Job Discussion Forums

[hawaiianpunch]

I have a question on how reimbursement works. I signed a uni contract that reimburses airfare up to 8k rmb. I believe this is standard language for a teaching contract.

Is this reimbursement for:

1) flight to china
2) flight out of china after contract ends
3) combination of both, with a cap of 8k


I am asking because I was planning to use reward points to redeem a flight ticket to china. One way ticket cost for me would probably be around 6k rmb.

If reimbursement is a combination of both, I may rethink using reward points in order to use up the whole 8k amount.

[wangdaning]

Typically, they are only paying your way out, not in. The employee tends to cover all costs of getting here and the employer covers all costs afterwards.

[johntpartee]

I'm a little confused by the question. The reimbursement is a flat rate. What does it matter which direction it covers?

[choudoufu]

depends on the contract.....what does YOUR contract say.

some will cover a round-trip to/from home country.

some will pay for transport from where you apply from. too bad
if you're already in china, they pay to/from shanghai to podunkzhou.

some will pay one-way (either to or from) school location to nearest
major transport hub in country of origin.

direction matters depending on the contract details. if they pay "from"
and you're already in china, you get little money. coming "from" peru,
you get big money. if they pay "to," and you must show a receipt,
are you going back home, or are you going to your next job in the
same province?


i much prefer a stated allowance. at the end of each contract, i get
10K rmb (after tax or tax-free), with no requirement to show receipts,
and no need to travel. i get the 10K whether i go home, travel in china,
or stay in the school-provided apartment.

[roadwalker]

I think it is intended for the round trip, however 8k is not going to be close to covering the cost for a lot of us, at least. It wasn't long ago that airfare was typically fully reimbursed, either at the end of the contract or half at the end of each semester. Check the contract language and read the terms carefully.

Reimbursement: generally the school asks for proof of the flight such as ticket stubs and receipts showing actual amount paid. A bit difficult these days with e-tickets, but some schools will take on-line proof.

Airfare bonus: school will give a fixed amount to defray, if not cover the costs of travel. They don't require proof and will usually pay the bonus regardless of whether you stay or go home, or go somewhere else. More convenient but often less than adequate funds.

[hawaiianpunch]

I took another look at the contract and it states:

[choudoufu]

now don't write me off as a raving lunatic.....

....but, um, gee......why not ask the school? nobody here can answer
your questions.

how about you go to elong/ctrip/priceline/expedia and research the actual
cost of a return ticket, economy class, with set dates.......august 15
and returning july 15 next year.

do a little research, different airlines, different classes, different dates,
and so on. prepare to negotiate.

decide what you want. do you want a reimbursement? if so, you
negotiate for full reimbursement or increase the cap to 10K or 12K.

think two one-ways tickets will be more economical? change the wording
in the contract. also have them accept a copy of your e-ticket, since
it will be difficult to get a receipt if you don't buy from a travel agent.

think you might stay for another year or three? in that case maybe you
won't need a round trip ticket. one way to china is all you need, so
change the contract to flight allowance.

also put in the contract WHEN you get your money. do you get partial
payment each month? half after each semester? all at the end? if at
the end....the day before you fly home..... can you trust them to pay
you?

[Denim-Maniac]

^^^ ask the employer.

My experience is just that, mine. I've had airfare paid in two different ways. In my first job they paid up to 8,000 RMB for a return air ticket. Said ticket /receipt had to be produced first, and I was given the cash on my final working day. My housemate was staying in China and they gave him the same amount. (Both from the UK, so once they have validated one ticket, they were happy to pay the same amount to any other UK national that year.)

In my current employment I get a set figure per month, which is accrued over the course of my contract. My contract is 9 months long ... and Ill get 9 x the agreed figure as my airfare. Again, this will be paid at the end of my contract.

Return tickets were quite reasonable for me this time. I flew London - HK, then HK - Guilin, and have the same route back. Total cost is 7300 RMB.

[mwaltman]

There is NO standard. You get it how your employer chooses to give it to you, or none at all.

It's interesting how people claim there are no receipts for e-tickets. There is still a receipt regardless of the method of purchase. Credit card statement, online receipt printed after purchase, etc. Just because you don't stand face-to-face with a POS machine means nothing.

[kev7161]

I would imagine that every employer is different in what they will or will not accept. Where I work, we are reimbursed up to 10K a year with travel receipts. This has been a sore spot lately as the school insists they need red-stamped Chinese receipts in order to do reimbursements. I and others have argued that with the advent of e-ticketing and also the fact that many of us don't always fly Chinese airlines, that demand is often impossible.

These days, however, they will also take receipts for hotel stays (within China), ANY airline flights, domestic or slightly abroad (say, to Thailand for example) as we will often have flown on Chinese airlines. If I submit a printed out copy of an e-ticket (basically an email acknowledgement with itinerary), I'll attach my boarding pass stubs. I just give them everything I have when it comes to travel (oh yeah, train tickets as well!) and let them sort it out. I think some teachers use beyond the 10K limit, so there are extra receipts for those that can't meet their requirements. Heck, I've even submitted a traveling companion's receipts and he doesn't even work at our school! But they took it anyway and I've always gotten my full refund every year.

[Non Sequitur]

@Denim got a really good deal at under 8K round trip.
I've never gotten away with less than 10K for a return ticket.
There seems to be room for a poll on who covered costs from their airfare allowance and who had to top up from their own dough - anyone?
I've never been able either to get a return ticket with a validity of over 12m and twoxoneways are at least 30% more than a return.
There seems to be a concerted effort to move the airfare allowance from 10K to 8K. When I applied for my first job in 2003/04 the airfare allowances for public schools were uniformly 10K.
So OP to answer your original post I think option 3 is the one.
When you show your ticket receipt when uplifting your 8K show the FAO how much YOU contributed to their school, weeks ahead of even teaching a single lesson.