…

I’m no lawyer.

Yes, my family had one in it and I’ve been in and around lawyers for years.

Never took the bar exam, never attended law school; don’t have the formality of degree or the experience. However, I’m no dummy and the following tale begs a lawyer’s intervention.

1. I work as an ESL teacher in Korea. I have a contract that governs this employment.
2. There are specific articles within that contract that lay out provisions for holidays during the duration of the contract. More specifically, I am granted thirty-four (34) days holidays, inclusive of weekends and national holidays.
3. I have worked under two different contracts in my time here.
4. My first contract – 2008-2009 Academic Year – duration: September 1, 2008 – August 31, 2009. Total holiday days: 34. Holidays only to be taken during Summer Season (last week of June, all of July and August).
5. My second contract – 2009-2010 Academic Year – duration: September 1, 2009 – August 31, 2010. Total holiday days: 34. Twenty-six (26) holiday days to be taken in the month of February, during the Winter Season (typically the last week of December, all of January and the first week of February). Remaining holidays seven (7) days only to be taken during Summer Season (last week of June, all of July and August). The remaining “eighth” day is considered a “floater” and can be taken at any time, with school approval.
6. During the Seasons, for those days that are not holidays and/or non-working weekends, they get allocated to the various different “camps” that pop up during both the Winter and Summer Seasons. As an example I worked three camps during the Winter Season of the 2008-09 Academic Year. I did not work any camps during the Summer Season since I was on holidays and I had to sit in quarantine for a week because of the Swine Flu epidemic. I am working two camps this Winter Season (December, 2009 – January, 2010).
7. I must provide fifteen days notice before taking any holidays. In the case of the first contract I applied in January, 2009 and it was approved. For the second contract I applied in November, 2009 and that request was also approved. Both, obviously, were done with plenty of leeway and advance notice.
8. Within the first contract is an Article 10 – this article says that with the signing of a second contract I am granted an additional seven (7) days holidays. No other language, as an example saying when these days have to be taken, is expressed. This article is a piece of boilerplate; it has been around a long time.
9. I signed my second contact in May of 2009.
10. I discussed the “bonus” days with my primary co-teacher, after I signed the contract and before I left on my summer holidays. At no time was any objection raised concerning my request to roll these days over in the 2010 calendar year. Not one objection.
11. When I applied for my February holidays, back in November, I reminded my co-teacher of the total remaining fifteen (15) days of holidays that were owed to me and that I had yet to make a decision concerning those.  The total of fifteen comes from the eight days left over from the current contract and the seven days “earned” by signing the new contract.
12. Almost a month later my primary co-teacher comes to me and says there is a problem with my “bonus” holiday days – apparently I should have taken them before the conclusion of the 2008-2009 contract. I reminded her of our discussions back in the early summer of 2009. She said she would check.

Since she has advised me of the problem, she has stated the following reasons why I cannot have these days: she does not recall the conversations we had; her English is poor enough that she may have misunderstood (which tells me we did have those discussions); the Korean language of the contract states quite clearly that the bonus days must be taken before the end of the contract period (which has to be a complete fabrication); and the Office of Education says I cannot have these days, end of discussion; that they must be taken before the end of the contract.

So, I am getting screwed for the days. No point in even arguing, is there?

I wonder.