Anyone Else Getting Screwed on Their EPIK Entry Allowance

[JamericanTeacher]

I'm switching from GEPIK to EPIK.  Per the EPIK contract, I'm to be treated as a new hirer regardless of whether or not I'm xferring for another province.  Since I'm currently in Korea, however, I dont get the entry allowance if I return to the US for a visit then return on EPIK's dime.  Their justification is that GEPIK provides an exit allowance which we all know they dont.  If you dont take the plane ticket home you lose that benefit.  EPIK knows this but the provinces agreed to not honor the entry allowance for folks who are currently in Korea I'm told. 

Anyone else encountered this?

[gayageum]

I don't find EPIK to be unreasonable in this regard. (You're not "entering" Korea.) Though, it would be helpful if they provided a relocation allowance.

[southernman]

Yeah it's what happened to me as well.  I spent two and a half months in the Philippines between my Hagwon contract and starting at EPIK (this was two years ago now).

I never received the airfare but I can understand why from their point of view.  However,  I was told I would get it by a rep from EPIK.

I had another money issue  that both the EPIK person I was talking to and her supervisor agreed I should be paid for.  But it came back that the accountant didn't agree so I missed out. 

[Ollie84]

It depends on the contract. With SMOE you 1.3 million regardless if you are in Korea or not at the time of hiring.

I think the EPIK contract is similar in this regard.

[gayageum]

It depends on the contract.

This could certainly be the case. The EPIK contract which I have been reading states:

Upon beginning the Term of Employment, the Employee shall receive a 1,300,000 Korean Won (KRW) Entrance Allowance. The Entrance Allowance is not offered to Employees who are renewing their contract. For the first six (6) months of the Term of Employment, the Entrance Allowance of 1,300,000 Korean Won (KRW) shall be considered a loan to support the Employee's entrance into Korea. If the Employee receives a medical examination administered by EPIK, the cost of the medical examination shall be deducted from the 1,300,000 Korean Won (KRW) Entrance Allowance.

What specifically does your contract state, JamericanTeacher?

[Ollie84]

Well Gayaeum, it's pretty clear. If the OP has the same contract as the one that you are quoting from then hell yeah, they are entitled to that beautiful 1.3 million.

Switching from public school programme to public school programme is interesting though. It throws a spoon into the mix.

[gayageum]

Well Gayaeum, it's pretty clear. If the OP has the same contract as the one that you are quoting from then hell yeah, they are entitled to that beautiful 1.3 million.

I'm not following. She is in Korea. She does not need to enter Korea.

[Ollie84]

Well Gayaeum, it's pretty clear. If the OP has the same contract as the one that you are quoting from then hell yeah, they are entitled to that beautiful 1.3 million.

I'm not following. She is in Korea. She does not need to enter Korea.

That shouldn't matter. When I signed my contract I got 1.3 even though I was already in Korea at the time of signing. You are entitled to it.

[JamericanTeacher]

I could understand not getting it if I wouldn't be returning to the US.  But they're saying I wouldnt even IF I return to the US bc I'm switching while here in Korea. 

I'm being screwed, no question about it.  I understand the reasons though, and lets face it, with the budget cuts, I guess the market is in their favor now so * shrug *...I'll do my last year then leave.

[cruisemonkey]

Since I'm currently in Korea, however, I dont get the entry allowance if I return to the US for a visit then return on EPIK's dime.

This doesn't make any sense. The phrase "on EPIK's dime" means EPIK is paying.

The only thing that counts is the exact wording of the OP's EPIK contract, not someone elses - there are many different EPIK contracts.

JamericanTeacher,
What does your contract say?

[shostahoosier]

I could understand not getting it if I wouldn't be returning to the US.  But they're saying I wouldnt even IF I return to the US bc I'm switching while here in Korea. 

I'm being screwed, no question about it.  I understand the reasons though, and lets face it, with the budget cuts, I guess the market is in their favor now so * shrug *...I'll do my last year then leave.

But you're not "switching".  This is so funny, they're willing to treat you moving from one EPIK school to another like a different job so that they can not pay you a salary increase...but then they treat you switching from GEPIK to EPIK like the same job so they can not pay you an entry allowance.

[ironopolis]

The EPIK contract that I've seen says the following about the exit/entrance allowance.

Article 11(4)

The employee may reapply to another POE upon completing the term of employment.....However, the employee shall not receive an exit allowance for the completion of the current term of employment, nor shall the employee receive an entrance allowance for the commencement of the new term of employment with the new POE. The employee shall be paid a settlement allowance of W300,000 when he/she begins the contract with the new POE.

Perhaps the OP negotiated a different contract, but with her not having given any indication of such so far, I'd be surprised if her contract doesn't also include the above. In which case, rather than being screwed, she's actually being treated exactly as the contract says. I have heard people try to say "but, but....I was with SMOE/GEPIK before, not EPIK", but the Korean version of the above in the contract states quite clearly that it's any other provincial or city office of education and there's no implication at all that it would be different were you recruited via GEPIK or SMOE. And, let's be honest, the English translation doesn't really suggest that either.

I do sympathise with the OP a little, because, as the poster above says, EPIK do now play it both ways whereby on the one hand they deem you ineligible for the entrance allowance because you were elsewhere in Korea before, yet they also deem you to be starting afresh as a Korean PS NET for salary grade purposes. However, as far as I can see, their contracts are pretty clear about this and anyone moving from SMOE or GEPIK to EPIK should be aware of what the deal will be regarding the entrance allowance. Also, you do at least get the 300k settlement allowance.

I don't think the reason for this is necessarily budget cuts. I think EPIK don't particularly want to encourage people bouncing around from one POE to another per se anyway, and particularly not for the reason of trying to milk the exit/entrance allowance system financially. (Given the present GEPIK situation, I'm sure that's not what the OP was trying to do.)

[cruisemonkey]

The EPIK contract that I've seen says the following about the exit/entrance allowance.

Article 11(4)

The employee may reapply to another POE upon completing the term of employment.....However, the employee shall not receive an exit allowance for the completion of the current term of employment, nor shall the employee receive an entrance allowance for the commencement of the new term of employment with the new POE. The employee shall be paid a settlement allowance of W300,000 when he/she begins the contract with the new POE.

True, however, that only applies to changing to a different POE next year - "upon completing the term of employment". The Article in question does not apply 'retroactively'.

The OP hasn't even started the term of employment for the EPIK contract.

[ironopolis]

The EPIK contract that I've seen says the following about the exit/entrance allowance.

Article 11(4)

The employee may reapply to another POE upon completing the term of employment.....However, the employee shall not receive an exit allowance for the completion of the current term of employment, nor shall the employee receive an entrance allowance for the commencement of the new term of employment with the new POE. The employee shall be paid a settlement allowance of W300,000 when he/she begins the contract with the new POE.

True, however, that only applies to changing to a different POE next year

I think you're clutching at straws a bit there, but yeah, I'd agree that you could try to argue it that way based on the wording of the English. The original Korean is better worded and does say that any move from one MOE/POE to another means that neither an exit or entrance allowance is paid.

From their point of view, they probably do need to tighten up the wording of the English translation. There again, ambiguity can be an advantage on our side, as there will be some teachers out there who benefit from it and manage to actually get an entrance/exit allowance, who weren't supposed to.

I know of one person in this situation who managed to get the exit allowance from the POE he left. He initially thought he was getting the entrance allowance from the new POE when his new school said they'd be paying his 1.3 million with his first salary. But unfortunately he didn't keep his mouth shut about it and someone else in the same situation moving to the same new POE who wasn't getting an entrance allowance heard about it, made a big fuss to the POE with the blindingly obvious result.

Interestingly, this guy was actually told when interviewed by his new POE that he wouldn't get an entrance allowance "because you're coming from another Korean public school". On the one hand, that reinforces how foolish (you could say 'honest', but I wouldn't ) he was to not keep his mouth shut about what his new school were planning to pay him. But it also perhaps suggests that some POEs realise some ambiguity and/or confusion exists if they actually make a point of telling interviewees about this.

[Paul]

You could try the old one day holiday trick. Never done it myself, so you'd have to research the details, but I've heard rumour of it as a loophole.

[JamericanTeacher]

I'm reading the Fall 2011 contract from the EPIK site.  Article 5-3 says,
 
" This Term of Employment is not and shall not be considered a continuation of any previous
Term of Employment with a different Provincial Office of Education. Hence, the Employer shall
hire the Guest English Teacher as a new employee."
 
As a new employee, I'm entitled to the 1.3 million entrance allowance per article 11 IF I return to the US when my GEPIK contract expires and return as an EPIK employee.
 
Article 11 says:
 
① Upon beginning the Term of Employment, the Employee shall receive a 1,300,000 Korean Won (KRW) Entrance Allowance. The Entrance
Allowance is not offered to Employees who are renewing their contract. For the first six (6) months of the Term of Employment, the Entrance Allowance of 1,300,000 Korean Won (KRW) shall be considered a loan to support the Employee's entrance into Korea.
 
According to the contract, it shouldn't matter whether or not I'm transfering from GEPIK.  If I'm returning to the US and returning to Korea in order to start a job with EPIK, it seems to me that I am entitled to the entrance allowance.
 

[gilbert.a.h]

I think all teachers should get that, however, as I was told, it is only for those who are just entering the country from their HOME country.

[ironopolis]

Those of us who've been here at least a few years will remember the old GTR system where you booked a flight (usually with Korean Air or Asiana) and the POE/MOE paid for it directly.

They changed to the present 1.3m entrance/exit allowance and 2m renewal allowance primarily because it was a better deal for them - my last GTR renewal flight home cost the POE nearly 3 million - but it was also a better deal for most teachers as well, and something that many had often said they would prefer. After all, you were free to shop around for whatever flight you wanted with whatever airline you wanted, or to just pocket the money if you didn't go home between contracts.

However, it did create this loophole whereby someone could quit one POE, getting the 1.3 exit, and then 1.3 entrance when they started at another POE, thus ending up 600,000 better off than someone who'd renewed with the same POE. They obviously wanted to close that loophole and that's the reason for article 11(4) of the contract. And I'm afraid, OP, that according to the Korean text of 11(4) it indeed doesn't matter if you're moving from GEPIK, SMOE, any other PS scheme including within EPIK itself - the fact that you've moved from one Korean PS NET position to another means no entrance allowance is payable. Additionally, the reference in 11(1) to the entrance allowance being specifically for the purpose of "supporting entry into Korea" pretty much torpedoes your case. You can't really just cherry pick the bits of contracts that suit you and take them out of the context of the rest of the contract. You have to look at ALL of it.

Further to what gilbert a.h. said above, a lot of people have specifically asked about this and have been told that you don't get an entrance allowance when you switch from one Korean PS to another one in a different part of the country. So, in other words, the answer to your original question is that, yes, lots of people have encountered exactly the same situation.

If you'd been told either by your new POE or by a recruiter that in your case you would get the 1.3 entrance allowance, then I'd very much sympathise because you'd have been given wrong and misleading information. Even if not, I'd still sympathise a little because IMO although I can see that it's not fair that someone switching districts could get more (or even the same) money as someone renewing their contract and staying, to give such a person less than someone quitting the country altogether seems overly harsh. I'd say something like getting the exit (1.3) from the POE you were leaving, plus maybe the 300k settlement from the new POE would be a fair deal.

[lacyfan]

A stupid question here, does the exchange rate ever matter in this?

[cruisemonkey]

The EPIK contract that I've seen says the following about the exit/entrance allowance.

Article 11(4)

The employee may reapply to another POE upon completing the term of employment.....However, the employee shall not receive an exit allowance for the completion of the current term of employment, nor shall the employee receive an entrance allowance for the commencement of the new term of employment with the new POE. The employee shall be paid a settlement allowance of W300,000 when he/she begins the contract with the new POE.

True, however, that only applies to changing to a different POE next year

I think you're clutching at straws a bit there, but yeah, I'd agree that you could try to argue it that way based on the wording of the English. The original Korean is better worded and does say that any move from one MOE/POE to another means that neither an exit or entrance allowance is paid.

From their point of view, they probably do need to tighten up the wording of the English translation. There again, ambiguity can be an advantage on our side, as there will be some teachers out there who benefit from it and manage to actually get an entrance/exit allowance, who weren't supposed to.

There's no ambiguity in the English version; and based on that, I think one would win a challenge before the 'Labor Board' - Labor Relations Commission - or the court (if it went that far). However, the governing language of the contract is Korean. So, perhaps it is "clutching at straws".

I think what would be fair would be -
If the employee switches to a different PS employer, the employee would be paid W2,000,000 (1 mil. each from the old & new employers); and forgoes the W300,000 'settlement allowance'. This would be almost the same as 're-signing' - with the exception the employee would lose their two calendar weeks of 'home leave'.