Korean Job Discussion Forums

[willardmusa]

Case in point: Information and Communications University in Daejon

( ESL Blacklist: http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~jonb/blacklisted.html )

The university's contract made no mention of severance. I assumed it didn't need to as it was the law. (The university does participate in the national pension plan.) Still, before signing a second year contract, I asked about it and was told it was being paid out monthly as part of the monthly salary. I objected, but they wouldn't listen.

Instead, in the 2nd year contract, the university put into the contract wording saying the severance was being paid monthly in the monthly salary and that there would be no severance payment at the end of employment. I wrote on the contract that I disagreed with this and would contest it when I left employment with the university. They ignored that and signed the contract.

(Background note: At the point of signing the 2nd contract, I was on the fence as to whether to stay or leave. You know how you just trying to make a relationship work, but eventually you just realize it isn't going to? Well, that's what it was with this university. Like falling for a beautiful girl only to find out she has major baggage; you keep trying to make it work, but . . . in the end, you're looking for the door. So, . . signing the 2nd contract should not signal I was happy with the university; far from it. )

When I left mid-contract on that second year contract, I asked for the severance for my entire employment period of 18 months. The school ignored my request. I over and over again gave them a chance to pay it, but they simply ignored me; except, the director of the program sent me nasty letters attacking my character for asking for the severance.

Three months after leaving, I took the matter to the Daejon Labor Board and within three weeks they told the Information and Communications University that they had to pay or face a court appearance. I then got a courteous phone call (with obvious "conference mode" telephone - - you know, the type where they're all sitting around the table listening in!) telling me they'll pay it. The Labor Board gave them a strict one week deadline to pay (otherwise the case would be filed with the court), and it was. Severance for the entire period of time I was there was paid, for the first contract period of 12 months and for the 6 months of second contract, calculated on the pay level of the last month I was there (which was 3% higher than the first year's salary; the higher rate applied to the entire period).

So, if the contract doesn't mention it . . . you still get it. And, if the contract says you don't get it, . . . you can still get it.

The way it was explained to me is that an employer who participates in the national pension plan cannot choose to pay or not, and they cannot choose how they pay the severance (like saying it is part of your monthly salary). Employers in the plan can work out a different way of doing it with their employees, but it has to be approved by the National Pension Plan and the Labor Board. This kind of thing, though, happens with large employers and usually worked out with a labor union; it is not something language schools or universities are able to do.

This is they way it happened for me and the way things were explained for me. I guess there could be other experiences for other situations; and other explanations. I hope my experience and my relayed explanations are helpful to some of you.

If you want more of the negative scoop on the University of Information & Communications, see the ESL blacklist at:

http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~jonb/blacklisted.html

(Got to scroll down a bit to get to the one on this university.)

[ttompatz]

[willardmusa]

[quote="ttompatz"]

[Sash]

Congrats! but What if a school doens't pay pension??

[twg]

[willardmusa]

[wylies99]

Good job, OP, and thanks for posting this valuable information. The few minutes it took you to type this may end up helping MANY people get a benefit they deserve.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Well, that scuppers everything.