I had overlooked the severance clause before, I guess that led to a misunderstanding. There are a lot of threads, and I've been reading them in whatever order they come up, so I apologize if the information is a little skewed.
At the moment, I'm under the impression that completing one year and going home allows you the severance and the exit allowance. Completing two years allows you no severance and the renewal bonus at the end of the first year and the sum of two years severance upon the end of the second year. Is this what the consensus is?
Nice to finally have that cleared up.

Chambertin · Joined: 07 Jun 2009 Location: Gunsan

IggyB you are without a doubt very paranoid.
Severance and entrance exit allowance are separate issues.

EDIT: Also you joined in 2003, shouldn�t you just be able to read the Korean version by now?
Even in English there are many other ways to read a contract, thats what lawyers are for. Although they might side per the difference in terminology.

What happened to spark this bout of paranoia?