Korean Job Discussion Forums

Harpeau · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Location: Coquitlam, BC

If a person were to get a uni job, sign a contract and then decide to not work at that and instead sign up with another school, could the first school take legal action and haul the teacher's arse to court? A friend said that it's not legally binding until the teacher gets an E-2 VISA. Is this true?

phaedrus · Joined: 13 Nov 2003 Location: I'm comin' to get ya.

If you have evidence that they have already broken the contract, you have pretty good grounds for having it cancelled.

When does the contract start? You could technically give proper notice and quit before you even start.

I can't see it being a problem.

J.B. Clamence · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

The contract is legally binding as soon as it is signed. However, as long as they haven't applied for your visa yet, you still have a chance to back out without needing a release letter. If you can tell them that you changed your mind about the job and convince them to accept it (ie-not take you to court) you should be ok. The trick is to get them to accept.

It shouldn't be too hard, though. It sounds like they are in breach of your agreement. Even if those things aren't in the contract, I think you can still pull out. You can make a stink about the situation and make it look like you will be a pain in the ass for the duration of the contract. You might want to mention contacting the labor board as well. They might just tear up that contract for you!

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

Any hakwon owner with half a brain should realize that "if you want out...you would not be happy being "forced" to stay and would be a terrible teacher/employee." I'd tell immigration that you don't want them to process the visa for that school. Get a jump on the hakwon.

Gollum · Joined: 04 Sep 2003 Location: Japan

Ihavenolips · Joined: 22 Sep 2004 Location: Korea

This happened to me once. I signed a contract with an university near Busan. Things looked good at first. There was a lot of conversation after the contract was successfully negotiated. One of the native speaking teachers even escourted me to the train afterward so I wouldn't miss it.

The problem was revealed about 15 minutes after my train departed. My copy of the contract was missing pages. The entire section relating to housing, overtime, vacation, and bonus were gone. I knew that the school was moving teachers to a new dormitory and found it curious that this information was absent in my copy. How could a secretary forget to xerox something this important? I started to worry that something else might have been substituted.

I gave the school the benefite of doubt and requested that they send another copy. However, they mailed me only the single page that was missing. The fonts and formatting didn't even match up. I gave them a third chance to clear things up. But, the attachment they sent by e-mail lacked a basic letterhead and stamp that would have made it more official. It just seemed too fishy; I akso tired of dealing with a matter that should have been simple and easy. In the end I bailed on them.

I think there is a difference if you leave before you have started working, or before you have applied for a work visa. In my case I informed them that I would cancel the contract in advance. They had three months to find another teacher. I never had any problems with them about it. They might have been sincere, but the doubt was placed in mind. They didn't fix the contract as quick as they should have and I wasn't about to take the risk. In the end you have to trust your instincts.