Korean Job Discussion Forums

salmanelladub · Joined: 16 Sep 2006 Location: Changwon KR

There is NOTHING in my contract about sick leave.

Iv'e been working here at a GnB school for 18 months and generally I'm happy with everything but 1 thing REALLY bugs me.

Earlier this year I had a sore throat and I requested a day off to heal it (it heals quicker when you don't speak) and he just said NO go to the doctor, get medicine and keep working.. At that point i was angry and thought about not even turning up at work..but I'm scared of repurcussions...ie withholding pay for refusal to work.

Then I woke up with a sore neck last week..this was quite bad as lifting my arm and writing hurt. I asked my boss for a day off twice and he refused...I was very Angry. Other foriegners say just "don't turn up"..including another who had nothing about sick days in the contract.

I notice my Boss, NEVER gives days off to Korean teachers either. If I didn't turn up, I'll make enemies with the Korean teachers and I don't want that...we help each other a lot. This is why I dragged myself to work

What is it with korea, the teachers NEVER get a day off!
How about women with real sickess??????

Can anybody here tell me about what happened when they took a day off even when the boss said no...ie repurcussions?

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

I've worked many a days sick. When you have a sore throat print up a bunch of word searchs. Look as miserable as possible for the kids, bribe them with candy and make sure they understand your misery.

When you are sick in the stomach make sure you ralph in one of the trash cans in the teacher's room.

If you have the squirts..... ummm well I leave that one up to you.

Basically yeah your boss should be giving you sick days when you need them, but contractually he has you over the barrel so to say. My last school required me to get a doctors note for even taking one day off sick, but dithered around on my medical insurance for 4 months straight. Finally, I called down sick one day and they wanted to write me up for not having a doctors note, but I blew a big hissy over the fact I still did not have medical insurance. I had my medical insurance a week later.

If you do go to the doctor complain that you can't sleep either. Hopefully, he will give you some sleep meds as well. Get a note from the doctor explaining everything and then kick back and snooze in class due to following the boss's orders of get some pills and go to work.

There are plenty of ways around this, but the best way is to tell your boss straight up that you either get some sick days, or he gets your letter of resignation.

salmanelladub · Joined: 16 Sep 2006 Location: Changwon KR

OK cheers for the reply...

Yes I have basically taken it on the chin as we say...

I'm not sick usually...before coming to korea I worked in NZ for 3 years with 0 days off sick...

So in part I blame myself when I signed the contract...I should have asked for 2 or 3 days sick...oversight on my part.

Lizara · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

Yeah, I had a wicked sore throat for over a week this spring. I couldn't talk for two days straight and the rest of the time I could talk, squeakily and with a great amount of effort, but every time I spoke it felt like knives were being dragged across my throat. Guess how many sick days they let me have? If you said 0... you'd be right on.

So yeah, print up some word searches or something. Or just send your boss a text message to say you won't be in, and turn off your phone, and accept the loss of pay.

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

ChuckECheese · Joined: 20 Jul 2006

What an insensitive and sh1thead boss you have. Just tell him to go to hell cause you're sick and taking day(s) off to recoop. Your health is more important than the *beep* job working with sh1tboss. You gotta stand up for yourself when it comes to your health. Screw your Korean co-workers too if they're so insensitive as to you have to worry about their feelings about covering for you when you're absent from work.

What's your boss gonna do if you don't come to work? Fire you? Let him!
Why work for an asshole like that?

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

The situation is about 50% your boss's problem and 50% the system of not allowing substitute teachers.

SOME day, in the distant future, the National Assembly will squeeze in a few minutes between blaming Japan and American for every ill known in Korea and fist fighting with each other and pass a bill that makes it legal for a company hire a group of substitute teachers who can be sent out to work for a day or so at random hakwons and other schools without having to go through Immigration for special permission. Of course at that time, we will still have the problem of the waygookins who feel entitled to take any and every sick day allowed in the contract as if enjoying a 4 day weekend in Jeju-do is a human right protected by some Geneva convention.

ThePoet · Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:16 am Post subject:

gang ah jee · Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Location: city of paper

You need to vomit in front of your students. This will solve your problem.

Trust me.

maryb · Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:17 pm Post subject:

It is korean law for a woman to get one day off (i thought it was 2 -- but not sure about this) for her, um personal time. this is paid time off.

ChuckECheese · Joined: 20 Jul 2006

Dan The Chainsawman · Joined: 05 May 2005

We have it better than the ladies... We call in and moan and make puking noises while uttering in a pained voice "To much-ee Soju... To much-ee soju"

Never fails to work like a charm.

Wrench · Joined: 07 Apr 2005

princess · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: soul of Asia

Last summer I worked a whole month and a half being extremely sick with bronchitis and a fever for the last week of it. I even had to do three parent observation classes in this condition. I was shown no sympathy...