Contract

[tie4bassist]

Hey,

I was about to start signing away at a contract for a school when I thought, christ I better be sure what I'm signing.

So, beginning my 4th time reading, everything is grand until the "the period of this contract is approximately one year . . . " pops out at me for the first time.

Is there anything to read into this or is it jst the normal thing to do? It goes on to say from first day of the session to last teaching day of the teachers 12th teaching session.

Thanks,
Ande.

[Margy]

Approximately 1 year? What is the definition of approximately? 8 months / 4 months / 3 years?? Get them to remove "approximately" if you think you will lose sleep over it. I personally would just let it ride.

[tie4bassist]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I'm fairly comfortable leaving it in they mention orientation (paid) seperately so I'm happy enough they're not pulling anything.

Could I ask a huge favour? If I post the contract up could you take a look? This is the first one I've got so I'm not exactly sure. Heard some people bad mouthing SLP schools too which causes some concern.

Feel free to say no, it would be a great help though

[Margy]

Feel free to post it if you want.

No matter what school you go with, there will always be a handful of people that bad mouth the school. Wipe the slate clean, and just based your decision on how they look after you. Remember always to have a backup plan just in case.

[tie4bassist]

Hey, thanks . Well, needless to say including the contract in a post took it well over the character limit (hadn't considered that). There's only two other things I'm concerned about reall anyway.

Termination of Contract:

1. Early Termination for Cause.
The Institute has the unrestricted right to terminate the Employment at any time for cause. Upon any termination for cause, the Institute’s sole obligation to the Teacher shall be to pay the Teacher through the date of such early termination his/her earned monthly compensation, and no other benefits such as return trip airline ticket or reimbursement of shipping expenses shall be paid. The Teacher shall reimburse the Institute, as liquidated damages, all expenses incurred in anticipation of the Employment of the Teacher. These expenses are the airfare and the recruiting fee.
(they go on to define cause)

2. Early Termination by the Institute and Teacher
The Institute and the Teacher may terminate this employment with a written 45-day notice. Anything less than 45 days will be considered a breach of employment by the Institute or the Teacher unless the employment is terminated for cause.

i. In the event the Institute enacts this Paragraph by terminating or giving notice of termination, the Institute shall pay the Teacher for the 45-day period after an official termination of employment intent has been given to the Teacher.
ii. In the event the Teacher enacts this Paragraph by terminating or giving notice of termination, the Teacher shall reimburse the Institute as liquidated damages all expenses incurred in anticipation of the Employment of Teacher which include airfare, and the recruiting fee.

The other thing is a deposit on utility bills:

A. The Teacher agrees to pay 600,000 Won during the first three months of employment as a housing management deposit. This deposit is to cover unpaid monthly services, utilities, telephone charges, etc. The Institute will deduct 200,000 Won per month for the first 3 months where the Teacher makes their total base salary (i.e. a full month’s work). This deposit will be paid back to the Teacher after all bills that he/she is responsible for have been paid


Not partiularly bother about the deposit though.

Is it standard to negotiate contracts or are any changes likely to make them go feck off?

[Billy]

This looks pretty standard to me. Keep in mind, there have been a handful of teachers that have used and abused their employers. Eg: Using the employer for free airfare to the country, and a week's orientation, to then leave in the middle of the night never to be seen again. So you can see, employers are not trying to protect themselves too from bad teachers.

You're contract looks fair to me.

[tie4bassist]

Hey thanks for that. There's one more thing - if you miss a class through sickness you have to pay the fee for the substitute? That sound ok?

Promise thats the last of it .

[gfell]

Pay a fee if you are sick? That's the first I've heard of this. Pity on you if you get sick. I wouldn't like this being part of the contract.

Though I have come across missing out on your monthly bonus if you fall sick.