Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Haydn]

Long story short, I got placed at a public school through a recruiter. Signed the contract and transfered my visa. Then Gyeonggido Office of Education tells the school they're giving them a teacher and that I have to go.

School told them I'm already there, contract signed, and they'd like to keep me but GEPIK is saying they insist that they take the other teacher.

So I get told today, a week after signing the contract, that I no longer have a job. The school is going to make some restitution for the visa transfer fee, some of my moving costs, and pay for the days I was under contract.

But now I'll be forced to make a visa run as I will have worked less than 6 months at this place. Called immigration but of course it doesn't matter that it's not my mistake but GEPIK's, still have to leave the country and return on a new visa.

Can GEPIK do that? Just cancel a signed contract?

[TheUrbanMyth]

Sounds like the school wants another teacher. Did you speak to GEPIK directly or is this what the school claims?


Also what does your recruiter say? Is he or she qualified to place teachers at a public school?

[Haydn]

School told me they'd like to keep me. They were very apologetic, both the principal and vice-principal came to apologize. They told me they'd like to hire me next year.

Recruiting agency is authorized to place with public schools, he's not happy either because this means no fee.

I'm not disfigured, clean-shaven, wore nice clothes. It's a public elementary school so even the K teachers have a relaxed dress code (jeans, etc).

I also had a face-to-face interview with the principal and the KET.

I was only working with one co-teacher, both of us are male and we were getting along great.

So I don't think it's that they don't want me. They saw what they were getting and I have good references. I believe what they say about GEPIK forcing another teacher on them.

[Countrygirl]

Read your contract and see what it says about Gepik canceling the contract. It seems to me that they can't unless you didn't perform your duties as stipulated in the contract and then they would have to give you two letters of warning and one(?) month notice or pay.

Call Dain and Gepik and call the labour board. Sounds like your school is unable to say no to the head person who is doing this to them but you should put up a fight on your end. At the very least Gepik should be providing an alternative job for you with money for your expenses.

[Cerberus]

gotta go with UM on this one.

sounds like a textbook example of the East Asian saving face conflict resolution series.

They don't want you but you are being given a saving face excuse.

I could be dead wrong, but I had to lay money on either of the 2 options, my money would be on UM.

A bit unusual in that many schools don't have the extra resources to give someone their money back for flight, etc and then pay another recruiter for another teacher, etc.

[Cerberus]

[TheUrbanMyth]

The whole thing sounds strange which is why I'm considering the school as the problem. OP are you sure there's nothing else you can mention which might shed more light on the subject?

If the recruiter is authorized to place teachers, then GEPIK should have been okay with his placement. It doesn't make sense they'd hire a recruiter and then override him. That's what a recruiter is for so THEY don't have to deal with this.

Also many schools prefer appearance over qualifications. Could it be that the second teacher is female, young, pretty, blonde and blue eyed? That counts for a lot in many cases.

Anyway I'm going with Countrygirl on this one. Speak to GEPIK directly and find out what's going on. Ask what is the problem and why you are being replaced. Sounds to me that they own you that much of an explanation.

Of course it could be exactly as you said, but something just doesn't seem right about the whole thing. If GEPIK can just arbitrarily override recruiters with no explanation, it doesn't sound to me like they are going to get a lot of people working for them once this gets out. No one wants to work at a job they may not have by next week simply by bureaucratic fiat.

[Haydn]

There was a language barrier, but from what I understood they asked GEPIK for a NET some months ago and either were not told anything or told to find one through a recruiter.

So they found me through a recruiter, interviewed me in person, and hired me. Then a week later no more contract. GEPIK is sending them a teacher.

Called the labor board but because I worked there less than 6 months they're not required to give me 30 days notice for termination. If that's even what's happening to me. I get the feeling they just want to pretend we never signed anything.

Either way, it jams me up pretty good cause now I'll need a new E2, a new apostilled CBC, new transcripts and I'm homeless and incomeless until I get this sorted.

They're going to pay me for the days I was under contract plus a little for my visa transfer fee and moving costs. But the waste of my time and effort is pretty irritating. Plus now I have to go back on the job market and it's not fun out there.

My naive assumption is it's a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. GEPIK got them a teacher and brought them over so they don't want to eat the cost and look bad when things got upside down. So they pushed that problem onto the school. This is just a guess on my part though.

[hockeyguy109]

Play this to your advantage. Try to get a settlement...big settlement (maybe months salary along with compensation). I think they'd have to, because this is completely illegal.

Go for a week vacation somewhere warm for a week, then come back here into a new job. Things could be worse.

[Haydn]

That's exactly what I was thinking Hockeyguy. I'm trying to get them to not cancel my E2 until I find a new job, but I'm also looking at airfare for a 4-5 day run to Manila or BKK and then come back on a tourist visa and start the job hunt again.

[ThingsComeAround]

They (GEPIK) should at least move you, since you were hired by your school and now GEPIK (your school) is "changing their mind".

Your school screwed up big time. Apologizing to you is less of a burden for them than saying "no" to their overseer.

There are still GEPIK schools that need people. As in yesterday. You should be able to find a job.

[ChilgokBlackHole]

I wasn't going to weigh in here, but here's the thing. A contract is not a test-drive. It's a contract. You should hold them to the contract they signed. This includes 30 days notice for termination.

[tokkibunni8]

There are a lot of Gepik schools. Can't Gepik send the other teacher to a school with no NET, or, transfer you to a different school. I'm sure there are schools out there that still needs a NET.

[Ramen]

[OculisOrbis]