Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hans Blix]

thanks in advance to anyone who'll read thru this. i'll do the same when i have the experience.

the director keeps emphasising trust then feigns offence when i suggest additions or changes to the contract. probably this is normal and i am just weak, but i do feel very guilty every time this happens.

the advertisement i answered said M-F yet when i went there he said i had to work on saturdays although this would be classed as OT. since money is secondary for me, I requested no saturday work at all. originally the contract made no mention of which days were to be worked. i insisted on putting "Monday to Friday" in but i can see that this is almost useless as the following sentence says this can be changed at any time at the school's discretion. should i request further changes, do you think? he said his wife thinks i will privately tutor on saturdays and that's why i want them off (at this stage not true - i wish to travel, not work more). so much for 'trust' - it seems to only go one way.

i inquired re pension, he claimed no knowledge.

the duty of secrecy seems weird. can't i show my lawyer my contract?

i haven't yet haggled on the 2.0 mil won. i go back and see him wed when i know he's desperate and suggest it then. not sure how insistent i should be though.

the school itself seems ok. good location, apartment's tolerable, resources actually seem pretty good - it's a rich 'hood. teaching style is behind, but what i was expecting - a lot of repetition with virtually zero context setting or group work, personalisation. i could go on. there are 2 filipino teachers one of which i'm told has a korean wife. no mention of how the other one works here. this isn't necessarily a bad thing tho..

one other western teacher there who's only been there one week and seems a little reticent. hope i wasn't too pushy requesting info from her. thought it was the done thing.

so sorry this is so long. as i said i promise to return the goodwill to a newbie once i'm experienced enough and providing they'll listen to me (!).

thanks again

Hans B


1. INTRO
This is an agreement between [me] and [school]. The instructor agrees to teach students at the institute at the times designated by the institute management, and agrees to develop and present education programs for the students. The instuctor agrees to follow and strictly comply with the school's policies and guidlines during the period of this agreement.

2. CONTRACT DURATION
A It is hereby agreed between the school and the instructor that the instructor shall teach at the school for one year, starting from May 1st 2005.
B If the instructor wishes to renew his/her contract at the end of one year, he/she muust inform the school two months prior to the end of one year's service, and the contract may, if both parties agree, be renewed at that time for another year by mutual agreement.

3. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TEACHER
A The teacher is expected to devote no less than one hour a dat at the institute for the lesson planning with co-teachers, student evaluations, sullabuses, telephone English, report cards, field trips, consultation with parents, supervision of play, maintenance of the English environment during breaks, workshops, staff meetings, and upgrading ones professional knowledge and skills without additional pay. The work week will follow the yearly academic calendar issued by the school.
B The instructor's working hours (3:30-9:30 PM) Monday to Friday shall be determied by the School's schedule. However, the teaching schedule can be changed according to the school's schedule.
C The instructor is responsible for familiarising him or herself with all institute materials relevant to teaching at the school. The instuctor shall gaithfullly teach and train students at the school.

4 TEACHER'S SALARY
A The teacher's total monthly salary shall be 2.0 mil won. THe teacher's annual salary will total 24.0 mil won. A severance pay bonus equivalent to one month's salary will also be paid at the end of the contract. This compensation is in exchange for teaching an average of 6 hours per day, five days per week, totaling 120 hours a month during the contract year.
B On completion of ones responsibilities of the full contract period, the severance pay is 2.0 mil won equivalent to the monthly salary. It will be paid only at the completion of the contract.
C If the instuctor teaches, by mutual agreement of the instructor and employer, additional teaching hours ober and above 30 hours per week. Overtime compensation at 20,000 won/hourshall be paid for those hours.
D The instructor's salary will be paid monthly on the regular day for payment of insturctor's salaries.

5. AIRFARE TO KOREA
The instructor's one-wa econonmy class or regular class airfair to Korea will be paid by the school or the school reimburse to to the teacher in case the teacher by the ticket. Return airfare to the teacher's home country shall be paid by the school upon completion of the 12 month contractual teaching period. Return airfare will not be probided if the teacher leaves the school prior to completion of the 12 month teaching period. The departure airport should be an international airport near teacher's home. (Not domestic airport)

6 HOUSING
A This institute will provide a pricate single person accommodation or shared apartment with private room free-of-charge to the teacher.
B The teacher's apartment furnishings shall include: basic cooking utensils such as pots pans and dishes; a stove; a refrigerator; a bed with clean linen; a washing machine; and a closet, heater, table and chairs, TV, and phone.
C Costs for all utilities, including lighting, heat, and water, shall be borne by the teacher.

7 VACTION TIME
The teacher shall enjoy 10 days of paid vacation (in addition to all Korean national holidays and Saturdays and Sundays). The paid vaction will be mormally 5 days for summer and 5 days for winter. But the schedule can be changed by the school's schedule. Documented sick leave and emergency leave will be paid for a combined total of 3 working days a year. The teacher should submit a doctor's prescription to the school for approving sick leaves. Unused sick leave may not be converted into any cash payment. If it is found that the hours/days of absence reported as sick leave or emergency leave were not in fact for such purposes, related costs shall be subtracted from the following months pay. The above leaves will be included in the period medical care compensation according to the Article 78 of Korean Labor Standard Law.

8 INCOME TAX
Approximately 5% per month of the instructor's salary shall be deducted by the employer as withholding tax as provided by Korean law.

9 KOREAN HEALTH INSURANCE
Instuctor will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean Medical Insurance Union, a Governement Health Organiszation. The cost of this coverage will be borne half by employer and half by instructor. Instructor's share of this coverage will be deducted from instructor's monthly salary.

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 resposible to compensate the school for all possible losses suffered by the school.

11 ADDITIONAL DUTIES
A The instructor is required to conduct him/herself in a profesional manner and to wear neat attire while at the school. Casual clothing is acceptable, providedthat it is neat and clean.
B The following forms of behavior will not be permitted.
1. Not following scheduled class timetables and dismissing, canceling, or starting lcasses lat without the prior approval of the institie director.
2. Conductin class while under the influence of alcohol, while smoking, or under the influence of illegal drugs.
3. Making secual advances towards, or entering in to relationships with students or employees of the school.
C The institute shall have the reight to termiate this contract if the instructor violates the contract or fails to conduct him/herself in a professional manner. At least two weeks termination notice will be given to the instructor in such a case. In this case, the institute has no duty to give the severence pay bonusand return airfare to the instructor.
D If the employee wishes to voluntarily resign from employment before the completion of this contract the employee must provide written notice to the employer at least 6 weeks before the resignation.
E For a dismissal or voluntary resignation within 8 months of this contract period, the amount of airfare will be deducted from the empoyee's last monthly slary.
F The teacher cannot work for other schools or companies without the consent of the school.

[schwa]

If youre dead-set against saturday work, which is a reasonable stipulation on your part, it sounds like trouble.

Pension generally doesnt factor in with mom & pop businesses.

2.0 is a fair starting wage for a newbie -- unless youre bringing some special qualifications to the table, why would you expect more?

A co-worker who's been there a week isnt going to know any more than you do about conditions. Signing on would be a leap of faith on your part. Listen to your gut feelings regarding how you think you'll get along with this boss.

The contract is seldom an accurate reflection of how your year will go. Some have signed wonderful contracts & been bitterly disappointed. Others have passed up great jobs because the contract was mediocre.

I'd worry about those saturdays though unless you win reassurance otherwise. Unless its your choice to undertake those classes because you want to, you may quickly find yourself tired & resentful.

[margaret]

I agree about the Saturday thing. You sound like you don't want to work Saturdays and they want you to. You can find something else.
Margaret

[mindmetoo]

The secrecy thing is probably their way of making sure you don't go shooting your mouth off about salary and perks to the Korean teachers working for less pay and no free apartment.

Asking for more than 2 mil will probably invoke, at best, laughter in your director. At the worst, he might peg you from day one as a whiner. As the poster above suggests, 2 mil is a good starting salary for a teacher with no experience. Hell, you could work here for three years and never once get a raise.

I'd be concerned about the shared apartment deal.

My contract musts are:

- Monday to Friday.
- No split shift. I don't care about working mornings but I want to serve my time in blocks.
- My own place. I don't care if it's a bachelor/studio. It doesn't have to be much but I don't want any freaky waegook room mates.

[Teufelswacht]

Not to sound like a jerk (well, maybe just a little), please answer me this question re. your salary request.

Why do you deserve 2.0? I'm not talking about more than that, I'm talking about the amount offered. Why do you deserve that much? What do you bring to the table that can't be gotten easily somewhere else. Before negotiating for more I would strongly suggest you answer that question first - and then see about asking for more.

By the way, if the owner is worth his salt he is still trolling the waters for someone else. If you want to play the waiting game, that's up to you. You know the total situation, I don't. But if you wait (but want the job) the owner may find a warm body that'll take 1.9 or 1.8.

Just some thoughts.

Take care

Teufelswacht

[captain kirk]

I worked Sunday nights starting at 6pm, and for three hours. That was last contract, and for about nine months. Koreans work hard/a lot. We foreigners take a two day weekend for granted having grown up with it.
If you want the weekend off don't take the job, it looks like. You're just a droid to them. So take the job you want and droid minimally, M-F.

[Derrek]

The answer here is cut and dried...

If you don't want to work Saturdays, then move on and find something else. The director wants to hire someone to work Saturdays. Personally, unless I really trusted the guy, I wouldn't be interested in working it for "overtime." OT pay from hagwons is usually very, very low and not worth my extra effort/day off.

The fact that he freaked over your suggestions tells me he'll be a pain in the ass to work for an entire year. All take and no give.

Not being rude to Koreans, but they're pretty easy to read, once you've seen a few of them. He' s the "Hagwon is my personal Kingdom" type. Anyone else's opinions or attempts to negotiate will be scoffed at or ignored.

I wouldn't work for this guy -- just my opinion.

[Hans Blix]

thanks for all the advice, everyone. some interesting stuff was said.

regarding my salary. probably for the work i'd be doing - following a textbook, controlling a class - i'd only 'deserve' 1 million, if that. just thought it was reasonable to aim a little higher than what's advertised. honestly, i have no idea what i'm worth.

about the 'secrecy' clause. there is one clause that says i can't disclose the contract to fellow employees. fair enough, this is the way of enterprise bargaining. but there is another clause stating that i cannot disclose the contract to anyone at all, which i find a little dubious. makes it difficult to seek legal advice i'd have thought.

doubt i'll take it anyway, so unecessary to reply to this.

[captain kirk]

Once you get started you'll know why it takes two million to keep you there

[babtangee]

[Grotto]

babtangee thats a brilliant use of emoticons....bravo!