Job Discussion Forums

[smilebella]

I'm in my first year teaching in China and my school asked me to make a decision by the beginning of the next term (Feb. 15) about renewing my contract to stay another year. I really love my school- the management/school is great, I always get paid on time or early, I teach less than 10 hours a week, my airfare reimbursement is the full cost of my ticket, my apartment is on campus w/ all utilities paid, and I get three meals a day on campus.

I'm thinking that I probably will renew, but I'm wondering if it's acceptable to ask for any sort of raise in salary? I make 4800 a month (with 2100 "travel allowance" at Spring Festival) and it's a vocational school in a tier 2 city. I would like to ask for a raise and more classes/less office hours (if possible) but I feel that with my current responsibilities, a raise might be silly. After all, I teach less than 10 hours a week! My other teacher friends in the city make more than me, but they work at different types of schools (international or training schools) so it's not really comparable. And I'm the only FT at my school.

So I guess my questions are:

1. Overall, is my compensation package (including working conditions) pretty standard/good as is?
2. Is it common to ask for (& receive) a raise when renewing or do most FTs keep the same compensation package?

Sorry if this is too "rookie" or naive of a question, but I searched the forums and didn't find anything too useful. Thank you!

[muffintop]

Get all or almost all office hours off the table and you'll have a pretty good deal. I would not ask for more money.

I have asked for and received raises before, have been given raises out of the blue. but...as it stands they have no compelling reason to give you more money.

Also, I believe you are the only FT there but keep in mind if you go to another school sometime...you don't want to be the guy making the most money. Ever. Look for benefits elsewhere...less hours...more time off....whatever.

[vikeologist]

WLamar - I didn't realise that you were into full disclosure.

But since you are.

-Which other usernames have you used on this forum?
-Why should we believe that you have any idea about anything to do with Chinese law, ESL teaching or any of the other issues you utilise to be nasty to people about? In any case, if you read the post carefully, you'd realise that he hasn't given enough information for you to speculate.

OP- I think that you probably should ask for a small raise, even if it's only 200-500 more a month. If you don't ask, you won't get.

[smilebella]

Well my contract says up to 25 working hours and I have a residence permit. To be honest, I would rather teach 25 hours a week with a higher salary, because I don't like having so much idle time. I don't think that a raise is deserved at such low teaching hours and I mentioned that in my post.

WLamar, I'm not sure what you mean by this: "As a full-disclosure issue, what are you even doing in the country with doing so little of anything?"

When I came to China I was under the impression that I would work about 25 hours a week. Technically, I work 24 hours a week- but most of them are in the office, not in class. This isn't my choice- it's not like I demanded a low-hours schedule so that I could laze around China and do nothing.

Muffintop, thanks for your advice. I'm going to ask about reducing office hours if I renew.

[thechangling]

I think muffins right. It's a cushy gig at the mo so don't push the boundaries on the salary. Just get yourself a second job and keep mum about it instead!

[NoBillyNO]

[Banner41]

You can always ask for a raise. All they can say is no. Obviously do it the right way.

If you feel like you want to do more, just jump ship to a language center. The cushy apartment and travel arrangements might not be as good. But, you will get all of the hours that you are seeking.

[Non Sequitur]

Amazing that the only FT gets so few contact hours.
Indicate 'yes you will stay on subject to a satisfactory contract'.
This will at least indicate that a simple rollover of current terms may not be acceptable.
My other concern is going forward on a Feb to Feb cycle, as when you do move you will not be in line with the main hiring season.
I assume you were paid for last summer and current winter which is a big + and should be factored in to the effective monthly rate.
I think that compared to other teachers who aren't paid for summer you're not doing too badly.

[smilebella]

Oh sorry I don't think I made it clear- I'm on a September-June contract. The school wants me to decide whether or not to renew for the 2014-2015 school year. And yes, I do get paid in full for winter holiday (four weeks) and I believe I get paid for summer vacation if I renew (based on my current contract). That's a big pro, so I think I will just ask for less office hours (and more contact hours if I can, they said I may lead some English clubs next term) instead of asking for salary raise.

Thank you for your advice everyone!

[johntpartee]

[D-M]

I think in renewing a contract one should always negotiate something. But perhaps salary isnt the most important thing to go for.

At 4800 per month, what would be fair / reasonable / achievable? 5%? 240 RMB? Might be far wise to reduce office hours or other expectations ... That slight salary increase would be just a gesture IMHO ... but a reduction in office hours would be a real concession. That would probably be my choice.

[ymmv]

FWIW, 4800/month is the threshold for not having to withhold taxes for foreigners. It may just be as simple as that. As you're the only FT at the school, the accounting department doesn't want to have to deal with the withholding taxes issue. So that may be why they peg the minimum salary to the 4800 price point. Extra work for the "accounts department". Feel free to ask for a raise, but expect the "accounts department" to resist even though they have no business interfering in the actual negotiation of salary between the FAO and the FT.

[Bud Powell]

If the OP is working for a public institution on a BA, 4800 a bit low of the more developed provinces. The going rate for BA's and BS's is 5,000 rmb per month. The 200 rmb isn't worth screaming about. If the OP is an MA level teacher, an increase is within reason.

MuffinTop has a good point re: taxes.

What the OP needs to be sure of is whether she'll have to take part in "intensive practice weeks" at the beginning and end of terms. They are becoming pretty popular in vo-tech colleges. You get stuck with one classes for 8 hours per day, 5 days per week. It is grueling.

The OP will need reassurances that the hours won't increase to 25 teaching hours. At 25 teaching hours, 4800rmb per month is a pittance. 24-25 hours including office hours is a pittance anywhere.

Re: ten contact hours per week. That was not the OP's decision. That was the decision of the administration.

But those contract 25 hours is a little worrisome along with the administration's pressure for you to agree to re-sign for 2014-15. The school may be making efforts to increase enrollment and it wants to be sure that there'll be a teacher there to handle it. If your hours exceed 18 hours and you are responsible for more than two subjects, consider discussing a contingent increase in pay to 5,500rmb per month. Of course, if you are paid for the summer, you might want to tread lightly in that area.

If you're working under an SAFEA contract, you are entitled to overtime pay for anything over 18 hours. (Look at the cover page of your contract and look for SAFEA (State Agency for Foreign Expert Affairs).

If you're not sure if you'll be paid for the summer, ask if the school intends to ship you back home during the summer, then pay for your return. That is an increasingly common scenario.

I agree that ten hours per week is a drag. I did that for two years, and i begged for more hours to no avail.

[smilebella]

Thanks Bud Powell, your advice is very useful. I came to China through a recruiter and my original contract was 5,000 a month but as ymmv mentioned, the reduction to 4800 is because of taxes. I get the missing 200/month in the form of a travel allowance in January.

Your point about making sure they don't drastically increase teaching hours is definitely something to consider. When renewing, I plan to ask about reducing mandatory office hours and I'll be sure to ask about whether or not teaching hours will remain the same. I don't have the same intensive practice weeks that you mentioned- they don't happen at my school as far as I know so I think it will be fine. My school treats all of the teachers pretty well- even the Chinese teachers only teach a max of 3 hours per day and less than 15 per week usually (max of 2 classes a day at 1.5 hours per class).

And I'm pretty sure I'll be paid for summer- the administration mentioned it 2 months ago and my contract says paid summer vacation. Given that, I will probably only ask for decreased office hours. As much as I would like more teaching hours, I don't want to tempt fate and end up with a shitty job with shitty management if I switch schools. I've heard far too many horror stories from friends so I'd rather stay with my school if the compensation/conditions stay reasonable.

[Non Sequitur]

Sounds like OP has a good handle on the issues.
'Intensive practice weeks' sound like purgatory.
Do you prepare a whole raft of new lesson material for say the end of semester practice, or repeat the same stuff you covered during the regular classes?
I'm stymied by the start of semester practice idea. Kind of reviewing IN ADVANCE of actually teaching.