Severance Pay for English Teachers in Korea
Severance Pay in South Korea is charged according to the rule stated in Article 28 of Korean labor law. The articles states:
“(Retirement Allowance System)
(1) The employer will establish a retirement allowance system so that not less than thirty days average wages for each consecutive year of employment will be paid as a retirement allowance to a worker who has retired. This shall not apply to a worker who was employed less than a period of one year. (Penal Provisions, Chapter XII, Article 110: Violators shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than two years or a fine not exceeding ten million won.)”
This implies that if you are signing a year contract with your employer, the employer has to give your one month’s salary at the end of the contract. This is also called “bonus” by most of the schools in South Korea. But the term “severance pay” has got strong legal implications. In this case, the school is actually paying you for 13 months within a span of 12 months. Thus, you will have an extra pay cheque in your pocket. This is really not a bad profit. If you are signing 18 months employment contract, then the severance pay will be 1.5 month’s salary. No severance pay provision is there for employment contract less than one year.
If your employer is not paying you the severance pay, you can complain to the local immigration department. It will force your school to clear your payments. If you are fired on a wrong ground before the completion of the contract, you can also contact the local immigration department to see the matters.
