Korean Job Discussion Forums

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1. Validity of Contract
1.1 The employer agrees to hire the employee to fulfill the position of English Language Instructor
This contract is entered into for the position of an English Language instructor and all duties thereof for a Duration of one year from the day the employee starts his/her duties included in the contract or by agreement between the two parties.

2. Period of Employment
2.1 The employer will employ the employee during the period:

From: (Date) 2014.09.01 To: (Date) 2015.08.28

The employee agrees to discontinue residence in Korea under the visa status sponsored by employer within five days of completion of this employment.

3. Salary
3.1 A monthly salary of ￦2,200,000 Won will be guaranteed for the basic teaching load of 40 teaching times (class sessions) of 40 minutes per class. .

3.2Additional time taught by the employee in excess of the required 40 teaching times or sessions a week will be paid for at a rate of 15,000Won per 40 minutes.

3.3Attendance at scheduled staff meetings and workshops (which is mandatory and unpaid) cannot be considered as Overtime. Salaries are paid once a month on the 10th.

3.4 In the event that the employer cannot provide the employee with basic teaching hours, the employer will still pay the employee the above-mentioned basic salary per month. In such a case, however, the employee may be required to conduct English interviews with students who wish to enroll or perform other administrative duties in place of teaching hours.

3.5 The Employee will be asked to stay at school for 8 hours per day (8 working hours Monday through Friday). This will normally be from 2:00 PM to 10:05 PM, or from 09:30 AM to 6:30 PM during summer and winter sessions. This includes class hours, as well as time for the following activities (which are not considered overtime): preparation for classes, interviewing students, and attending teachers’ meetings.

3.6 If the Employee fails to work the regularly scheduled hours due to tardiness, absence, etc.; the monthly payment will be calculated and paid using a daily rate and/or an hourly rate.

The method of calculating daily rate: Monthly salary divided by 30.
The method of calculating hourly rate: Daily rate divided by 7.


4. Taxes
4.1 Taxes and deductions in compliance with Korean Law shall be withheld automatically from the Employee’s monthly salary. The deductions will include income tax, residence tax, and medical insurance from monthly and severance payment.

5. Medical Insurance & National Pension Plan
5.1 Employee will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean Medical Insurance Union, Government Health Organization or Medical insurance company. The costs of this coverage will be borne half by the employer and half by the employee. Payment will be made by a monthly deduction from the employee's salary. Pre-existing conditions occurring with the Employee before arrival in Korea are not valid. In general, it takes 3 to 4 weeks from the arrival date for the employee to be covered by the medical insurance.

5.2 National Pension Plan
The Korean National Pension Plan will also cover the employee. The Employee needs to know in advance that the national law requires foreign employees to join the Plan with no exceptions. The cost of the plan is paid half by the school and half by the employee. The employee can take the accumulated fund back in a lump sum after leaving Korea. It is the employee's responsibility to get further information about the Plan or getting a refund.


6. Completion Bonus (Severance pay)
6.1 Upon completion of a full 12 months of employment by the employee, the employer will pay the sum of 2, 300,000 Korean Won for the completion of his/her contract. The sum of the severance bonus will be paid on the last working day of his/her contract by the employer, along with the final month’s salary payment.


7. Class time and days
7.1 The employee shall be required to work (stay at school) Monday through Friday from 2:00PM to 10:05 PM, with a 40 minute break between those hours. Work times will change during summer and winter sessions to the following: 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM. The employer will attempt to make classroom teaching hours consecutive, but such an arrangement will depend upon the amount of students the institute is able to enroll. While the employer will endeavor to set a regular schedule for the employee, the employer reserves the right to change the employee’s schedule at any time with one day notice. This will only occur when the schedule change is required to ensure equal opportunity among the employees of XXXXX, and to fulfill customer needs.

8. Transportation
8.1 The employer will either provide the employee with a one-way economy class airfare to Korea or reimburse the employee for the part of airfare in the case that he/she buys the ticket directly. The school provides only international airfare from the airport nearest to the employee's home, so the employee is responsible for the cost of the rest of his or her domestic itinerary. The employer will not provide the employee with the return ticket after the completion of this contract.


In the event the Employee purchases the air ticket beforehand, the Employer agrees to reimburse the Employee as follows:
a. The Employee will be reimbursed for a one-way economy fare ticket.
b. The reimbursement will occur on the day he/she signs the contract in Korea.
c. In the case that the employee has purchased a round trip airfare ticket, the employee must submit the other portion of the ticket for a part of reimbursement upon the signing of this agreement.

If the employee willfully leaves the school (or cause any problems to end employment) before six(6)months and school’s semester, the employee must pay all the other expenses such as recruiter’s arrangement fee and one way economy ticket or it will be deducted from the amount from the employee’s last monthly pay.


9. Paid annual leave and Holidays
9.1 On the 1st year of the contract the instructor shall have 10 days paid vacation. Vacation dates will be given by the employer-dates and will be confirmed on the annual school calendar. (Usually employee is allowed to use it accordingly during the students’ school examination preparation period: the end of April, June, September, and/or November.). No more than five consecutive working days may be taken at once. Three days of Institute-scheduled vacation are counted in these 10 days. None of these 10 days may be taken during the first three months of employment. The remaining seven days must be scheduled with the Institute at least one month in advance. During the aforementioned holidays, sick days, or vacation days, the employee's basic salary amount is still paid without any deductions.
9.2 The employee may use up to 3 paid sick days per year with the doctor’s note from hospital, and after the 3 sick days have been used, it will be counted as absent and the pay will be calculated according to the Daily Rate/Hourly Rate.

10. Visa Sponsorship
10.1 The employer is responsible for sponsoring and acquiring the one-year E-2 teaching visa and alien card necessary to be legally employed as an English teacher in Korea and that he/she is able to acquire a Korean bank account. The Institute is responsible for all fees in acquiring the necessary teaching visa confirmation papers through the immigration office. Visa application fees and its related expenses in the Instructor’s homeland will be paid at his/her expense.

11. Housing

11.1 Rent-free Accommodations: The employer will provide the employee with rent-free single housing that includes a kitchen, and a bathroom. The employer will make every effort to accommodate the employee with an apartment within walking distance of the Institute.

11.2 Items included with Accommodations: All the following items are provided, free of charge, to the employee by the employer during this contract period: cooking utensils (frying pan, pots, spoons, bowls, plates, forks, etc.), television set, dining table set, bed, bed linen, washing machine, closet, refrigerator and any other necessities for the accommodation that are agreed on by the employee and the employer.

11.3 Utility costs: Utility costs such as water, gas, electricity, cable TV monthly service charges, and maintenance fees of the rent-free accommodations will be paid by the employee. In the case of a shared apartment, both employees will share costs (see 11.4). All bills incurred by each employee individually, will be paid each month on the receipt of the utility bills and photocopies of said bills.


11.4 Shared Housing: In the event that two or more employees share the housing accommodation provided by the employer, total apartment utilities shall be split among the apartment residents equally. Each employee will have his or her own private bedroom.


11.5 Security Deposit: For the first four months, the Employer will collect 100,000 won per month deposit for utilities and phone charges even if the employee pays these charges each month. This deposit will be refunded 1 day after the completion of this contract. A part of deposit, 200,000won, will be returned in cash after checking all provided things.

11.6 The employee should have the duty preserving the housing and the furniture items provided by the employer until the termination of this contract. If they are destroyed, the employee should restore them to the original state or pay the cost needed in purchasing the same level of the substitutes of them.


12. Training Period (50% paid)
12.1 Upon arrival in Korea, the employee will be allowed a minimum of 48 hours lead-time for adjustment to the new accommodation, time zone and Country. After 24 hours the employee should visit the school for a minimum of 1 hour to get acquainted with the staff members and the location of the institute prior to the beginning of his/her regular teaching duties. The employee will be on payroll from the date of his/her first working day. During the orientation period the employee is required to be at the school making lesson plans and learning about the school system. The Employee will participate in a training period prior to teaching any classes, in which teaching methods will be demonstrated via training and observation. The Institute's books, materials, facilities, and equipment will be reviewed. Ongoing workshops and staff meetings will be held throughout the term; the employee’s attendance is mandatory and is not to be included as over-time hours.


13. Open Door Policy
13.1 The employee is encouraged in all areas of his or her working relationship with the Institute to offer to the management his or her suggestions and recommendations for the improvement of the Institute and its incentive system. The employer will observe an “open door” policy for suggestions and any complaints or concerns. The employee is expected to follow the chain of command in making such suggestions and problems known. If at any level the employee is dissatisfied, he or she may then proceed to the next level to voice his or her concern, up to the President of The Institute


14. Non-disclosures and Non-competition Agreement
14.1 While still in the employment of the employer’s institute or after resigning, the employee must not make any information public that he or she obtains from the employer’s institute or develops for the Institute. The teaching techniques, books, and materials of the employer’s institute are proprietary and are to be protected as intellectual and copyrighted material. In no way are the employees to engage in a private tutoring or to be employed by another institute during his/her contract period.


15. Compensation for accident
15.1 As in any other Korean institutes, in the event that the employee gets injured from an accident or a mishap that occurs outside the course of normal work duties, which are duly prescribed by employer's institute policy or regulations, the employer shall not be legally obliged to pay to the employee any hospital and medical costs being in excess of those covered by medical insurance, which the employer highly advises the employee to obtain. However, it is the moral responsibility of the employer to help and take good care of the employee in the event that such an accident or mishap takes place.




16. Duties of the employee

16.1 The employee shall cooperate and comply with the instruction and training of the director and shall carry out such assignments as directed by the director:


a. EFL (English as a foreign language) instruction in any and all phases of the institute’s programs and classes that range from preschool to adult.
b. Curriculum design and implementation - Teaching plans & reports
c. Development of educational programs and materials
d. Out-of-classroom activities for/with students
e. Evaluation of students (to interview new students and evaluate their placement level)
f. Attendance at teachers' meetings/ workshops.
g. Shall not sexually harass students in his/her charge.
h. Any form of physical punishment will not be tolerated from the Employee.
i. The employee shall give the students homework in every class, which must be well prepared and organized
j. Check the students’ working with a color pen.
k. Evaluate the students’ performance (i.e. pop Quizzes, Mid-Term tests, Final exams, Book Reports). At the end of each semester, the Employee should report findings to the director of studies in writing.
l. Use appropriate language with students in the classroom, which includes academic vocabulary and a professional register, not slang, or an informal register.

17. Dress code
17.1 At all times during the term of this contract, males should wear ties and females should wear dresses or professional pant suits unless otherwise instructed. At no time will a female employee wear short length skirts or what may be deemed as too provocative as seen by Korean acceptable professional dress.


18. Resignation
18.1 The employee agrees to inform the employer at least two months(60 days) in advance of any significant changes in plans which might have some bearing on the employee's period of employment and his/her ability to complete the term of employment. In any case the Employee should complete the semester in progress.

18.2 The Employee has the right to terminate the contract with a written statement to the Employer under the following conditions:

a. The Employer has not provided the Employee with the necessary working and living conditions as stipulated in the contract.

b. The Employer has not paid the Employee as scheduled.

18.3 In either case, the Employer will pay all salaries due to that date and produce the necessary Release-Letter (from Employment) within 24 hours. The return portion of the airfare to point of origin shall also be reimbursed if still outstanding.

18.4 If the Employee wants to terminate the contract before the contracted date without acceptable cause, the Employee will pay back the Employer all the relevant expenses such as recruiting fee, airfare, E-2 visa run, and other costs spent by the Employer according to the contract as stipulated herein.

19. DISMISSAL
19.1 The employer and employee agree that this agreement is fully legal and binding under the laws of the Republic of Korea and may be terminated by the employer at any time should one of the following conditions arise:

a. The employee or any of his/her dependents act in violation of Korean law.
b. The employer discovers that any documents or information provided by the employee regarding his/her credentials or qualifications for employment have been falsified or deliberately fabricated.
c. The employee’s conduct seriously jeopardizes any student or staff person’s safety.
d. The employee is deemed to be incapable of delivering the curriculum in a positive and professional manner.
e. If the employee is constantly late, he/she will receive a few warnings. If tardiness continues, the employee will be terminated.
f. In such case as enrollment drops below the institute’s average enrollment for the three consecutive.
g. According to the doctor’s diagnosis, the Employee cannot continue normal work.
h. The employee is deemed to have alcohol/ drug abuse issues that jeopardize work performance.
i The employee teaches off the Employer’s property.
j The employee receives 3 times of written notice from the Employer

19.2 In case of termination of the contract for the above reasons (19.1 a through g) before the completion of one-year of service by the Employee (except for unavoidable reasons such as the Employee’s serious illness or accident), the Employee is to return to the institute the cost of the airfare (one way) and one-month’s salary. Such cases will be determined by the director and may lead to verbal warning and (or) immediate dismissal (19. a, b, c, g) and to verbal warning and immediate dismissal (19. d, e, f, h, i, j).