ESL Employment Services - Teach English In Korea
   
 
Legalities
The Teacher Recruiter Relationship
 

It’s important for all applicants, regardless of what agency they are working with, to be aware of the legalities.  Recruiters are not legally responsible for mishaps or contractual disputes between the teacher and their Korean employer. Once you sign a contract with a school you become their legal responsibility.  Because of this factor, many teachers have been left to fend for themselves upon arriving in Korea which ultimately leads to much of the negativity and animosity between teachers and recruiters.
 
Although recruiting agencies are not legally responsible it is important that they are morally responsible.  Morally a good company, such as ours, should assist you with the following:

1. Addressing the issue with your director/employer and assist in diffusing the problem so that both parties are satisfied with the outcome.
2. Provide legal resources and assist you with sending a formal complaint to the labor board 'if requested'

To help avoid getting left alone while you’re in Korea you should consider some factors before deciding on an agency.
 
  • Make sure the recruiting agency you’re working with is a licensed business.
  • Make sure they run a legitimate full time business and are not a small part time operation that is recruiting teachers during their free time.
  • Make sure they have been in business for a certain number of years and have the experience and resources to help with problems that may arise.
  • Make sure that you trust your recruiter, if things appear or sound too good to be true then there’s a good chance they are.
  • Ask your recruiter if they have had to deal with contract disputes in the past (with former teachers) if so, how did they deal with the situation.
  • If you have a bad feeling about your recruiter, but are already involved with them, then politely ask them for some references of teachers that they have placed in the past.  If they can’t provide one then something is wrong.
  • Make sure you can reach your recruiter when needed. If you’re having a hard time getting in touch with your recruiter before departing, then reaching your recruiter upon arrival in Korea will likely be even more difficult.
  • Ask your recruiter what government offices are in place to assist western teachers in Korea.

Despite what any recruiting agency, whether it’s a one man operation or a large well established company, tells you, there is always some risk involved for the applicant.  When you take a job on the other side of the world with a small privately owned business in a non-English speaking country that has different values and morals, there will always be the possibility of small things that you, your recruiter and your employer, cannot account for in advance. It’s important to understand and prepare yourself for this before you are already on the plane.