Hagwon Contact advice! first job!

I've had a good connection with the school but concerned with being taken advantage of contract wise and would love some second opinions!



2. Position: English Instructor

4. Working Hours:

1:30 p.m~9:40 p.m from Monday to Friday including at least one hour of  break, which can be flexible according to the schedule. During Summer and Winter vacation, the working hours and schedule may temporarily change based on both parties’ agreement.

The total monthly salary is 2,150,000 Korean Won. It includes ‘Legally-Mandated Paid Holiday Hours.’(one paid holiday per week when an instructor fulfills weekly working hours;주휴 수당) and 100,000 Korean Won for possible situations when an instructor has to participate the academy’s weekend event such as Halloween Party, Promotion Event, Christmas Party, etc. The maximum number of extra weekend shift will be twice every three months and up to 6 hours at a time. The instructor will not be asked to pay back the amount even there was no additional weekend work on a following month. However, the instructor does have to pay back when there was an event that he/she must attend and could not make it. The paid back amount will be given to a person whoever filled in.

2,150,000 Korean Won considers an instructor’s total monthly working hour as 205 hours including one paid holiday per week and 6 hours of possible additional work on a weekend.

7 hr 40min(Daily working hour) * 5 = 38. 4 hr (weekly working hour)

38.4 hr * 4.345 weeks = 167 hrs (monthly working hour)

7 hr 40min (weekly mandate paid holiday) * 4.345 weeks = 34 hr

->167 hr + 34 hr + 4 hr (possible Saturday work) = 205 hours

Instructor is obliged to pay income tax according to Korean Tax Law.

The salary will be paid off on every 15th of the next month or on coming up Monday when the following date is on a weekend.
Ex)  Salary for January 1st to 31st will be paid off on February 15th.   

1. Compensation:    

Instructors should respect the confidential nature of individual contracts and not disclose or discuss their compensation with any other person(s) both related and unrelated to the Company with the exception of their supervisor or director. If it has been found that the Instructor discusses or conveys any element of his/her compensation with any person under contract of the Company, a written warning will be issued immediately. Instructors must open a bank account in Korea and provide the Company with the account number in order for their compensation to be directly deposited into that account.

2. Income Tax:   

 Taxes will be deducted from the Instructor’s monthly compensation as per the Korean Tax Law. Instructors must file their own income tax returns by the end of May of the year following the current taxable year. Considering the instructor’s monthly salary is 2,150,000 Korean won, the monthly income tax would be approximately 23,000 Korean Won. The amount can vary depend on the government’s policy.

3. Healthcare:

The Instructor and the Company will each pay 50% of the monthly premium for medical insurance as provided by the Korean National Medical Insurance Act. Instructors who terminate or do not renew their contract will be billed a higher year-end adjustment fee from the Korean Medical Insurance Act upon the final paycheck.

4. Pension:

Both the Instructor and the Company will pay into the Korean Pension Program at a rate of 4.5% per month each. Upon the Instructor’s departure from Korea, the Instructor will receive this money back.

5. Contract completion bonus:

Upon successful completion a full year contract the Instructor will be entitled to a contract completion bonus consisting of the equivalent of one month’s compensation (not including housing allowance). Instructors who complete consecutive contracts with the Company will receive their bonus at the time of completion of each contract, provided that the contractual periods are a full year.

6. Early termination of contract:

Any Instructor wishing to terminate his or her contract before completion of the contract term must give written notice to the Company at least 2 months prior to their expected date of departure. During this 2-month period, the Instructor is expected to perform his or her duties conscientiously until a replacement or substitute is found. In addition, any Instructor wishing to terminate his or her contract within the first year is required to pay back the cost of airfare to Korea in the event that it was given to the Instructor by the Company at the start of the contract period. The Company pledges to diligently search for a replacement as soon as possible upon receiving the Instructor’s written intention to terminate the contract. If the Instructor chooses to terminate his or her contract early, contract completion bonus will not be awarded to the Instructor.
     The Company reserves the right to terminate this contract with 30 days notice in the event that any of the following applies to the Instructor: involvement in illegal activity, failure or refusal to perform duties in a satisfactory manner, unable to carry out duties due to a medical condition, absence from work without notice for more than three days. In any of these events, the Company will issue a termination letter and give 30 days notice to the Instructor.

7. Criminal Conduct:

For the safety of the students and Company staff, all teachers will be required to give a criminal background from their home country and Korea. If an Instructor is discovered to have a criminal record at any point during the contract period, the Company reserves the right to terminate the Instructor’s contract immediately.

8. Contract Validity:

The rules, regulations, and stipulations of this document, along with the document titled Agreement for English Instructor (which stipulates compensation, term of work, position of the instructor, location of work, etc.), shall be considered to constitute the contract between the Instructor and the Company.

9. Housing and Maintenance:     

The Company will provide and pay for the rent and deposit of a fully furnished apartment. However, Instructors must pay their own maintenance fee such as hydro and internet. The apartment should be thoroughly cleaned and taken care. Otherwise, additional cleaning fees can be imposed.
 Instructors who choose to take a housing provided by the Company but decide to find their own place in a mid-contract will be required to pay the maintenance and not receive additional financial support until the room gets rent out. (please be aware that in such a case, the Instructor is required to pay the building maintenance fee and real estate fee in addition to the rent until another tenant is found, and thus, the Company does not recommend changing housing mid-contract without sufficient planning ahead). Instructors must give at least 2 months notice to their directors of their intent to change housing in order to avoid paying any of the mentioned fees.

Instructors with their own housing will be provided a monthly housing allowance of 400,000 Korean Won. This amount will not be calculated as salary to be included in the Contract Completion Bonus (Article 5).

10. Housing deposit:     

The employer will deduct 100,000 won from each of the employee’s first 3 months of pay to make a total of 300,000won as a housing management deposit. This deposit is to cover any unpaid monthly service, utility bills  or damages in the event the employee fails to pay for any service or goods which he/she used throughout the contract. The employer will hold the full amount of the deposit until all payable bills are checked to have been paid.

11. Airfare:     

One way airfare (standard economy ticket) from Seoul, Korea to the teacher’s home city will be provided  upon completion of the contract. It can be a direct or non-direct flight ticket if a total lay over is less than three hours. An instructor who extends or renews the contract will still receive the ticket only once when he or she completes the final contract and leaves the academy permanently. An instructor cannot ask for cash that is equivalent amount of flight ticket if he / she is not going back to a home country and changing a working place.

Instructors who are already in Korea will not be given an airfare.

12. Holiday and Vacation: 

Holiday: An instructor will get one unpaid and one paid (Legally-Mandated Paid Holiday Hours; 주휴수당) holidays every week.

Vacation: An instructor will get Summer (5 week days; Mon-Fri) and Winter (depends on number of national holiday on weekday throughout the following year) vacations.

*There will be no summer holiday in 2020 because of Corona Virus. 

13. Sick days and emergency leave: 

Upon illness, Instructors are required to directly notify their school and supervisor as soon as possible. Instructors who are absent from work are also required to submit to the Company written confirmation of their illness (physician’s diagnosis/certificate, pharmacist’s prescription, etc.) or family emergency. Days absent are subject to a proportional reduction in compensation for the month in which they occur, at the director’s discretion. In the event that an Instructor fails to notify the Company of illness for three consecutive working days, the Company reserves the right to terminate the contract.
     Extra leave may only be granted in the case of one of the following: death of an immediate family member, fatal illness of an immediate family member, hospitalization of Instructor, future surgery of Instructor requiring a recuperation period, Instructor’s honeymoon, Instructor or wife of Instructor’s birth of child. In such circumstances, official documentation must be presented and reviewed by the HR Team before the vacation.  This documentation is subject to thorough investigation of authenticity prior to approval. If authenticity cannot be confirmed, the vacation request may be denied. Requested time off for any of the above emergencies must not exceed five working  days.

13. Code of Conduct:

     The Instructor is expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Company; if the Instructor willfully damages the reputation or does anything to bring disrepute or harm to the school, the Company reserves the right to terminate his or her contract.
     Instructors must be reliable and cooperative when interacting with administrative staff, especially when dealing with immigration matters. Failure to do so can result in termination of contract.
     Within the circle of Company branches, Instructors are strictly prohibited to compare schedules, working hours, and salaries, as the management of each school is ruled by each director’s personal policy and business environment.  Opinions and suggestions on these matters can be discussed during the period of renewal of contract.
Other regulations to be followed by the Instructor:

To be punctual at all times.
To conscientiously prepare for classes (including making lesson plans, returning teaching materials to their appropriate places, correcting homework, preparing report card marks, etc).
To teach students with enthusiasm, care, and sincerity.
To establish positive, communicative, and harmonious relations with co-teachers and Company staff members.
To contribute to the continuing development of new teaching methods at the Company.
To dress and maintain a professional appearance at work.
To take care of personal hygiene such as odor.
Open to listen to a head teacher’s feedbacks and advice upon teaching after his/her regular class sitting in (auditing).

Is this a joke?  You are actually considering this?  While the spirit to completely rip this contract apart is there, I just don't have the strength to do so. 

Someone else will take this on bu will say the same thing......pass. 

I have been in hagwons since 2002...

It is all about expectations and the relationship with your boss.

If you never work mornings, make over 2 million, AND feel good about your boss,... then sign!

THAT trio of considerations has served me well for 17+ years!

I have NEVER double downed on contract conditions, though I have tried to be subtle in bringing attention to them (ranting one-on-one with the receptionist/assistant manager).

Let the boss always save face. He or she never eats humble pie. Got that? Good. You can do well for decades in hagwons here then.

Any specific tactics you need, feel free to PM me.

G'day.

No!

Vacation canceled. Sick days ridiculous. Pay sucks. Lots of Saturday work. Winter vacation not firm. No mention of severance likely disguised as the contract completion bonus which are two different things. 

No.

I have been in hagwons since 2002...

It is all about expectations and the relationship with your boss.

If you never work mornings, make over 2 million, AND feel good about your boss,... then sign!

THAT trio of considerations has served me well for 17+ years!

I have NEVER double downed on contract conditions, though I have tried to be subtle in bringing attention to them (ranting one-on-one with the receptionist/assistant manager).

Let the boss always save face. He or she never eats humble pie. Got that? Good. You can do well for decades in hagwons here then.

Any specific tactics you need, feel free to PM me.

G'day.

It is hard to hear you from  your soapbox, VI.   Surely you are tired from all the work that goes into congratulating yourself about this and that.  Take a break and have a Red Bull.

No!

Vacation canceled. Sick days ridiculous. Pay sucks. Lots of Saturday work. Winter vacation not firm. No mention of severance likely disguised as the contract completion bonus which are two different things. 

No.

All of that, right there. 

Disregard what Van I. wrote.....if you sign that horrid contract, you will regret.  No respecting boss has any intention of fostering a cooperative relationship with you, with a contract like that. 

Pass on by.

It is hard to hear you from  your soapbox, VI.   Surely you are tired from all the work that goes into congratulating yourself about this and that.  Take a break and have a Red Bull.

Lol.

1. No soapbox. I just DESCRIBED what has worked for me for 15+ years. It may or may not meet others' expectations. No hollow claims, just specific conditions i seek and am satisfied with.

2. Red Bull? Isn't that some whoopee energy kick for twentysomethings? I tried it once back in '08. No thanks. At least coffee has liver-protecting functions. But I'm an herbal tea guy. Lemon balm at work. Hibiscus, too.

3. I simply was responding to a thread title call for ADVICE. I gave some. Based on my experience. What works for me. Take it or leave it.

2. Red Bull? Isn't that some whoopee energy kick for twentysomethings? I tried it once back in '08. No thanks. At least coffee has liver-protecting functions. But I'm an herbal tea guy. Lemon balm at work. Hibiscus, too.

give it a rest mate

38.4 working hours per week seems very high, especially if they make you teach constantly.
It feels like a very high work load + small pay and benefits. I'd pass on that alone; unless you can get clearer wording in the contract, about teaching hours vs working hours, more vacatio, more pay, sick days. Etc.
This contract seems to be missing a lot of information, and feels vague in a lot of areas too.

We do not come to this country to work a 40-hour workweek.

That is an American schedule!

We do not come to this country to work a 40-hour workweek.

That is an American schedule!

However, it's still unfair to get someone to teach for 38 hours, and have to prepare lessons at home/outside of work unpaid.
Which, by the wording of this contract, is what I would expect to happen.
If you like doing that, that's great; I feel the majority of people wouldn't want to do that. I personally have hobbies and stuff I want to pursue outside of work.

This link on Reddit goes over the key issues of Korean Contracts and is written by Korean Labor Attorneys',

https://www.reddit.com/r/Korean_Law/comments/fguie1/korean_employment_contract_reviews/

It is a must read.

Help, I am trying to get some advice on a contract but I can't seem to figure out how to make a post here! Sorry for jumping on your post!

All of that, right there. 

Disregard what Van I. wrote.....if you sign that horrid contract, you will regret.  No respecting boss has any intention of fostering a cooperative relationship with you, with a contract like that. 

Pass on by.

Thank you for response!! I ended up rejecting the position, especially due to the employers being defensive about those points!

38.4 working hours per week seems very high, especially if they make you teach constantly.
It feels like a very high work load + small pay and benefits. I'd pass on that alone; unless you can get clearer wording in the contract, about teaching hours vs working hours, more vacatio, more pay, sick days. Etc.
This contract seems to be missing a lot of information, and feels vague in a lot of areas too.

Especially for such low of pay.  Ask for 2.3 or 2.4 million won, at least, or walk away.  It's just above minimum wage here.