Flight Reimbursement (going home) Q & A

[nickhoon7]

im pretty sure your going to have to wait until you get home to get the money back. for the people that i know that have to buy their tickets its the same way. and on the trip here they had to wait until they were in the country to get the money and not while they were still  back home.

[Matt In The Hat]

I was just informed of the fact that I will not be reimbursed until I am in my home country, and fax my school a copy of my boarding pass..Now, I have read quite a bit of this thread (not all, because its long as can be), but I see the arguments for and against this policy. The one that really sticks out and angers me, is the one where someones states to read the contract before signing it, and if you dont like it, dont sign..
I have to say to that: The contract DOES NOT specify this. It says you must go home to your original country within 10 days. I get that, and obviously there are loopholes to this, as mentioned many times. I was told by my old school to exploit the loophole (buy a refundable ticket, give them a copy, and return it).. I was planning on doing that this time, and just learned about this garbage of not getting reimbursed until I get back to the USA, and fax over a boarding pass.. So, since I already have other ventures I have committed to right following my contract here in Korea, I lose out on the 1.5 million for the flight.. I understand GEPIK is making sure they are using their money wisely, but... They are the only ones creating this issue..

[Chocolate Starfish]

I was just informed of the fact that I will not be reimbursed until I am in my home country
The contract [...] says you must go home to your original country within 10 days.

The converse of "If you don't like it, don't sign it" is "If you signed it, don't whine about it".

If you are going back to your home country within 10 days you will be reimbursed.  What's the problem?

[Matt In The Hat]

Definitely not saying you should, but....... I know a bunch of people who booked flights, showed the receipts, received refunds, cancelled the flight and had no problems.

Was this under a recent GEPIK contract? Because if so, I will talk to one of my cool co-teachers, and perhaps she can get the refund once I show a receipt for a ticket.

[Burndog]

I was just informed of the fact that I will not be reimbursed until I am in my home country, and fax my school a copy of my boarding pass..
I have to say to that: The contract DOES NOT specify this. It says you must go home to your original country within 10 days... I understand GEPIK is making sure they are using their money wisely, but... They are the only ones creating this issue..

It doesn't cover EVERY situation, but if it did the contract would be a book!  In Article 10, Section 7 of the contract it states - "If the Employee completes the term of employment without the intention to renew and leaves Korea within ten (10) days from the contract completion date, the Emplyer shall provide the airfare for the Employee's one-way return flight to the Employee's home country either in the form of reimbursement or direct purchase."

The contract leaves the method of payment by the school...in the school's hands.  Which can be annoying because some people would rather be reimbursed, and others would rather the school just purchase the ticket.  If a school chooses to reimburse you, they are well within their rights to ask for some sort of evidence that the ticket was used.  A boarding pass seems reasonable...recently a friend of mine went back to the States, and her school asked her to call the school from America to prove that she wasn't in Korea...to me...that's an unreasonable request (I mean...how would they know that she's in America?  Does the phone ring differently if someone calls from there?).  The trouble is, when things are left up to Vice Principals (who are the ones who usually make these sort of decisions), we end up with massive inconsistancies with the way these rules work.  It's a problem with the system really...too many things in the contract are at the school's discretion.

[emia18]

I was just informed of the fact that I will not be reimbursed until I am in my home country, and fax my school a copy of my boarding pass..
I have to say to that: The contract DOES NOT specify this. It says you must go home to your original country within 10 days... I understand GEPIK is making sure they are using their money wisely, but... They are the only ones creating this issue..

It doesn't cover EVERY situation, but if it did the contract would be a book!  In Article 10, Section 7 of the contract it states - "If the Employee completes the term of employment without the intention to renew and leaves Korea within ten (10) days from the contract completion date, the Emplyer shall provide the airfare for the Employee's one-way return flight to the Employee's home country either in the form of reimbursement or direct purchase."

The contract leaves the method of payment by the school...in the school's hands.  Which can be annoying because some people would rather be reimbursed, and others would rather the school just purchase the ticket.  If a school chooses to reimburse you, they are well within their rights to ask for some sort of evidence that the ticket was used.  A boarding pass seems reasonable...recently a friend of mine went back to the States, and her school asked her to call the school from America to prove that she wasn't in Korea...to me...that's an unreasonable request (I mean...how would they know that she's in America?  Does the phone ring differently if someone calls from there?).  The trouble is, when things are left up to Vice Principals (who are the ones who usually make these sort of decisions), we end up with massive inconsistancies with the way these rules work.  It's a problem with the system really...too many things in the contract are at the school's discretion.

So my question is this.... IF the method of payment is left up to the school, is it peoples schools demanding to see the boarding pass or GEPIK. My co-teacher 100% knows and is supportive of me returning/changing my ticket post reimbursement Just to be sure, she looked at the forms they need to submit and the co-teachers manual from 2011 today to double check what I need to provide to be reimbursed and assured me multiple times that all I needed was my receipt and not a boarding pass. So, if my school does not require a boarding pass, is there any chance GEPIK will demand one from them after I leave??

[Burndog]

IF the method of payment is left up to the school, is it peoples schools demanding to see the boarding pass or GEPIK.

It's the schools that demand to see boarding passes.  The school is the one who has to pay you for the flight, so it's the school who needs to determine
what they need to be satisfied that you've met the requirements in the contract.