Korean Job Discussion Forums

[upnblue]

Could someone help me out and tell me if this is a contract is standard. It seems pretty straight forward to me, but I don't know what to expect as far as pay rate (monthly and OT). I have my BA in English Lit and very little teaching exp. Anyways, if anyone can help me I would greatly appriciate it. Thanks.

JEL English School ESL Teacher Contract

This contract is made and entered on the ________________________ by and between JEL & MIT institute, located in Busan City, Korea (hereinafter called as "Employer") and
_________________________________ (state your full name, city, country) as an English Teacher (hereinafter called "Employee"). Both parties agree as follows.

Article 1. Employment of Employee

The Employer agrees to employ the Employee as an English teacher in the City of Busan, South Korea.

Conditions of Employment
The Employee's job description shall consist of the following:

A. ESL instructor in any and all phases of the Employer's program to classes that range from preschool children to adult level
B. Curriculum implementation
C. Development of educational programs and materials.
D. Field activities for and or with students
E. Grading and evaluation of students
F. Student counseling or evaluation
G. Attendance at teachers' meetings and workshops
H. Preparation of class lesson plans
I. Other related activities, including school events and ceremonies, etc.

Article 2. Period of Employment

The period of this contract is one year beginning from ___October 31, 2005 __ to __October 30, 2006___.
This contract maybe extended, after this probation period, if agreeable to both
parties.
a) During the term of this Agreement, the Employee shall normally be required to work total of 30 hours each week according to the schedule. The times of work will be assigned by employer��s discretion.
b) In addition to the 30 hours of classroom assignment each week, the occasion may arise that the Employee may be required to teach more than 30 hours per week (hereinafter called "Overtime"), but the Academic Director shall not have the authority to require Employee to work more than 35 hours in total in any one week unless Employee consents thereto in addition and beyond the salary set forth herein below. Employee shall be paid 18,000 Won for each hour of overtime over 30hrs a week.




Article 4. Salary

The Employer shall pay a monthly salary of 1,900,000 Won in Korean Currency. Payment shall be made on 9th day of every month. Korean Income Tax shall be deducted monthly from the employee's salary. No other deduction of any type shall be deducted from employee's salary without prior written consent from Employee. The rate will vary between 1.5% - 4% in accordance with the Korean Tax Laws depending on government��s set tax rate.
__________________________________________________________________

Article 5. Policies

The following policies have been established to assist the employee in the expected performance of their duties. The employer has the right to dismiss the employee for clear and frequent neglect of duties as well as in violation of directives given by Employer, under this agreement with one month's written notice.
a) The Employer will request the resignation of an Employee, if the employee is found to be guilty of misconduct in the execution of his/her teaching duties. If this misconduct brings a negative effect to the class, classes or school, the Employer may annul the contract and dismiss the Employee and shall be free from any legal responsibility. However, prior written notice will be given to Employee, to ensure that the Employee is given adequate opportunity to correct his/her misconduct.
b) Professional dress and grooming in the work place are essential in maintaining the desired reputation of the Institute.
c) All instructors must behave in a professional manner during class and when socializing with students outside of class. Instructors should be aware of the cultural background of Korean students and their expectations of teachers.
d) Instructors are required to attend all staff meetings as required by the Director. If an instructor must be absent, he/she must inform the Director or Asst. Director a day prior to the meeting.
e) The Employee may be required to interview new students and evaluate their placement level.
f) The Employee shall not be absent or late for class without two day's prior notice except in case of illness, whereas Employee shall give appropriate notice to Employer.
g) The Employee will be sanctioned and dismissed by the Director if he/she makes sexual advances towards students or if questionable inter-personal relationships with individual students result in the loss of other students.
h) The Employee shall prepare teaching materials for each class beforehand and will be honest and diligent in teaching students in all classes. The Employer agrees to furnish all curricula textbooks, and all other teaching materials.
i) If many of Employee's students complain about the classes, the Employee will be required to attend the teacher training or other teachers�� classes as requested by the Director.
Article 6. Benefits / Accommodations

a) Housing
The Employer will arrange and pay for full-private fully furnished accommodations (including T.V. Satellite, VCR, bed, bedding, kitchen wares, etc) for the period of the contract. The employee won��t be asked to be relocated while on the contract.
Employee shall pay all living expenses including electricity, water, gas, oil, phone bill, and other personal home items.
b) Health Insurance and Travel allowance
The Employer shall pay the Employee's return air-fare from point of origin to Busan up-front and upon completion of the one year contract, the return ticket only to point of departure.
The Employer shall pay one-half(1/2) of the Employee's medical/dental insurance premium which shall cover the Employee for one year beginning the day of employee's work in Korea.
c) On completion of the one year contract the Employer will provide the bonus payment of 1,900,000 Won.
d) Severance and retirement payment is included in the salary. Therefore, there is no additional money provided for severance and retirement.
e) Holidays and Vacations as per Korean calendar: New Years (January 1st, 1day), Lunar New Years (3 days), Summer Vacation (5 days, including Weekends), Autumn Vacation (Chuseok) (3 days), Winter Vacation (5 days, including Weekends) and National holidays.

Article 7. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
Any disputes arising in connection with this contract shall be resolved in Korean court of law according to Korean Regulations and Codes. The parties agree to comply with all applicable laws in their performance of this agreement.

In witness here of, the parties have agreed upon the stipulations above as of the date this
Contract.


_________________________________ _________________________________
Employer's Signature Employee's Signature



_________________________________ _________________________________
Employer's Name Employee's Name



_________________________________ _________________________________
Date Date

[schwa]

Looks normal to me except for the following self-contradictory clauses:

[upnblue]

THanks schwa for the reply. Another question popped into my head... should I request that the actual teaching hours (day and time) be added to the contract, or would that be asking too much? Would it be realistic for me to expect them to follow it anyway??

[schwa]

In your shoes, I'd fish for some kind of verbal assurance that classes are normally blocked together & exclusive of saturdays. Contracts usually leave this open-ended (in the employer's favor) to accommodate temporary odd vacation schedules but you should be able to get some sense of how the school normally schedules classes.

If the school has experience with foreign teachers, they'll understand that these conditions are important & conducive to a happy working relationship. A good example of where talking to current & past teachers is invaluable.

[peppermint]

Only two small things stood out to me aside from pension which schwa already addressed.

Ask for clarification on the hours- is that teaching hours ( ie, a 50 minute class= 1 hour) or real world hours? If it's real world hours it's not a deal breaker. Just make sure you know which it is, because it could cause some complications when you're calculating overtime.

The bonus payment should be equal to the average of the last 3 months pay. If you're earning lots of overtime in the last 3 months, then you should get a higher severance pay.

Other than those two things ( and they're both really small) the contract looks good.
congrats!

[Grotto]

A. ESL instructor in any and all phases of the Employer's program to classes that range from preschool children to adult level
B. Curriculum implementation
C. Development of educational programs and materials.
D. Field activities for and or with students
E. Grading and evaluation of students
F. Student counseling or evaluation
G. Attendance at teachers' meetings and workshops
H. Preparation of class lesson plans
I. Other related activities, including school events and ceremonies, etc.

As usual I have my own reservations over "F", "G", "H" and "I". I would want to know what is expected prepwise, how often and detailed the evaluations are, and the other related school crap....times etc...If you are only being credited for in class hours all these others should fall into overtime(they wont but they should)

Article 2. Period of Employment

The period of this contract is one year beginning from ___October 31, 2005 __ to __October 30, 2006___.
This contract maybe extended, after this probation period, if agreeable to both
parties.
a) During the term of this Agreement, the Employee shall normally be required to work total of 30 hours each week according to the schedule. The times of work will be assigned by employer��s discretion.

Red flag....this allows them to set whatever hours they want...splits etc. I would ask for clear clarification of what hours I would be expected to work. As Peppermint said is an hour 40-50 minutes? Or is it 60 minutes?

b) In addition to the 30 hours of classroom assignment each week, the occasion may arise that the Employee may be required to teach more than 30 hours per week (hereinafter called "Overtime"), but the Academic Director shall not have the authority to require Employee to work more than 35 hours in total in any one week unless Employee consents thereto in addition and beyond the salary set forth herein below. Employee shall be paid 18,000 Won for each hour of overtime over 30hrs a week.

Forced overtime is illegal they can ask but they cant force



Article 4. Salary

The Employer shall pay a monthly salary of 1,900,000 Won in Korean Currency. Payment shall be made on 9th day of every month. Korean Income Tax shall be deducted monthly from the employee's salary. No other deduction of any type shall be deducted from employee's salary without prior written consent from Employee. The rate will vary between 1.5% - 4% in accordance with the Korean Tax Laws depending on government��s set tax rate.
Tax on 1.9 is 26,000 give or take
__________________________________________________________________

Article 5. Policies

The following policies have been established to assist the employee in the expected performance of their duties. The employer has the right to dismiss the employee for clear and frequent neglect of duties as well as in violation of directives given by Employer, under this agreement with one month's written notice.
a) The Employer will request the resignation of an Employee, if the employee is found to be guilty of misconduct in the execution of his/her teaching duties. If this misconduct brings a negative effect to the class, classes or school, the Employer may annul the contract and dismiss the Employee and shall be free from any legal responsibility. However, prior written notice will be given to Employee, to ensure that the Employee is given adequate opportunity to correct his/her misconduct.

Sorry but they cannot annul the contract and be free from any legal responsability...thats a courts decision, not theirs!

b) Professional dress and grooming in the work place are essential in maintaining the desired reputation of the Institute.

Which is? It would be nice to know what to pack.

c) All instructors must behave in a professional manner during class and when socializing with students outside of class. Instructors should be aware of the cultural background of Korean students and their expectations of teachers.
d) Instructors are required to attend all staff meetings as required by the Director. If an instructor must be absent, he/she must inform the Director or Asst. Director a day prior to the meeting.
e) The Employee may be required to interview new students and evaluate their placement level.

Is this paid time? I would bloody well hope so!

f) The Employee shall not be absent or late for class without two day's prior notice except in case of illness, whereas Employee shall give appropriate notice to Employer.

Seems stupid...how can you give two days notice if you are stuck in traffic?

g) The Employee will be sanctioned and dismissed by the Director if he/she makes sexual advances towards students or if questionable inter-personal relationships with individual students result in the loss of other students.

Then you probably shouldnt socialize with them after hours.
h) The Employee shall prepare teaching materials for each class beforehand and will be honest and diligent in teaching students in all classes. The Employer agrees to furnish all curricula textbooks, and all other teaching materials.
i) If many of Employee's students complain about the classes, the Employee will be required to attend the teacher training or other teachers�� classes as requested by the Director.
Article 6. Benefits / Accommodations

a) Housing
The Employer will arrange and pay for full-private fully furnished accommodations (including T.V. Satellite, VCR, bed, bedding, kitchen wares, etc) for the period of the contract. The employee won��t be asked to be relocated while on the contract.

add in air con!

Employee shall pay all living expenses including electricity, water, gas, oil, phone bill, and other personal home items.
b) Health Insurance and Travel allowance
The Employer shall pay the Employee's return air-fare from point of origin to Busan up-front and upon completion of the one year contract, the return ticket only to point of departure.

No! The ticket should be back to your point of origin!....if they figure your point of departure from Canada is Vancouver instead of Ontario you will be stuck for a load of cash!

The Employer shall pay one-half(1/2) of the Employee's medical/dental insurance premium which shall cover the Employee for one year beginning the day of employee's work in Korea.
c) On completion of the one year contract the Employer will provide the bonus payment of 1,900,000 Won.
d) Severance and retirement payment is included in the salary. Therefore, there is no additional money provided for severance and retirement.

Blatant lie.....

e) Holidays and Vacations as per Korean calendar: New Years (January 1st, 1day), Lunar New Years (3 days), Summer Vacation (5 days, including Weekends), Autumn Vacation (Chuseok) (3 days), Winter Vacation (5 Cdays, including Weekends) and National holidays.

Crap holidays! They are only giving you 6 days off...tell them you want 10 days off not including weekends!

Article 7. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
Any disputes arising in connection with this contract shall be resolved in Korean court of law according to Korean Regulations and Codes. The parties agree to comply with all applicable laws in their performance of this agreement.

It should have: For legal purposes the governing language of the contract shall be English.

In witness here of, the parties have agreed upon the stipulations above as of the date this
Contract.



Looks like some of our esteemed posters dropped the ball on this one...there are plenty of things that need to be addressed


Unblue you should always have the hours stated clearly in the contract...2-8 or 3-9 etc. Also insist that for the purposes of the contract a hour will be construed as 40-50 minutes(your choice...but its basically a class length)

[schwa]

[Gord]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Gord]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Hater Depot]

Pension and severance are separate and both are legally required.

[Gord]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[Grotto]

Gord wrote