Q) I am on an F2 visa and teaching for 28 months at the same school. The contract between myself and the Owner is basically a few written lines , just mention salary and final teaching date. There is no mentioning of severence payment. According to the Labor Law, am I entitled to severence payment even though it is not mention in a short contract?
A) If and to the extent that you are legally regarded as an employee under Korean labor law, you are entitled to to the severance payment.
The term employee under Korean labor law is someone who provides labor pursuant to his or her employer’s instructions or directions in exchange for wage compensation. The most important factors for classifying someone as an employee are, among other things, (i) whether the person receives instructions or directions from an employer, so there exists a superior/subordinate relationship and (ii) whether the wages the person receives is of a nature that compensates for the labor he or she provided. In many cases, foreign English teachers in Hagwon or School are being regarded as employees under Korean law.
It doesn’t matter whether your contract provides the clause or not. As I explained in my other posts, Korean labor law (especially the Guarantee of Workers’ Retirement Benefits Act or Pension for Private Teachers and Staff Act) guarantees the minimum severance payment or pension plan for the employees.
I hope this to be of assistance to you. If you have more questions about Korean law related issues, please visit our Legal Consultation center or send your inquiry email to Mr. Wonil Chung (askkorealaw@gmail.com).
© 2010 Mr. Wonil Chung, a Korean Lawyer/Chung & Partners, a Korean Law Firm. All rights reserved.
The link for your legal consultation center on this page doesn’t work. Where is it? and what are the operating hours?
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