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Bill2K
Joined: 16 Jun 2010
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 Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:20 pm Post subject: Will not renew contract: When to inform? |
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Hi. My contract will be up in August. I already decided awhile ago that I will not be renewing. I was wondering when a good time would be to inform my school of my decision? They haven't asked me if I want to renew yet, so I'm wondering if four months is too early?
The main reason I want to inform them is that I want to request to use all my vacation days for the end of my contract. I checked with MOE, and they said as long as my school approves it, I can use all my vacation days at the end of my contract and still get my pension and stuff. I don't want to be here a day longer than needed, if possible.
Any suggestions would be appreciated! |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Location: Home sweet home
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Wait until they ask you Your contract is up, if you don't say that you want to renew or they don't ask you to, it's probbaly assumed that you won't renew. |
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chrisinkorea2011
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 2:46 am Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| Wait until they ask you Your contract is up, if you don't say that you want to renew or they don't ask you to, it's probbaly assumed that you won't renew. |
yeah that response would be something a d!ck would do. wait until they ask you? id say have the courtesy to give them at least a month - month and a half so they can find someone to replace you. that way it doesnt look like you just bailed on them and actually were respectful enough. People act differently, if you dont tell them you arent renewing they could simply assume you are not OR that you very may will because you made no mention of staying. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Location: Home sweet home
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 2:49 am Post subject: |
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| chrisinkorea2011 wrote: |
| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| Wait until they ask you Your contract is up, if you don't say that you want to renew or they don't ask you to, it's probbaly assumed that you won't renew. |
yeah that response would be something a d!ck would do. wait until they ask you? id say have the courtesy to give them at least a month - month and a half so they can find someone to replace you. that way it doesnt look like you just bailed on them and actually were respectful enough. People act differently, if you dont tell them you arent renewing they could simply assume you are not OR that you very may will because you made no mention of staying. |
Um, no. Not exactly. Often if they don't tell you, it's because they're already looking for another teacher and don't want you to lose face. Contracts have an end date. If either party wants to renew, they talk about it beforehand. If not, then it's presumed that the contract will not be renewed. |
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PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:18 am Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| chrisinkorea2011 wrote: |
| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| Wait until they ask you Your contract is up, if you don't say that you want to renew or they don't ask you to, it's probbaly assumed that you won't renew. |
yeah that response would be something a d!ck would do. wait until they ask you? id say have the courtesy to give them at least a month - month and a half so they can find someone to replace you. that way it doesnt look like you just bailed on them and actually were respectful enough. People act differently, if you dont tell them you arent renewing they could simply assume you are not OR that you very may will because you made no mention of staying. |
Um, no. Not exactly. Often if they don't tell you, it's because they're already looking for another teacher and don't want you to lose face. Contracts have an end date. If either party wants to renew, they talk about it beforehand. If not, then it's presumed that the contract will not be renewed. |
Exactly. Don't say anything. |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:19 am Post subject: Re: Will not renew contract: When to inform? |
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| Bill2K wrote: |
Hi. My contract will be up in August. I already decided awhile ago that I will not be renewing. I was wondering when a good time would be to inform my school of my decision? They haven't asked me if I want to renew yet, so I'm wondering if four months is too early?
The main reason I want to inform them is that I want to request to use all my vacation days for the end of my contract. I checked with MOE, and they said as long as my school approves it, I can use all my vacation days at the end of my contract and still get my pension and stuff. I don't want to be here a day longer than needed, if possible.
Any suggestions would be appreciated! |
sounds like you're at a public school. Typically this is decided 2 months prior to expiration of your contract. If your school has the money for a NET, and they want you to stay, you will be asked between 3 months prior to 2 months prior to expiration. They like to date the official forms at exactly 2 months prior to expiration.
if you are owed vacation they have to give it to you, especially since you'd presumably be taking it during school summer vacation, but technically speaking, perhaps they could force you to return to Korea for at least a day, rather than just allowing you to fly home early.
Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to let them know you're leaving until you have to. Depending on how things have gone, they may allow you to leave home early, but don't bet on it. Make alternate plans to see what you see in Korea, chill out or take a vacation to Bali. |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Location: somewhere in China
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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With public schools, my experience tells me to notify them about it. Look at the scheduled teaching months. Students will be back after the summer holiday and schools like to have things end smoothly. They would rather know about it and plan accordingly.
By NOT notifying them, you are giving them 2 reasons to treat you differently. One, since there was no notice they might not OK your vacation days. Usually this is common for the school and teacher to discuss anyway, even if you aren't leaving. So, I don't see the point in hiding it. It's more of a hagwon thing to do.
Secondly, if you have a good relationship with the head English teacher, then that's all that matters. They can speak for you and work things out. If you hold off telling them, regardless if they are good to work with or not, it will just make things harder down the road.
My tactic would be to talk about the vacation days FIRST.
Teacher: I want to discuss my vacation days.
School: Ok.
Teacher: I want these days off.
School: Ok. (Wait until June or end of May and give notice you will not renew the contract. This gives them 2 months to find a replacement)
If the school says "No, you can't" Then you have problems to deal with without even telling them you won't renew.
So, see how they react first with the vacation days and then go from there. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| chrisinkorea2011 wrote: |
| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| Wait until they ask you Your contract is up, if you don't say that you want to renew or they don't ask you to, it's probbaly assumed that you won't renew. |
yeah that response would be something a d!ck would do. wait until they ask you? id say have the courtesy to give them at least a month - month and a half so they can find someone to replace you. that way it doesnt look like you just bailed on them and actually were respectful enough. People act differently, if you dont tell them you arent renewing they could simply assume you are not OR that you very may will because you made no mention of staying. |
Um, no. Not exactly. Often if they don't tell you, it's because they're already looking for another teacher and don't want you to lose face. Contracts have an end date. If either party wants to renew, they talk about it beforehand. If not, then it's presumed that the contract will not be renewed. |
This. And losing face can potentially go both ways if the exiting teacher gets angry and goes off on the powers that be. |
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isitts
Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 8:55 am Post subject: Re: Will not renew contract: When to inform? |
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| Bill2K wrote: |
Hi. My contract will be up in August. I already decided awhile ago that I will not be renewing. I was wondering when a good time would be to inform my school of my decision? They haven't asked me if I want to renew yet, so I'm wondering if four months is too early?
The main reason I want to inform them is that I want to request to use all my vacation days for the end of my contract. I checked with MOE, and they said as long as my school approves it, I can use all my vacation days at the end of my contract and still get my pension and stuff. I don't want to be here a day longer than needed, if possible.
Any suggestions would be appreciated! |
Public schools is two months notice (you can check inyour contract).
If your contract ends in August you should have no trouble using you vacation days. Semester ends July 16th (or thereabouts). So, not quite sure what you're worried about.
...though, what do you mean "all" your vaction days? all 20 at once? That typically doesn't happen. Also, you can only use your vaction when classes aren't in session. If your contract started in August, you should have had no trouble finding 20 days to take off. |
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Bill2K
Joined: 16 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the responses. It looks like I need to ask when the fall semester starts. Technically my contract ends September 5th. I kept my desk warm during the winter, so I was hoping I could bail out in August. My school has two other NETs, so it's not like they need me that badly (the other two do after school classes).
After midterms are over, I will ask them when the fall term starts, then ask if I can have from mid august to September 5th off for my vacation. If they ask about renewal, I'll tell them. If not, I will let them know at the end of June. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:02 am Post subject: |
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Are you working for a public school?
If not - Taking vacation at the end of your contract would be great to leave early or have some free time. However, make sure you get EVERYTHING that is owed to you before your vacation starts and you leave. |
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jrwhite82
Joined: 22 May 2010
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 3:05 am Post subject: |
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| chrisinkorea2011 wrote: |
| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| Wait until they ask you Your contract is up, if you don't say that you want to renew or they don't ask you to, it's probbaly assumed that you won't renew. |
yeah that response would be something a d!ck would do. wait until they ask you? id say have the courtesy to give them at least a month - month and a half so they can find someone to replace you. that way it doesnt look like you just bailed on them and actually were respectful enough. People act differently, if you dont tell them you arent renewing they could simply assume you are not OR that you very may will because you made no mention of staying. |
I have to agree with naturegirl321 here. Your contract is a ONE YEAR contract. They don't renew automatically. In fact, most contracts state that to renew BOTH parties have to decide 60 days or more in advance. So she pretty much nails it right on the head. |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:23 am Post subject: |
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| Bill2K wrote: |
Thanks for the responses. It looks like I need to ask when the fall semester starts. Technically my contract ends September 5th. I kept my desk warm during the winter, so I was hoping I could bail out in August. My school has two other NETs, so it's not like they need me that badly (the other two do after school classes).
After midterms are over, I will ask them when the fall term starts, then ask if I can have from mid august to September 5th off for my vacation. If they ask about renewal, I'll tell them. If not, I will let them know at the end of June. |
unless the fact that the school has 2 other NET's (strange for a public school) affect matters, I'm going to make a prediction on your question.
massive fail.
why?
because your contract ends Sept 5 and I'm assuming school reopens for 2nd semester around Aug 22. It would be very unusual for a public school to give you vacation when school is in session. That's simply not done.
the wild card is whether they'll be replacing you if you go and if so, whether they'd strongly prefer your replacement begin on Aug 22 along with everyone else on a new semester. If they have the extra money, and permission from the POE, they may accept paying an extra salary for 2 weeks.
but if this is a typical public school I doubt it.
Bali is high season in August though  |
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Bill2K
Joined: 16 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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Worst case scenario, my contract ends on a Monday, so if they don't approve my vacation to let me leave early, maybe I can get them to approve me for one day "unpaid" leave so that I have a whole weekend to get ready to leave. If I leave on a Monday, that gives me the weekend to pack up and get ready to get the *beep* out of here.
I guess all I can do now is ask my school and see what they say. Seems pointless to have my "teach" for two weeks, then replace me with a new guy. But I guess thats the fucked up mentality of these contracts. They should give the contracted person time to pack up their things to get out of here.
My school isn't typical. There are two other NETs that teach after school programs, so I have never been offered overtime since I've been here. One time they asked me to do one extra class a week, but I told them no.
I'll be glad to leave here. My school isn't bad. The co-teachers are nice and the students are good. I just don't like life here in Korea, and I found that I hate teaching. So August can't come soon enough! |
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lifeinkorea
Joined: 24 Jan 2009
Location: somewhere in China
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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Since it sounds like you really don't like it in Korea, are you sticking it out just for the severance and airfare?
After 6 months, you don't have to pay back the money for coming to Korea. You might be able to put yourself in a better position, say June or July, if you simply give 30 days notice now and find new work back home or wherever you are going. |
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