ESL Contracts In Korea - English School Contracts In Korea

Contracts in Korea are regarded much differently than in the West. It is fare to say that some teachers in Korea have faced some form of contract dispute with their Korean employer in one form or another. Generally speaking, most of the disputes are resolved in a timely manner that is acceptable to the employer and the western employee. However, there are times when the disputes are not resolved, with or without the help of the recruiting agency, and needs to be addressed within the Korean labor office or The Korean Department of Immigration. Such circumstances are rare but they are a reality. There is no 100% guarantee that you will be free of contract problems once you are in Korea, and any recruiting agency or school who guarantees this is not being honest or realistic. The fact is, Korean schools and employers, regardless of how old and reputable the institution is, or how few contract disputes they have had in the past, or how financially secure they claim to be, can at any time adjust specific criteria within a teacher’s contract if the Korean employer wants to, needs to, or feels that it’s justified.

There are countless reasons for why a school may try and renegotiate a contract, and/or not honor specific parts of the signed document, although generally speaking, the majority of issues revolve around altered working schedules and monetary disputes.

All teaching contracts should include ‘contract basics’.  Contracts that fail to include any of the basic elements should be questioned and sent back to the school for revisions.  Gone2Korea ensures that every contract we present our teachers with is guaranteed to include the following stipulations.

Starting Date – An official starting date should be clearly stated on the contract. Please Note: This starting date can and often alters based on your arrival date to Korea. When you sign and send a contract to Korea, the starting date is the targetted agreed date so please be flexible to the actual date. Often directors will alter this in your contract upon request when you arrive in Korea.

Salary – The salary should be written in the contract on a per month basis. Example: “ABC Language School will provide John Doe with 2.0 million won per month". Most contracts also state which day the teacher will be paid each month.

Accommodations – The school needs to declare what they are going to provide you with, either a single accommodation (I bedroom or studio apartment) or shared accommodations (2 bedroom apartment or large studio apartment). Large studio apartments are provided for couples only. If a teacher requests a housing allowance then the amount should be clearly stated in the contract.

Working Schedule – This section should include daily and weekly working hours.

Severance Pay – The contract must state what the severance bonus will be upon completion of the contract. Most schools provide a severance "bonus" package equal to the teacher's monthly salary. Example: "On completion of ones responsibilities of the full contract period, the severance pay is 2.0 Million Won, equivalent to the monthly salary. It will be granted only on the completion of the contract".

Income Tax – Every contract should include a statement regarding tax deductions. Taxes in Korea should never exceed 7% of the teacher's monthly salary. Taxes in Korea, for western teachers, depends on the teachers monthly salary and should be somewhere between 3.5% and 7%. Contracts that state more than a 7% deduction each month should be questioned. Example: "Approximately 3.5% per month of the instructor's salary shall be deducted by the employer as withhoding tax, as provided by Korean Law".

Airfare – Airfare should be included in the offer and highlighted in the contract. There are several options so make sure to have a full understanding of the arrangement in your contract beforehand.

Medical Insurance – Korean law requires that schools cover 50% of the teachers medical insurance coverage, while the remaining 50% is covered by the teacher. Example: "The nstructor will be covered by medical benefits under the Korean Medical Insurance Union, a Government Health Organization. The cost of this coverage will be borne half by the employer and half by the instructor. The Instructor's share of this coverage will be deducted from their salary each month".

National Pension Scheme – Although Korean schools are not technically obligated to provide teachers with the National Pension Scheme, many do offer this benefit. If the school has decided to offer its teachers the pension, then it is important to make sure the agreement is placed on the contract.

Overtime Pay – All contracts should state the hourly rate for teaching hours worked above and beyond the weekly or monthly maximum. 30 hours per week or 120 hours per month is the industry standard.

Teacher Training – How much training or orientation time a new teacher can expect before engaging in the job full time on their own will vary from school to school. If a teacher has previous ESL experience, that may reflect in the amount of training required. If the school is going to provide the teacher with a reduced salary during this training period it schould be clearly stated in the contract.

Dress Code – Some schools require their staff to dress more professionally than others. Schools that have strict dress codes usually include this information in the contract.

Duties & Responsibilities – Teacher duties and responsibilities that take place outside of the classroom are usually placed in the contract. Additional duties and responsibilities may include; attending teacher meetings, going to job related seminars, cleaning the teachers lounge once a week, supervising the children during specific break times throughout the day, etc.

What contracts are better, short contracts or long contracts?

They both have their advantages and disadvantages. Longer contracts obviously contain more information and stipulations, therefore rules and responsibilities are more specific. The advantage to this scenario is that teachers know exactly what is required of them. The disadvantage is that when the school makes a request, there is a good possibility that their request is stated somewhere in the contract and will be required without question.

Shorter contracts, which contain less information and stipulations, are an advantage because additional duties that the school may request are unlikely to be in the contract, therefore matters are open for friendly discussion. The disadvantage is; your employer may automatically assume additional teaching related duties associated with the job are obvious with no room for debate, therefore placing these stipulations in the contract was not required. 

Franchised schools and independent schools located in the Seoul Capital Region typically have more in-depth contracts.

Contract Disputes - In the unlikely event that a teacher has a major dispute that’s not resolved; Gone2Korea will address the situation directly with the employer. If we are unable to resolve the situation then a complaint will be filed with Korean Immigration, we will blacklist the school, we will make sure the teacher has access to the Korean Labor Office, and ultimately place the teacher at a new school if needed.

Has Gone2Korea dealt with contractual problems with teachers they've placed?

Yes. It’s impossible to give people a 100% guarantee that every employer will honor all aspects of the contract, although, we can honestly say that we have had few contract disputes in recent years between our teachers and schools. When the company was started in 2000 we had numerous problems with an abundance of teachers however, we have grown a lot over the years and now have a strict school screening process in place as well as an abundance of reputable schools we trust and work with regularly.

We have no intentions of sending anyone to a school that may have financial or management problems. After all, finding and working with credible schools is not only beneficial to our teachers but is equally beneficial to our company’s reputation.