Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JAMZ]

Hi I'm in the process of looking for my first job in SK and I've received a few offers and contracts from school's but this one I came accross looked kinda fishy.

I just received a contract from a school in Seoul and there was a "DUTY OF SECRECY" clause in the contract basically stating that I as a teacher at the school could not divulge any teaching or business related info about the school. Doing so would result in the teacher to compensate the school for any losses it would incur as a result.

Now being new and all to this process I was wondering if this is a standard thing in most contracts? My instincts tells me that me that this means the school might be up to some sketchy practices which is why they dont want their teachers to talk but not ever having been to or worked in SK I wouldn't know any better.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

[captain kirk]

Well, foreign teachers who are 'paranoid' about the boss shafting them when the milieu is getting to look dodgy sometimes record the names of all the students, and maybe their phone numbers and addresses too. Sometimes bosses don't claim income, and with the student list the foreign teacher can threaten to take it to the tax department. The boss would then get a hunted look and want to make peace. That's one example I can think of.

[ryleeys]

This is a serious red flag for me...

The boss could get you on record saying, "Yeah... today was a bad day... a few students were misbehaving and I am really tired."

Then claim any student that leaves after that is lost income and take alot of money from you.


My recommendation? Say take the clause out, or I ain't doing this job.

[phaedrus]

I've heard about secrecy clauses refering to sharing information about contract details, as in you can't talk about your salary, but never about everyday business.

I think it is totally understandable, but just make sure it is well written.

[mindmetoo]

[Falstaff]

Mindmetoo is dead on. It's a pretty standard in education contracts to have an intellectual property and/or trade secret clause. I had one on my contract in the States, and I have one on my contract in Korea. I'll give you an example of where my clause came up in the States. I worked on developing a standardized test, and the curriculum for teaching a remediation class based on results from that test. I was paid quite handsomly for it, I might add. All told, my district spent about $3 million to develop this test. They can now sell this test to other districts. It is the district's property. If I were to sell my knowledge about this, I would be breaking my clause, and subject to some serious legal action.

The only time a honest boss (I can hear the laughter at this phrase already) would use this clause is if you developed a curriculum, and then went and used it at another school. Or if you took curriculum he had paid for, copied it, and were using it to teach privates. Stuff like that.

[ryleeys]

My problem with it is that it's another avenue for a dishonest boss to screw an English teacher... it's one thing to potentially get screwed in the States, since you know exactly how to go about defending yourself (court system and what not)... but it's a whole different animal here in Korea. It's alot harder to protect yourself once your boss decides you look ripe for a proper introduction to prison life.

[oneiros]

Is it a chain school with an in-house curriculum? Basically, they don't want their curriculum getting sold out to another school.

I've got a clause like that in my contract. It's badly worded enough that, technically, I can't talk to potential teachers and answer their questions about the school.

[ajuma]

Berlitz and Inlingua have this clause in all of their contracts. Is it one of these schools?

[Michelle]

Sometimes you could get away with these funny clauses at a normal school, however, any school where the director is a little bit difficult to deal with could use this one against you all too easily. They will keep at you saying you mudt have said something to someone. It's bad enough being blamed for students leaving as it is, when it is probably the school's disorganisation that makes them leave.

Don't buy this intellectual property bullshit.

It depends on what else you've been offered, also.

[JAMZ]

Yes this contract is pretty shady. The person hiring me is also not answering some of my questions. Here is the actual clause as stated in the contract:



10. DUTY OF SECRECY:
(A) The instructor shall not disclose any of the contents of this agreement, including salary, to a third party (including other employees of the school)

B) The instructor shall not disclose any information relating to the contents of lecturers and business operation of the School without prior permission of the School. Violation of this portion of the contract will cause the Instructor to be responsible to compensate the School for all possible losses suffered by the School.


and the name of the school is Knc Language School

[turtlepi1]

I've seen this clause in several contracts from several different schools.

If they want to screw you they likely will despite the contract.

It is probably put there because of something THEY got screwed on in the past. Same with deposits that have been cropping up. Decide if you are comfortable with it and if not try to change it.

One other thing (kind of off-topic)...Why do people believe they have intellectual property rights to materials developed for classes at the school?

I have worked for several IT colleges in North America and not only did employees sign away material they created for classes...they signed away work product rights for any software, etc developed on any piece of company time or equipment.

[Son Deureo!]