Monthly Archives: June 2007

Hi Lisa,

I’m sorry but sick days are not negotiable. Our salary is highest of all academies especially for the working hours that you have here plus other benefits like: 50% of pension, housing which is 2 min. walking distance, close to Seoul.

I going to stick to my first offer which is 2.6 million won per month. We offered 2.4 million won for this position, but we’ve considered your degree BA in TEFL which we usually don’t count unless it’s Masters in TESOL. As long as you finish one year contract with us, then you’ll get your two weeks of paid vacation.

I think we offered you a good salary and I hope you make the right choice.

POLY Hwajung

I think I’ll have to turn this down, then.

Also, PET PEEVE: Pension is NOT a “benefit”! It is a legal requirement. Stop parading it around as though it were something special offered!

Ok, here’s my answer. It makes me smile!

Hi,

You may be surprised, but it’s not all about the salary, it’s about being offered a decent contract. If your contract had been for 2.5, had 3 paid sick days, severance counted as usual, no penalty clauses such as your paid vacation clause and nothing sketchy in the contract, I would have signed.

I understand that you’re constrained in your contracts by being part of POLY and by not being a franchise, but I think that I can find a good working environment with a good contract (especially with my experience, education and qualifications), and I am in no rush to sign. On the contrary, I am organizing an event here which I would have to miss should I work for you. I am not interested in missing that event for anything less than a stellar contract and work environment, as I have put a lot of energy and work into it already. I would, in fact, prefer to wait.

It really is a shame, because you seem to have a very good work environment; your contract just isn’t good enough to make it worthwhile. I therefore have to decline unless you make changes to your contract.

Thank you for the offer, but unfortunately, I must decline. I think I have made the right choice.

Lisa

I left out what was originally the second paragraph so as to be more polite:
My point in asking for 2.7 instead was that if you can find legal loopholes to save money, I can find loopholes around them.

And the second to last paragraph as well. I’m going to try to be polite. Here’s what I nearly left in.
As a final note, you mentioned pension as a benefit; it’s not a benefit, it’s a legal requirement. I don’t entertain any offers at all unless they are 100% legal. I expect the same amount of professionalism from my employers as I bring as an employee. I therefore don’t view pension as a benefit as you seem to. Same goes for the two weeks of paid leave. I appreciate that your school does what is legally required, I just don’t count it as a benefit.

Here’s the reply I got and the one I’m planning to send. Any suggestions on my email would be appreciated.

Yes, this is a typo. It should be ‘Emlpoyer’.

4. I have never seen a contract ask a teacher to repay employer for paid leave if the contract is not finished. Is there a reason for this penalty clause?

Yes, paid leave is a benefit given to employee on the assumption employee fulfills his/her contract. No companies will give 2 weeks of vacation during the first year of employment.

5. Finally, I was surprised to see the way the salary is calculated. With a 1.6 mil base salary plus bonuses, it does amount to a 2.6 mil salary monthly, but because part is calculated as a bonus, it’s not taken into consideration for severance (also probably pension?). I would like this changed to a 2.6 mil base salary without any bonuses

All of our teachers are getting 1.6 million won as a base salary which applies to your severance pay only. For your pension, we will calculate your total salary (2.6 mil.) and match 50% of your pension. So, I cannot have you change this, I have to make it fair for everyone.

I hope I answered all of your questions. Please let me know, if you have any more.

My (potential) reply:

Thanks for your prompt answer.

Are the sick days negotiable? I understand that 5 paid sick days may be a lot, but most contracts have at least three paid sick days. I don’t remember taking any sick days in the last few years, but Korea is a different country and therefore I am more at risk of getting sick there than here. I think that a few paid sick days in the contract would make a big difference in the desirability of the contract. This is an important point for me.

I’m unsure what you mean when you say “No companies will give 2 weeks of vacation during the first year of employment “. My experience has been that every employer offers minimum two weeks of paid vacation. It’s a legal requirement under Korean law, from what I understand.

I understand that you can’t change the way the salary is calculated as other teachers have the same thing. In that case, is it possible to raise the salary to 2.7 a month (you can do so by adding another .1 mil/month in bonuses) to compensate?

Thanks,

Lisa

Should I add in that normally I would tear a contract like this up, but that I’m negotiating solely because the work environment seems nice? Because it’s true.

Here is what I may send to the hagwon director:

Hi David,

There are a few things in the contract that I would like to negotiate.

The first one is the 1.6 mil base salary plus bonuses, which make it amount to a 2.6 mil salary monthly, but without being able to be taken in consideration for severance (also probably pension?). I would like this changed to a 2.6 mil base salary without any bonuses.

The second one is under the “Other bonuses” section, where it’s marked that I am allowed 5 unpaid sick days. Is this a mistake? I think it maybe should read five paid sick days, and any other sick days that may be needed are unpaid, otherwise why a limit of five? It seems unusual.

The third thing is that I haven’t found a clause for overtime. Is it the case that teachers never do overtime, or was it accidentally omitted? If teachers never do overtime, then this should also be marked in the contract as well.

Lisa

Edit: Thanks to some help from my sister, here is what I will be sending. I also threw in some other smaller issues:

Hi David,

After looking at the contract and speaking to the vice-director and the teacher there, POLY seems like a great school to work for. There were just a few points on the contract that I would like to clarify.

Firstly, in the “Other Bonuses” section, it’s marked that I am allowed 5 unpaid sick days. Is this a mistake? Is it supposed to read five paid sick days, and any other sick days that may be needed are unpaid? Otherwise why is there a limit of five?

Secondly, I didn’t notice a clause for overtime. Is it the case that teachers never do overtime, or was it accidentally omitted? If teachers never do overtime, then this should also be marked in the contract.

I think there is a typo in Article 9 (housing). It says: ” Any and all fees, charges, costs, taxes, expenses, etc., incurred in using the housing will be paid by the Employee. Employer shall reserve the right to deduct 50,000 Korean won per month as phone deposit. Employee [emphasis mine] shall reimburse this phone deposit to Employee at the end of the Period of Employment. If Employee chooses not to have a landline telephone, no phone deposit shall be deducted.” Shouldn’t that bolded mention of Employee read Employer? It doesn’t make sense for the employee to reimburse herself.

I have never seen a contract ask a teacher to repay employer for paid leave if the contract is not finished. Is there a reason for this penalty clause?

Finally, I was surprised to see the way the salary is calculated. With a 1.6 mil base salary plus bonuses, it does amount to a 2.6 mil salary monthly, but because part is calculated as a bonus, it’s not taken into consideration for severance (also probably pension?). I would like this changed to a 2.6 mil base salary without any bonuses.

If these points can be addressed, I would be happy to come work for you.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Lisa

Cycle:

– Get offered good looking placement
– Talk to staff, things seem to be OK
– Get crappy contract
– Repeat from step 1

I’m going to try to negotiate this one, since the work environment seems excellent. But I’m not signing until three things change (All of them!):

1. Where is the overtime clause?

2. Base salary is marked as 1.6, with one million a month bonus for various things (prep time, degree/experience) which CANNOT be taken into consideration for severance, etc. Base salary needs to be 2.6. They can give me whatever bonus they like above that.

3. Five unpaid sick days. WTF? Needs to change to five PAID sick days, and any sick days beyond that are unpaid sick days.

Whoops!

POLY Hwajung’s director just forgot to attach it in his email. Of course he sent the email at ~10:30pm Korean time, and I only opened it at 12am Korean time, so I’ll probably get the contract tomorrow morning. I told him there was no attachment in the email and asked him to send it again.

Hopefully I will also hear back from Jenn, who is a current teacher. The school wants an answer ASAP.

Starting date: Mid September
Location: Seocho-dong, Central Seoul
10 other foreign teachers, 10 other Korean teachers
Kindergarten to Elementary school students, about 12 students per class.
Working hours: 9:30am-4:30pm MWF, 9:30am – 2:30pm T&Th. 30 working hours per week.
2.4-2.5 million won/ month, plus severance pay (one month’s salary at the end of the year long contract)
Overtime is paid at 20000 won/ hour
Medical & Dental insurance 50/50
Furnished single housing provided, 20 mins by subway.
Round trip airfare, 10 paid days holiday, plus all Korean National holidays.

Through Kim’s

I should hear from the current teacher today. I’ve got a couple more questions, and then that’s it; decision time. Leaning towards accepting it, though. I mean, it’s a good hagwon, they clearly like/value me, the pay is good, the hours are longish but not bad, everything seems legit.

I’m going to try to make it downtown during office hours to pick up transcripts/letter certifying that McGill is an English University (they have a new rule in Korea where immigration doesn’t consider Quebec as an English area, so I need to prove my studies were at an English university. This is new as of a few months. Fun, eh?)

I don’t actually have the contract yet, though, so it’s hard to say. But I have seen a sample POLY contract (from another branch. I got it through Footprints), which looks pretty decent. I’ll post more info when I have it.