Korean Job Discussion Forums

[burnburn87]

I've posted a few times here recently asking for advice about problems I've had at work. Today it all came to a head with my boss. These are the main points of contention:

- My boss has stressed that during working hours (10am to 6pm, Monday to Friday) I should not do 'personal things'. During any break times between classes, I should concentrate on 'improving my teaching skills'. I told her that Korean labor law stipulates that workers should receive 30 mins recess for each 4 hours worked. She said that she hired a full time foreign teacher because she wants full time work, otherwise she would've just hired a part-time teacher. So she flat-out refused to concede any 'personal time' during working hours whatsoever.

- At the end of each day, I spend some time watching the kids whose parents collect them late from school. My boss said I should consider this teaching time, and should be very active with the kids during this period. If I do indeed consider that time teaching time, this would mean I'm doing 32 hours of teaching time per week. My contract stipulates that I should be paid an overtime rate of 24,000 won per hour for any teaching hours above 30 hours. My boss was very angry that I care so much about the wording of my contract and said I should read between the lines of the contract basically and understand the spirit of what she wants from me.

- The final point of contention - and the one that I'm think I'm probably about to get fired for - is that she wants teachers to attend a training day on a Saturday in a few weeks time. My contract stipulates that I can be asked to work one Saturday per month for no additional pay, but it also stipulates that my working hours are 40 hours per week (which would be covered by my usual hours of Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm). I posted a question about this at the Korean Ministry of Labor's site and they said I should receive 150% of my usual payment for hours above 40 hours in a working week. My boss refused to pay for the training and was 'insulted' that I wouldn't be grateful to accept free training on a Saturday. (By the way, the training centre is in Suwon and I live in north-east Seoul; it's about a 4 hour round-trip on the subway, and the training would last from 9am to 5pm).

My boss then said that the training isn't compulsory... if I think my teaching is good enough. I said that if it is unpaid, I would prefer not to do the training. She said okay, but that means that I don't care about my teaching and she's actually unhappy with my teaching anyway (though she didn't mention this until I said I'd rather not do the training). Now she wants to watch all my lessons, and she said that if she is unhappy with my teaching then I may be fired.

So... what do I do at this point? I guess I'll ask this same thing at the Korean Labor Board site again, just so I have some documented proof of things if I do get shitcanned.

My personal situation is that I was intending to leave at the end of July anyway (my contract is until October) as I'm doing an MA in Europe from the end of August. However, I was planning on working in Korea and saving money until then. If I do shitcanned, I'd prefer to stay in the country and try and find a short-term contract until the time I was planning on leaving, as I have a long-term girlfriend here and other ties.

Can I file a petition with the labor board at this point? I understand that if I've filed a petition before getting fired, I'm free to take another job while the petition is processed. But I'm not sure how to go about filing a petition, and what exactly the legality of all these problems with the boss is. Any help/advice would be much appreciated!

[Bongotruck]

Ttomoatz is the man to ask for legal advice.

I can only offer advice from the situation. Spend your free time how you wish out of sight of your boss. If yoy need a coffee and a smoke, do it. You can say you are relieving stress and that will make you a better teacher.

Check yoir contract under the part about trrmination. More than likely your boss is required to give you warnings. It sounds like she has not.

She sounds like a douche. Dont do any optional training.

[tanklor1]

If I had enough money in the bank, I'd leave.

[kingplaya4]

This is one of the worst jobs I've ever heard of, including horror stories on this site that can't be corroborated. It could only be worse if she hired Korean gangsters to be you up after school for not teaching well enough, and withheld your pay. I think you know what to do.

[Coltronator]

Although your intentions to leave before the contract was up whether it was a good work environment or bad is a bit unprofessional. At this point it doesn't matter, what you describe is bad and most anyone would leave. In the future I do suggest that you don't go into jobs with the intention of leaving early unless you are upfront with your employer though.

[ippy]

Are you a good teacher?

If yes, then if she sits in on one of your classes, who cares?
If no, then plaster a smile across your face, don the singing and dancing clown spiel until she backs off. If shes so freaking busy that she wants you covering a tonne of stuff, then shes a bit too busy to do more than a token inspection of your classes. You have one week at the most before her motivation to prove a point rescinds.

If your aim is to buy time, then BUY TIME. Jump through the necessary hoops until you get to call your end date.

If on the other hand you have cash, then quit immediately on pay day. No point in China because theres a tonne of hoops to jump through. Just go to Thailand for four months and do teaching there. Youll score a job in a day and be on a WAY better contract vis a vis free time and social life (pay sucks mind you). You can then have your partner come out on a free holiday for a month or two in the sun. It might mean a month away from each other whilst you set up and she wrangles the free time, but it beats the hell out of being miserable in a job you hate.

[burnburn87]

Thanks for the replies.

As far as my contract goes, I've checked that and it says that the academy should give 60 days written notice before firing me with cause (although I could be fired immediately with serious cause).

As for money, I have enough that I'll be ok with losing the job, but I need to save as much as possible between now and August ready for living expenses during my MA year. As nice as a few months in Thailand sounds...

I'm confident there aren't any problems with my teaching.

I'm the only foreign teacher at the school, so in the short term, I don't think they can get rid of me immediately - the students' parents are all paying for a hagwon with a native teacher working there.

I take your point about it being unprofessional to enter into a contract intending to break it before the end point. For what's it worth, an MA was something I decided to do whilst working at the hagwon, rather than something I'd planned beforehand, and I was planning on giving them the 2 months notice my contract requires before leaving.

I guess I'll just see how tomorrow goes before deciding what to do next.

[Smithington]

OP your boss sounds very, well...Korean. There are a great many unethical employers here.

One piece of advice. Get EVERYTHING in writing, especially any warnings. Also keep a sort of diary of all coversations with the lady on these matters, including time and place of the conversations.

Good luck.

[Stan Rogers]

Ask your boss if she knows what a midnight run is.

[Smithington]

[Bongotruck]

The true test of whether you are a, quoteendquote good teacher is in hagwon enrollment and how many complaint phone calls the hagwon gets.

If you are canned, you have a legal right to 2 months pay or notice. Good luck getting it. you will likely have to fight.

[ippy]

[PRagic]

Two things: First off, you threw kindling on the fire by constantly throwing the contact up in her face. Yes, she sounds like a crap boss, but that isn't the way things are done here.

Second, given the track record to date, you're nuts if you give them any notice. Be prepared to lose out on a good chuck of your salary and whatever else she decides to nail you for. If the terms of the contract favor her in this situation, she'll leverage that, but if not she'll do it anyway. Quietly pack your bags, get your ducks in a row, and do a midnight run after you've collected your final pay.

Do the dog and pony show if that'll keep the pach checks coming in until YOU decide it's time to move on.

[Bongotruck]

As an employer, I hate to give advice like this. But I agree. Your boss has lost the right to have you follow the contract because she is not.

I keep my employees happy by treating them right and not asking for anything unreasonable.

[BigBuds]