Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NMonk]

So its the 21st of the month and none of the Korean teachers in my hogwan have been paid yet. I also know one of the previous teachers had to recently wait 6 months for her severance pay due to lack of funds. The 2 other foreign teachers did get paid at the beginning of this month as they were supposed to. But we're 3 weeks into the month now, I also know they've been told they're not likely to be paid anytime soon.

Its only my first month so I don't if this is normal by Korean standards, i mean none of the Korean teachers (who are all women) seem at all bothered.

Would it be a good idea to start looking for other jobs already incase i also end up not being paid in 10 days?

[blackjack]

no not normal

Yes be worried

Start getting documents ready

If the teacher got paid 6 months after she left at least the boss is honest, however if wages aren't being paid then things are dire, esp. if this has been going on for a while (debt, gambling, extremely poor money management). These things have a way of collapsing one day you are employed, next day there is a lock on the hagwon's door and you are being asked to leave your apartment be ready.

I look at things this way. Would you put up with being paid 3 or more weeks late back home? Things like wages are universal. That being said my boss is often one or two days late, however he is often one or two days early, he has the planning skills of a goldfish.

One final thing, people will advise to stop working till you get paid. If you do this you will not get paid and the labour board can not help you, but there does come a time when you are throwing good money after bad

[NMonk]

thanks for your opinion, i quite agree, a few days is one thing but 3 weeks and theyve been told not to expect it soon seems rather worrying.

if i did have to get another job what documents would i need, would it just be a letter of release from my employer?

also as part of my contract i get free accomodation for 12 months, so he could i be forced out of the flat or would he have no choice but to let me stay here until i found another job if the worst happened and he wasn't able to pay me?

Thanks in advance for any opinions/help people can give.

[ms.catbc]

They can kick you out of your apartment if the hagwon closes.
At least, this is what i have heard from some other people's experience.
No hagwon=No apartment

I would highly suggest looking for another job. This will be easier for you now that you have gone through the process before and you are actually living in Korea now.

There are so many jobs out there it is hard to know which ones are good and which ones are bad. A friend of mine came to work at the school that i was teaching at after being at another Hagwon for five months that she described as teaching hell. The school sounded like a horrible place to work as a trained teacher. When I asked why she stayed so long she said she really felt like she was tied down to her contract and was daunted by the idea of looking for another job in korea.

Life is too short. It's not worth it. You deserve to working at a school where you get paid on time.

[blackjack]

[Manuel_the_Bandito]

Is the hagwon losing students? If it is it's time to hit the panic button.

[whiteshoes]

Get your docs around, and be ready. Since you're already in Korea, you can jump to another job pretty easily. You don't need to worry about getting the CBC from home, if you'll be in Korea the whole time. You can just get it here, I'm told it takes 5 minutes at your local police station. But if you don't have your transcripts, just order some. Other than that, you're pretty much good to go.

I'd be decent to your boss, even if they can't keep you. Lot of times they'll feel really bad, and will try to help you. If you raise a stink, the odds of them helping you go down a good bit.