Review contract please. A couple of concerns.

Thinking about signing on with this hagwon. This is a sample contract my recruiter sent me.
I have noticed that two clauses have been removed (numbers 10 and 12). I'm assuming one of them has to do with paying airfare. The school will not provide one way airfare if the teacher is already residing in Korea. I'm not sure what the other removed clause could have been regarding. Thoughts?
I also wanted to request that they add what will be included in the apartment (bed, washing machine, stove, fridge).
Any other insight would be appreciated. TIA.


1. TERM OF AGREEMENT:
   •   The Employee will commence employment with the Employer on the 1st day of Mar 2019 (‘the Commencement Date’). The term of this Agreement will be in effect for a period of one year, starting on the Commencement Date, and ending on the 29th day of  Feb, 2020 (the ‘Expiration Date’).
   •   The Employer and Employee will strive to have the Employee arrive at the Employer’s headquarter above at least five (5) days prior to the start of his/her first day of class(Commencement Date) for orientation and training.
   •   The Employee agrees to discontinue his/her residence in Korea under the visa status arranged and sponsored by the employer within three (3) days after the completion of this contract. The Employee will be allowed to stay in the housing provided by... during this time. This condition will not apply if this contract is terminated for any reason before completion, and the employer has no obligation to maintain the Employee’s visa status for any period of time beyond the termination date.

2. POSITION & DUTIES
   •   The Employer will employ the Employee as an English Language Instructor to conduct professional, well-planned English language classes.
   •   During the terms of this Agreement, the Employee must cooperate and comply with the instructions and disciplines of the school. Assisting the Supervisor he/she must carry out assignments as directed by the employer. The Supervisor will be responsible for establishing and communicating the Standards of Performance as related to the duties stated in this contract.
   •   The Employee must have adequately prepared for the classes in advance.
   •   The Employee’s work will include the following:
• Teaching the English language (Target students’ Korean ages: 7 to 12)
• Development of educational programs and materials
• Curriculum design and implementation
• Indoor and outdoor classroom activities for/with students
• Grading, evaluation, and assessment of students
• Providing students with individualized care
• Attending teacher’s meetings and workshops
• Phone-testing
• Correcting students’ journals

   •   The Employee will conduct himself/herself and dress in a manner befitting and conducive to the professional environment of the Employer. Jeans, for example, are not allowed.
•   No more than only one set of earrings is allowed. Nose, eyebrow and lip piercing as well as visible tattoos would be distracting and should be removed or covered as they have a negative connotation in Korean society.
   •   The Employee will follow the rules, regulations, and practices of the Employer, including those concerning work schedules, shifts, and vacations.
   •   The Employee may be required to attend retraining sessions and workshops to help improve the Employee’s professional abilities throughout the term of his/her employment agreement.
   •   The Employee will be subject to the general supervision of and act pursuant to the orders, advice, and direction of the Employer, including, without limitation, warnings, both verbal and written.
   •   The Employee will be subject to periodic reviews of his/her job performance, including in-class assessments and monthly evaluations. As part of reviews of his/her job performance, the Employee may have to submit a lesson plan, a class syllabi and class materials, when requested to do so by the Employer.
   •   The Employee will devote full-time efforts to his/her duties as an Employee of the Employer. Any and all other employment, whether alone or jointly with others, beyond the scope of this Agreement, including private tutoring, without the written consent of the Employer, is contrary to Korean law.
   •   The Employee will attend all official meetings called by their Head Teacher, Jr. Manager or Academic Department unless those meetings conflict with classes.
   •   The Employee will also attend our Anniversary Ceremony.

3. ORIENTATION
   •   Upon arrival in Korea, the Employee will have the opportunity to participate in an orientation session with the Academic Department and Head Trainer before being expected to begin his/her regular teaching work. The orientation may take 3 to 4 days to complete.
   •   The new Employee will be paid 30,000Won per day for successfully participating in the orientation. The Head Trainer will deem who has successfully completed the training.

4. EMPLOYEE WORKING HOURS
   •   During the term of this Agreement, the Employee will work in cooperation with the Supervisor from 12:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M from Monday through Friday, and Thursday's schedule from 1:00 P.M to 9:30 P.M.
   •   The Employee will agree to teach a maximum of 6 hours/day, 30 hours/week, and a total of maximum 160 classes per month. This will include a maximum of 6 classes of regular classroom teaching and a maximum of 2 classes of Student Speaking Test on the phone or Student Interview.
   •   Employees will be required to attend some special events throughout the year (Workshops, non-periodic class, graduation ceremony, etc.) which may fall on Saturday.

5. EMPLOYEE SALARY & OVERTIME RATE
   •   The Employer will pay the Employee a salary of 00000 Won per month in consideration of the Employee’s 120 teaching hours and proper preparation for the classes.
   •   Any money due to the Employee for one full month of work (from 21st of this month to 20th of the following month) will be paid on the 30th of the following month. If, due to civic holidays or other circumstances, it is impossible to pay compensation to the Employee on this day, the Employer shall pay compensation 1 day before or no later than 2 days after the 30th of the month.
   •   Each forty minute class exceeding the 160 classes/session will be considered as overtime. The payment for the overtime will be 20,000 Won per an hour. (One hour is 60minutes) Attendance at scheduled staff meetings and workshops, along with preparation for classes is mandatory and not considered as overtime.
   •   Saturday classes will be paid at 20,000Won per an hour.  (Usually 3hours from 9:30 am to 12:30pm;  60,000Won)
   •   The Employer is entitled to deduct from the Employee’s compensation any applicable deductions and remittances as required by Korean law. Such deductions will be fully disclosed to the Employee and made available for his/her review in the form of a monthly pay sheet.
   •   Any absence due to sickness or illness will result in a deduction from the Employee’s salary.
   
6. TAX
   •   Income tax and residence tax will be deducted from the salary in accordance with the Korean tax law.

7. HEALTH INSURANCE
   •   The Employee will be covered by medical insurance under the National Health Insurance, a public health organization.
   •   The Employer and Employee will equally split the cost of the premium for National Health Insurance in accordance with the Korean National Health Insurance Law and this will be automatically deducted from the Employee’s monthly salary.

8. NATIONAL PENSION
   •   Participation for National Pension is mandatory. The Employer and Employee will equally split the cost of contribution for National Pension in accordance with the Korean National Pension Law and International Pension MOU. This will be automatically deducted from the Employee’s monthly salary.
   •   All Employees are eligible for a lump sum refund of all the premiums paid, if they are from countries that have a reciprocal agreement with Korea, and if the Employee is leaving Korea.

9. SEVERANCE PAY
   •   Upon the completion of the contract, the Employee will receive one additional basic salary of 000won as a severance payment in accordance with Korean Labor Laws.
   •   Severance pay will be paid upon the full completion of the one-year employment agreement period and full discharge of the duties as per the Employment Agreement.
   •   Severance pay will be paid within 14 days following the completion of the employment agreement. Pay received due to overtime work and Saturday classes will not be included in severance pay.

11. Accommodation 
   •The Employer will provide the Employee with a single furnished accommodation.       

13. VACATION
   •   The Employee is entitled to national holidays and total of 10 days paid vacation during the term of this Agreement, the time for which will be determined by the Employer’s school session calendar.

14. EMERGENCY LEAVE
   •   The Employer agrees that the Employee is entitled to 5 working days of emergency leave, in the event of death in the employee’s immediate family. The immediate family shall include parents and siblings of the employee. For this emergency leave, no deduction of salary will be taken place.
   •   The Employer cannot provide the Employee with any additional compensation for airfare in the case of an emergency.
   •   The Employer has the right to request reasonable proof for having granted emergency leave before departing.
   •   In the event that a period longer than 5 working days is required for emergency leave, it is up to the employer’s discretion to permit such a period.

15. TERMINATION BY EMPLOYEE
   •   If, for any reason, the Employee chooses to terminate the employment agreement before the full completion of the employment agreement period, he/she must give the Employer a minimum of 45 days written notice.
   •   If, for any reason, the Employee chooses to terminate the employment agreement before the full completion of the employment agreement period, he/she will forfeit his/her severance, accrued vacation pay.
   •   If, for any reason, the Employee chooses to terminate the employment agreement during the first 6 months of the term of the employment agreement, the Employer will withhold an amount equivalent to the amount of airfare previously provided to the Employee. If, for any reason, the Employee chooses to terminate the employment agreement after the first 6 months and prior to the completion of the term of the employment agreement, the employer will withhold an amount equivalent to half the amount of airfare previously provided to the Employee.

16. TERMINATION BY EMPLOYER
   •   The Employer retains the right to dismiss the Employee if, for any reason during the period of the employment agreement, the Employee is unable to meet the conditions as described in the employment agreement or is unable to discharge his/her responsibilities outlined. The Employer's decision will be final in such matters.
   •   The Employer retains the right to dismiss the Employee if the Head Teacher, Branch Manager and Academic Director deem the quality of his/her work unsatisfactory. Before such action is taken, the Employee will go through a retraining and counseling session(s) with the Head Trainer and/or Head Teacher.
   •   Use of drugs, alcohol intoxication during work hours, criminal activity or corruption of public morals will result in immediate termination of the employment agreement. No notice period will be given.
   •   If, for any reason, the Employer chooses to terminate the employment agreement before the full completion of the employment agreement period, the Employee will forfeit his/her severance and accrued vacation pay.
   •   If, for any reason, the Employer chooses to terminate the employment agreement during the first 6 months of the term of the employment agreement, the Employer will withhold an amount equivalent to the amount of airfare previously provided to the Employee. If, for any reason, the Employee chooses to terminate the employment agreement after the first 6 months and prior to the completion of the term of the employment agreement, the employer will withhold an amount equivalent to half the amount of airfare previously provided to the Employee.
   •   In case of termination for any reason, the Employee is required to sign a notice of termination and accompany a school staff member to the Seoul Immigration Office to notify the Seoul Immigration Office of the termination.
   •   Notwithstanding the date of termination, the Employee will diligently execute and complete his/her employment responsibilities to the Employer at the reasonable direction of the Employer. Failure of the Employee to responsibly execute his/her obligations to the Employer during the notice period will be considered to be an abandonment of his/her obligations and will be sufficient cause for immediate termination of the Employee.
   •   In spite of anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, in the event that the Employer will discontinue operating its business at the location where the Employee is employed, then, at the Employer’s option, this Agreement will terminate as of the last day of the month in which the Employer ceases operations.
   •   In spite of anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Employer has the option to terminate this Agreement in the event that the Employee becomes unable to perform his/her duties, for a period of 5 consecutive days due to ill health, physical or mental disability or for other causes beyond the Employer’s control.

17. MODIFICATION OF AGREEMENT
   •   Any amendment or modification of this Agreement or additional obligation assumed by either Party in connection with this Agreement will only be binding if evidenced in writing signed by each party or an authorized representative of each party.

18. RENEWAL OF AGREEMENT
   •   The Employer will give the Employee a 45 day notice before renewal or non-renewal of the Employee's current employment agreement.
   •   The Employee will inform the Employer of their intentions and/or desire to resign or extend this agreement a full 60 days before the expiration date.

19. GOVERNING LAW & VENUES FOR DISPUTE
   •   It is the intention of the parties to this Agreement that this Agreement and the performance under this Agreement, and all suits and special proceedings under this Agreement, be construed in accordance with and under and pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Korea and that, in any action, special proceeding or other proceeding that may be brought arising out of, in connection with, or by reason of this Agreement, the laws of the Republic of Korea shall be applicable and shall govern to the exclusion of the law of any other forum, without regard to the jurisdiction in which any action or special proceeding may be instituted.

20. FULL KNOWLEDGE
   •   The Employee agrees that he/she has read the entirety of this Employment Agreement and taken independent advice upon it.

• Teaching the English language (Target students’ Korean ages: 7 to 12)
• Development of educational programs and materials
• Curriculum design and implementation
• Indoor and outdoor classroom activities for/with students
• Grading, evaluation, and assessment of students
• Providing students with individualized care
• Attending teacher’s meetings and workshops
• Phone-testing
• Correcting students’ journals

many hagwon teachers do this, but it's a lot of work.  as you've not included the salary, we don't know if it's worth it.

   •   During the term of this Agreement, the Employee will work in cooperation with the Supervisor from 12:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M from Monday through Friday, and Thursday's schedule from 1:00 P.M to 9:30 P.M.
   •   The Employee will agree to teach a maximum of 6 hours/day, 30 hours/week, and a total of maximum 160 classes per month. This will include a maximum of 6 classes of regular classroom teaching and a maximum of 2 classes of Student Speaking Test on the phone or Student Interview.
   •   Employees will be required to attend some special events throughout the year (Workshops, non-periodic class, graduation ceremony, etc.) which may fall on Saturday.

following on from the above paragraph with your duties, I can't quite understand the working out here.  if you have 2 classes of speaking tests that means you will teach 8 hours a day, which is the 160 classes per month, right?  it's not 30 hours per week because that doesn't add up to 160 hours a month.  essentially from what I can see, you're teaching 6 normal classes plus 2 extra speaking tests or student interviews a day, which is 40 hours a week which is 160 a month.  that leaves with you one 30 minute break, which is illegal.  labour law allows for one 30 minute break per 4 hours worked.  all in all, if you add the other duties expected plus your classes, it smacks of burn out.
also you may (have to) work some Saturdays which doesn't get added into your 160 hours as it's paid extra.

  •   The Employer will pay the Employee a salary of 00000 Won per month in consideration of the Employee’s 120 teaching hours and proper preparation for the classes.

it contradicts itself here, do you work 120 or 160?  which is correct?  the total for one month of speaking tests or phone interviews would be 40 hours, it is still working even if it's not considered class time.

•   Any absence due to sickness or illness will result in a deduction from the Employee’s salary.

no sick days?  waankers!  it's possible that could have been the other deleted clause.

the fact it has tax, pension, and health insurance are good.

   •   If, for any reason, the Employee chooses to terminate the employment agreement before the full completion of the employment agreement period, he/she must give the Employer a minimum of 45 days written notice.

you don't need to give any technically, but if you're being nice, 30 days is enough. 

  •   If, for any reason, the Employer chooses to terminate the employment agreement before the full completion of the employment agreement period, the Employee will forfeit his/her severance and accrued vacation pay

risky clause.  if you get an 11th month firing then they may show this as proof, but that wouldn't work.  also if you work more than a year at this school, then you get whatever severance over the one year you worked. 

there is a lot of work here, and a few contradictions, which you'd need to get cleared up.  the fact it has tax, pension and health is good.  if you do proceed, make sure you contact current/former teachers. 

I'd pass on the fact the contract is offering 0won per month. :p

The salary is 2.6million, which is why I'm even considering the job. In the interview, the director mentioned the phone tests take 5 minutes each and I will have to do 4 per day, which isn't bad. We start at 12:30 apparently (which is different from this sample contract). We get an hour of prep and then a 40 minute lunch and we don't start teaching until 2:30. I don't think that's a horrible deal. And we get paid 20,000won/hour for working Saturdays, which apparently only happens once or twice a month (probably twice). So, I'm assuming each class is 30 minutes long, which equals 160 classes per month but still only 120 hours of teaching.

   •   Each forty minute class exceeding the 160 classes/session will be considered as overtime. The payment for the overtime will be 20,000 Won per an hour. (One hour is 60minutes) Attendance at scheduled staff meetings and workshops, along with preparation for classes is mandatory and not considered as overtime.

looks like the classes are forty minutes. 

phone tests take 5 minutes each and I will have to do 4 per day,

it does say 'maximum' in the contract so I suppose guessing how many students you have at the school, it can make a difference. 

And we get paid 20,000won/hour for working Saturdays, which apparently only happens once or twice a month (probably twice)

if you get paid overtime for working Saturday, then that's over your 160 hours, if it were under it'd be included in your contracted 'normal hours'.  so for example if you work twice a month which is six hours, so you'll get an extra 120 000 won on top of the salary, which is why it's a bit sneaky for them to write this, and they know it:

   •   Severance pay will be paid within 14 days following the completion of the employment agreement. Pay received due to overtime work and Saturday classes will not be included in severance pay.

legally, severance is the average of the last three months salary (minus a little tax) but they're making Saturdays mandatory but don't want it to be included in your severance, which they should. 

like I said , it has good points but you're going to work hard.  are you working in a hagwon at the moment?  does it compare well (benefits) to what you already have?  or is it just the increase in salary?

Sorry, but I don't really understand why you say "it's sneaky for them to do this". I'm kind of looking forward to earning more money, even if I do have to work Saturdays. I don't see why it's sneaky.
I understand about the severance. It may be worth fighting for.
I'm at a hagwon right now. I'm leaving because my director is horrible. If I stay at my current hagwon, I would also be earning 2.6million. But out of principle I have chosen to leave. I understand this new hagwon will be a little more work than I'm currently used to, but I think it's fair given the higher salary. Still need to talk to a current foreign teacher, that is, if they offer me the position at 2.6million.

what I was trying to say was your severance, technically is the average from your last three salaries before you finish, that is including any overtime you did, if you see what I mean?  if you were earning 400 000 won extra over time for your last three months, legally, it would be used to calculate of the severance.  why I said it was sneaky, is that they've written that in the contract, saying your mandatory overtime is not included in this calculation, when it should.  that is all.

2.72 million is fine, and you want to move.  you have experience, and you're already here, which makes you very hireable. you can pick or choose.  if you're used to a hagwon work-load and you're in a good area then go for it. also, like you said, see what the present teacher says and see if they offer 2.6.  it's up to you, just make sure they're consistent with times in the contract before you sign. 

Oh, I see. I thought because you mentioned the sneakiness and the severance separately you were talking about two different issues. If this severance business is the only major fault with the contract, I guess I can accept that. I would have never caught that either. Thank you so much for the input. I would be moving to Gangseo so I'm not sure what kind of living conditions I will be offered. I requested pictures of the actual apartment. Even though I have 3 years teaching experience in Korea and a teaching degree, I feel like it's difficult to get this high of a salary nowadays. So I would feel silly to turn it down.

Looking over this contract and comparing it with the contract of a past hagwon I've worked at (aside from the working hours which I convinced them to change just before I left, it's verbatim), I'm like 99% sure I've worked at this place.  Feel free to PM me if you wanna know anything about it.