Korean Job Discussion Forums

[K-in-C]

Hey all,

I am looking for some feedback on this contract. I don't think it is too bad.

Thanks ahead of time,

K-in-C


The instructor agrees to teach students at the institute at the times designated by the institute management, and agrees to develop and present educational programs for the students. The instructor agrees to follow and strictly comply with the School's policies and guidelines 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 June. 10, 2006.

(B) If the instructor wishes to renew his/her contract at the end of one year, he/she must 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 TEACHER:

(A). The teacher is expected to devote no less than 1 hour a day at the institute for the lesson planning with co-teachers, student evaluations, syllabuses, 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. The total teaching load including overtime will not exceed for any given 35 hours a week, unless both parties agree.

(B) The instructor's working hours shall be determined by the School's schedule. However, the teaching schedule can be changed during winter season (5 weeks) and summer season (5 weeks) because of school�s special class due to the students� vacation.

(C) The instructor is responsible for familiarizing him or herself with all institute materials relevant to teaching at the School. The instructor shall faithfully teach and train students at the School.

4. TEACHER'S SALARY:

(A) The teacher's total monthly salary shall be 2.1 mil won. The teacher's annual salary will total 25.2 mil won. A severance pay bonus equivalent to one months salary will also be paid at the end of the contract. This compensation is in exchange for teaching an average of 6 hours a day, five days per week, during the contract year.

(B) On completion of ones responsibilities of the full contract period, the severance pay is 2.1 million won equivalent to the monthly salary. It will be paid only at the completion of the contract.

(C) If the instructor teaches, by mutual agreement of the instructor and
employer, additional teaching hours over and above 30 hours per week, overtime compensation at 18,000 Won/hour shall be paid for those hours. Overtime is not obligatory. The instructor reserves the right to refuse to do overtime or any activity for or with the employer in his free time or on holidays.

(D) The instructor's salary will be paid monthly on the regular day for payment of instructor's salaries.

5. AIRFARE TO KOREA:

The instructor's one-way economy class or regular class airfare to Korea will be paid by the school or the school reimburse to the teacher in case the teacher buy the ticket. Return airfare to the teacher's home country shall be paid by the school upon completion of the 12 months contractual teaching period. Return airfare will not be provided if the teacher leaves the school prior to completion of the 12 months teaching period.

6. HOUSING:

(A) The institute will provide a private single person accommodation 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, internet, satellite TV, and Mobile phone.

(C) Costs for all utilities, including lighting, heat, and water, shall be borne by the teacher.

7. VACATION TIME:

The teacher shall enjoy 10 days of paid vacation (in addition to all Korean
national holidays and Saturdays and Sundays). The paid vacation will be normally 5 days for Summer and 5 days for winter. But the schedule can be changed by 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 provide the institute with as much advance notice as possible. 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 of medical care compensation according to the Article 78 of Korean Labor Standard Law.

7. 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.

8. KOREAN HEALTH INSURANCE:

Instructor will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean Medical Insurance Union, a Government Health Organization. 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."

9. 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.

10. ADDITIONAL DUTIES:

(A) The instructor is required to conduct him/herself in a professional manner and to wear neat attire while at the school. Casual clothing is acceptable, provided that 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 classes late without the prior approval of the institute director.

2) Conducting class while under the influence of alcohol, while smoking, or under the influence of illegal drugs.

3) Making sexual advances towards, or entering in to relationships with students or employees of the School.

(C) The institute shall have the right to terminate 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 case. In this case, the institute has no duty to give the severance pay bonus and 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 the eight months of this Contract period, the amount of airfare will be deducted from the Employee�s last monthly salary.

11. Both parties have carefully read this contract; They have agreed to its terms in good faith; and they will attempt to resolve any disputes which may arise in accordance with the terms of the contract, and in a reasonable manner. All disputes which cannot be resolved by the parties to this contract will be resolved through the legal system of Korea in accordance with Korean law.

I duly agree on the contract stated above.

Date : May 15, 2006


Director Teacher

Name : Signature: Signature:

[TheUrbanMyth]

It's not as bad as some I've seen...but a few things though.


First off is 3A. Don't do telephone English. Believe me that is literally physically painful. First you have to call some parents whose children have neglected to tell them that you will be calling and you will have them snarling "nogoo" (who is it?) at you down the line. Sometimes the children will not be there which means you have to call again later. Thirdly when you actually do get the child on the phone and ask a question, sometimes you have to wait for 2 or 3 minutes while the child struggles to reply in English. The worst is when the child starts crying because of the stress and you hear the mother in the background telling her kid to stop crying and answer the phone. And to top it all off is that usually you have to do this AFTER work and at your own expense.

"Maintenance of the English enviroment during breaks"--No way. Breaks are your own time. This means that you will be responsible to tell them (on your and their break time to stop speaking in Korean) Forget that.

Ditto for supervision of play. That's code for unpaid work.

Everything else is standard for a teacher back home, but try to get some leeway on the report cards. If the institute has more than a hundred students that can be brutal. Again that will be on your own time AFTER work. 35 hours a week is brutal. Insist on CLASSES rather than HOURS

3B. Under no circumstances agree to this. Get your working hours clearly stated. Otherwise you could be setting yourself up for split shifts from hell.


6B Get AC. Summers in Korea are like vacations in Hades.

7. Tax is not 5% (it's lower). Mr. Grotto (another poster here) can tell you what it is.

10E It should be six months not eight. Insist on that.


My advice: I wouldn't do it. 3A is the real deal breaker. Most teachers here simply teach without any of those additional duties. Yes I know teachers back home have those duties..but they also are paid better, have more perks, and have job security, whereas we don't. Plus we have the language barrier to contend with. I work at a public school and all I do is teach and make lesson plans. That should be it. If you do decide to sign, get the changes I mentioned above...or you are likely to have a miserable year in Korea.

Hope this helps!

[ontheway]

Good comments from TUM.

Try for 20,000 won (or more) for OT. 18,000 is too low.

I would never agree to telephone English, but maybe some people are OK with it.

TAXES: It should be according to the monthly withholding calculator on the NTS (Korean National Tax Service) site. Even those amounts are not correct, but they're lower and closer to the actual tax amount (they are just estimates for monthly withholding). Your tax should be closer to 2% unless you have a lot of OT. The rate hits 5% at about 3 million won per month. Your tax should not be a flat percentage. It should be according to the withholding tables.

and AIR CONDITIONING!

[Grotto]

The instructor agrees to teach students at the institute at the times designated by the institute management, and agrees to develop and present educational programs for the students. The instructor agrees to follow and strictly comply with the School's policies and guidelines during the period of this agreement.

Get a set schedule....2-8 or whatever. Never agree to stupidity like the bolded part

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 June. 10, 2006.

And ending on June 9 2007

(B) If the instructor wishes to renew his/her contract at the end of one year, he/she must 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 TEACHER:

(A). The teacher is expected to devote no less than 1 hour a day at the institute for the lesson planning with co-teachers, student evaluations, syllabuses, 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. The total teaching load including overtime will not exceed for any given 35 hours a week, unless both parties agree.

Telephone English delete! supervision of play Delete, Maintenance of the English environment Delete....ahhh delete this whole section....if you they want you to do these things then they have to pay you for it.....its called work! 35 hours is crap....you want 25 classes per week each no longer than 50 minutes.

(B) The instructor's working hours shall be determined by the School's schedule. However, the teaching schedule can be changed during winter season (5 weeks) and summer season (5 weeks) because of school’s special class due to the students’ vacation.

Then you can pay overtime for these extra hours...after all you charge extra during these sessions! Working hours need to be clearly defined not changed at the whim of the school!

(C) The instructor is responsible for familiarizing him or herself with all institute materials relevant to teaching at the School. The instructor shall faithfully teach and train students at the School.

4. TEACHER'S SALARY:

(A) The teacher's total monthly salary shall be 2.1 mil won. The teacher's annual salary will total 25.2 mil won. A severance pay bonus equivalent to one months salary will also be paid at the end of the contract. This compensation is in exchange for teaching an average of 6 hours a day, five days per week, during the contract year.

Change 'teaching' to 'working'.

(B) On completion of ones responsibilities of the full contract period, the severance pay is 2.1 million won equivalent to the monthly salary. It will be paid only at the completion of the contract.

(C) If the instructor teaches, by mutual agreement of the instructor and
employer, additional teaching hours over and above 30 hours per week, overtime compensation at 18,000 Won/hour shall be paid for those hours. Overtime is not obligatory. The instructor reserves the right to refuse to do overtime or any activity for or with the employer in his free time or on holidays.

Any classes in excess of 25 per week will be paid overtime...20,000 won an hour(50 minutes)

(D) The instructor's salary will be paid monthly on the regular day for payment of instructor's salaries.

State the day...no later than the 5'th!

5. AIRFARE TO KOREA:

The instructor's one-way economy class or regular class airfare to Korea will be paid by the school or the school reimburse to the teacher in case the teacher buy the ticket. Return airfare to the teacher's home country shall be paid by the school upon completion of the 12 months contractual teaching period. Return airfare will not be provided if the teacher leaves the school prior to completion of the 12 months teaching period.

If you are to be reimbursed get them to say when...within 5 days of arriving in Korea!

6. HOUSING:

(A) The institute will provide a private single person accommodation 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, internet, satellite TV, and Mobile phone.

AIR CON! A necessity in Korea...for health reasons if nothing else!

(C) Costs for all utilities, including lighting, heat, and water, shall be borne by the teacher.

Management fees are not a utility!

7. VACATION TIME:

The teacher shall enjoy 10 days of paid vacation (in addition to all Korean
national holidays and Saturdays and Sundays). The paid vacation will be normally 5 days for Summer and 5 days for winter. But the schedule can be changed by 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 provide the institute with as much advance notice as possible. 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.

No they wont! You are entitled to those days and should be free to take them...even if you just have a headache or a hangover

The above leaves will be included in the period of medical care compensation according to the Article 78 of Korean Labor Standard Law.

7. 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.

No it wont....about 2.2% is what it is on 2.1 mil won! Check monthly withholding tax under the FAQ tax rate sticky!

8. KOREAN HEALTH INSURANCE:

Instructor will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean Medical Insurance Union, a Government Health Organization. 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."

2.24% each

9. 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)

Oops you've done it now!

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.

Delete this nonsense! Just how would they prove any losses

10. ADDITIONAL DUTIES:

(A) The instructor is required to conduct him/herself in a professional manner and to wear neat attire while at the school. Casual clothing is acceptable, provided that 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 classes late without the prior approval of the institute director.

2) Conducting class while under the influence of alcohol, while smoking, or under the influence of illegal drugs.

3) Making sexual advances towards, or entering in to relationships with students or employees of the School.

(C) The institute shall have the right to terminate 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 case.

30 days notive by law.

In this case, the institute has no duty to give the severance pay bonus and 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

30 days notice is plenty!

E) For a dismissal or voluntary resignation within the eight months of this Contract period, the amount of airfare will be deducted from the Employee’s last monthly salary.

Within 6 months!

11. Both parties have carefully read this contract; They have agreed to its terms in good faith; and they will attempt to resolve any disputes which may arise in accordance with the terms of the contract, and in a reasonable manner. All disputes which cannot be resolved by the parties to this contract will be resolved through the legal system of Korea in accordance with Korean law.

I duly agree on the contract stated above.

Date : May 15, 2006


Director Teacher

Name : Signature: Signature:
_________________

I dont like it! Hours are not clear...they reserve the right to change the schedule at will...there is no clear definition of a teaching hour. No mention of pension.

[Hater Depot]

OT -- I thought the health insurance charge was 4.5% each?

[wowser]

woops- pm...

[Grotto]