Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Blanca]

In two weeks I will by handing in a 35-day notice at the Hagwon where I currently work in order to be home by the middle of June. I realise dealing with such things with one's boss is potentially a difficult issue in a country where you have to pay attention to someone's "face" or dignity or whatever, so some advice would be appreciated.

In a nutshell, I'm leaving because I pretty much hate teaching (it's just not for me), and I miss home like I never thought would be possible. Furthermore, I can't really say Korea has done much to make me want to stay - it's alright but nothing special, and if I'm somewhere that's just "alright", I may as well be at home where at least I can do all the stuff I enjoy.

It's worth mentioning that my boss is absolutely sound as anything - decent, honest, supportive and always happy to help me out. Yes he takes the odd liberty here and there (like changing my timetable without telling me) but he's basically a good bloke. It's almost entirely for this reason I'm going to hand in a notice rather than do a runner.

Anyway, the advice I need is how to handle the notice and the preliminary talk next week - be honest about my reasons for leaving, or come up with some bull ish that makes everybody look and feel good but is still, ultimately, lies?

[Captain Corea]

Personally, I'd be honest.

I'm not sure if it's the best way to go, but it's how I've handled leaving jobs here in the past.

That being said, I always had enough "to cover my rump" if things went South.

[asdfghjkl]

Just be honest. Tell your boss in advance that you need to talk to him, and then say what you wrote here. You don't have to frame it negatively. Nobody is going to be offended by you being homesick or not liking teaching Engrishee. I quit at a hagwon after five months once and told my boss that it was because working for him sucked. He was really cool about it, but it was probably because I offered to pay back the cost of my plane ticket and found him a replacement. They're probably not going to pay you in full on your last payday.

[Kimchifart]

[alongway]

The Korean way is to generally use a family illness as the reason you have to leave the job. In a big city like Seoul, so long as they're not living right around the corner from their job, they can say they have to go back to their home town to take care of of an ailing parent.

This kind of reason makes it much less about either side and essentially takes the blame off anyone.

[Blanca]

Cheers for the replys fellas, good to get somebody else's perspective. My thinking behind simply lying is just that - taking the blame off each side by saying "well I'd just love to stay here - it's great - but I've been offered a life-changing opportunity that I simply can't turn down back at home!" Nobody blaming anyone, everyone feels good and best of all, there's no way anyone can disprove it. The last thing I want to do is put anybody's back up by saying I hate the job and don't particularly like their home city.

There is an added complication here - after rooting around online I found that my flights out here probably cost in the region of 700-750 quid. This is considerably more than previous estimates at 450-500 pounds, which I was kind of prepared to lose for the sake of not screwing over a good guy (my director). However, good guy or not, I'm starting once again to give at least a little consideration to doing a runner. I realise a lot of people do it out of desperation (having a horrible boss, being conned out of money etc, none of which apply to me) - how badly would I be, shall we say, "inconveniencing" my director if I slipped off one day shortly after payday? He's a good bloke and it's only through making nearly a grand that I'd be prepared to screw him over, and even then I'd feel pretty horrible about it. I'm the only foreign teacher out of 5 teachers at the school (so it's hardly a massive hagwon) so I imagine I'd be missed.

And yeah I'm expecting to have to pay bills and stuff in my last payday, I've already accounted for that. I wouldn't have thought my director is the type of bloke to wrongly withold money from me, so it'll be a 150 or so chun which is fine.

[Skippy]

Well if your school and boss is honest/nice. Then do it. Still be aware even quitting can cause troubles. Troubles that can turn nice people into enemies.

You may have to pay back money. If he is out for a plane ticket. Maybe even recruiters fee. As to what you owe of those is up for discussion. Just be aware that he may pull that out.

Even quitting can be a negotiation. Like above - price, letters of release, last day.

If you want too, make the leaving smooth. Try to give some leeway. If he asks for an extra week because the new teacher comes then. Maybe you might want to give it (if possible). Help in the finding of a teacher. Promise to give good word to any that apply. Still be firm. Sometimes when you give some leeway they will ask for more.

Another aspect to watch out is change of heart on a dime. I mean you give notice. Schools accepts, says fine, a week or two passes, then BAM. They accuse you of being the devil, hold onto pay, start hassling, and lock you out.
It might be a tactic to save money or just a stress reaction to they can not find a new teacher or even just a move to delay you. Have some plans ready.

If you are really worried and plan not to come back to Korea. I would then recommend doing a runner on a payday.

Good Luck.

[tardisrider]

How long have you been in Korea? I understand that right now you may dislike Korea and miss home, but (especially if you've been here a short time) that may pass.

How badly would you be inconveniencing the director, a person whom you say is an honest and upstanding, by not giving notice? You'd likely be inconveniencing him terribly--in addition to being out the money he has spent for your recruiter and flight and so on, he will likely lose students since he won't have a foreign teacher for a bit. I don't know how long it will take to find a new teacher but with all the paperwork involved for the visa, I imagine that it could take a while. And if the lack of a teacher means the lack of students, it could potentially be dangerous for the business.

If you were to simply leave without notice, you'd be selfish and irresponsible. You say he's treated you well. I have no problem encouraging the midnight run when teachers are in bad situations, but this isn't the case. If you absolutely have to leave, do so but give a notice. Stick it out another month or two to save money if you need to, and during this time you might even change your mind.

[asdfghjkl]

Yeah, OP, tardisrider is right. You should be ashamed of yourself if you leave without notice if your boss has treated you decently. Not only will you be screwing him over, but the next person he hires will probably have a harder time because everyone there will probably be cynical after the last foreigner suddenly ran off. Moreover, if you've developed any kind of personal connection with your coworkers, it's pretty hurtful to leave without saying goodbye.

You're breaking a contract, and it will probably cost you money, but it is most likely possible to solve your problems in an honest, non-cowardly way. I think the value of saving face is overstated. If you discuss this with your boss, the two of you can probably work something out.

[ontheway]

You say your boss is decent and honest. Then you should be too.

You should give proper notice according to the terms of your contract and be honest as to the reason why. You should give your boss enough time to replace you even if that requires longer than the required notice.

If the airfare back home is more than you anticipated, just work a little longer before you resign. You should be able to save the extra cost by working 1 or 2 extra weeks. No need to be dishonest when you can earn enough in such a short period of time.

If you haven't worked six months, it's likely your contract requires repayment of airfare to Korea, so you should be sure to stick it out for six months. And if you haven't worked six months you haven't really given Korea a chance yet.

[Blanca]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've been giving it a long, hard think and I've planned how I'm going to handle it.

I'm asking to meet my boss and his wife (who speaks MUCH better English) later this week to discuss the possibility of me handing in a notice and what that would involve, and giving the honest reasons for wanting to leave (concentrating less on hating the job and more on the missing home thing, obviously). If, as I suspect, he's reasonable about the whole thing I'll be handing my notice in and jetting off mid-June, 3 months after I arrived (incidentally, I can understand people saying I should stick it out because they think Korea is the best thing since sliced bread, but right now I'm most definitely not loving it. What's more, I'm not prepared to go through another 3/4/5 months of aching to go home and hating every minute of school on the off-chance that teaching gets better and I find that Ulsan is the capital of fun).

Anyway, any last-minute advice for meeting the boss? My plan is to be polite and respectful, and not too committal over my decisions to go home. More a "test the water" kind of situation, but firm and prepared to stand my ground if he starts demanding unreasonable things (like extortionate amount for my flight here, which I know cost 700 quid, or demanding massive agency fees).

[Skippy]

3 to 4 months in - ouch. For me what I could see as fair is if the boss paid for a flight here. You pay back 1/4. Basically deduct a portion for each month worked. As to plane ticket back. All yours. That is what I call fair. But it can depend on how nice your boss is and what your contract says.

As to recruiters fee. That is a hard one. I could see a school asking for that back. Fair again, but not what not by law is pro rate. So you would owe 3/4 of it. Once again that is up to the negotiation. Maybe you can lesson that by helping find a replacement.

One thing you need to do by quitting is making it smooth and easy as possible for the boss. He has no reason to make quitting a easy path for you. If you make it worth while to work you he will be more helpful. No saying bend over and give all he wants, just give a little and take a little.

[CrikeyKorea]

Realistically, you would be expected to pay back a flight if you are quitting within 6 months, recruiters keep their fees after 3 months of you staying, plus if you were to quit within three months the recruiters would be required to pay that money back or handle it anyways.

[Blanca]

Yes, I think it's the least I can do to be accommodating and as helpful as possible - after all it's not his fault I'm quitting to come home, it's mine. But you're also right in that I shouldn't bend over and take whatever he gives me.

My contract states that I must pay back the plane ticket here, which should, if my research is accurate, be no more than 1.2 million won. There is no mention of a recruiter's fee. If he tries to get that out of me I shall be quite put out. After all, yes it's a cost to him, but that's life I'm afraid. You take a risk, sometimes it doesn't pay off and it costs you a bit of money. My mistake in coming here (although I wouldn't call it a mistake as such, and certainly don't regret it) is probably going to cost me north of a thousand pounds. These things happen.

I disagree that he has absolutely no reason to make quitting an easy path though, although perhaps I would interpret this as "not making it difficult". After all, if he makes it excessively difficult or expensive to quit legitimately, he's making that Midnight Run look very tempting. It'd be no skin off my rosy nose to disappear one day.

Interesting point about recruiters. If what you're saying is true then by the sounds of it he's got nothing to lose (except a little inconvenience) by me handing my notice in. In fact, he's delayed having to pay 2,500 quid in airline tickets and severance by 3 months. I might have recruiter on my back, but that doesn't bother me too much. What are they going to do - email me to death?

[Troglodyte]