Korean Job Discussion Forums

[marlow]

I heard new EPIK contracts are going to pay overtime at 6,000 won per hour, and extra classes at 20,000 won per class. I think this is absurd. Hopefully they will wise up before putting ink to paper.

What is a fair overtime rate? It's kind of hard to come up with a number when pay is based on a salary rather than an hourly wage. I just know that the above numbers are insulting.

[willneverteachagain]

they'll never get teachers at those rates. OT shouldnt be below 20,000 per hour. 20,000 per class? what did they drink?

[willneverteachagain]

salaries are supposed to go up not down

[marlow]

Yeah. I was thinking 20,000 is a normal hourly wage for doing paperwork or something (and for overtime 1.5X is 30,000). And for teaching an overtime class, taking into account prep., marking, etc., they should pay about 50,000 to 60,000 - they would shit their pants at those numbers - because thems the facts of English in Korea as far as I see them. I get offered privates at that price about twice per month.

I'm not just being greedy either. I value my free time, and also I work better when I'm not feeling cheated.

They should consider a decreasing overtime scale. The first ten hours are 6,000 per hour, and the next ten are 5,000, and anything over twenty is paid at a rate of 3,000. That would really attract teachers. Especially the shitheads who can't even get a job at McDonald's back home.

[mindmetoo]

A friend has seen some jobs that pay 3/4 time for OT. Less. Not more. Geez.

[mehamrick]

[lowpo]

[mehamrick]

[lowpo]

[mehamrick]

[yingwenlaoshi]

6000 Won/hr? I keep seeing this figure for these public school or EPIK jobs. What's up with that? Someone's got a screw loose.

What it really should be is paid by the teaching hour. Everyone should be paid hourly. Screw this monthly crap. Then if you work OT, multiply it by 1.5. End of story. But nooooo! Any salary job I've ever had ended up being hourly in the end. It's the only way to do it.

Let's say you make 2.2 at a public school. Well you take that and mulitply it by 12. That's 26.4 million/year. Well divide that by 52. That's 507,692.../wk. Divide that by 22 (your weekly hours). That gives you 23,077/hr rounded off. That's your hourly wage. Overtime should then be 34,615.5/hr. Yes, they're fractioned figures, but that's why accountants exist.

Under contract for 22 teaching hours should be under contract for 22 teaching hours. You shouldn't have to spend anymore time at work than those hours. That's why PS holidays should be longer and more defined. Plan your damn year out in advanced and don't pop undetermined summer/winter camps on the teachers at the last minute. Have vacations that can be taken during school sessions and have summer and winter breaks that don't count as vacation taken. Period.

The system abuses teachers.

Same goes for hagwons. "Yes, sir. I'll take the vacation when the hagwon closes." That's BS.

The systems are totally abusive. I don't like it. That's one reason I'll never work for CDI. They just sound like total arse clowns.

[lowpo]

[marlow]

[m8888888]

I think the 6000 won would be if you're just sitting there, waiting for a class to start, or doing extra prep work or something. I thought all that time would get the overtime rate of 20,000 or 25,000, whatever it says in my contract, but I get paid 8,600 won for that time. It's a percentage of your total pay, and so how long you've been working, and it's the same as the Korean teachers get, including the 20,000 won for extra classes. Korean teachers get paid overtime after 6pm, and not on Saturdays, according to my co-teacher who I just asked. So it's not the EPIK is trying to "screw foreign teachers" or something. It's that the Korean educational system and work ethic is very different (and I would say they both royally suck, but don't want to be judgmental! Haha!).
For example, I had to stay after to film these short videos about English phrases. We couldn't start until 4:40, so I sat around for 40 minutes surfing. The taping took like half an hour, so I left at like 5:10. I got a bit more than 9,000 won for that. I've never taught an extra class, and I don't think it's worth it.

[spliff]

I get paid for extra class 20,000 for 1 40min class.