Job Discussion Forums

[zimbo]

What ever you do don't work at Alcanta college they are terrible. You might think the money looks good but after you start working there you will realise how bad it is. They change the schedule often, get you to do thing outside your contract, and have very bad management - teacher relations. All in all they are only interested in fleecing the students of their fees.

be careful.

[Roger]

Another dubious contribution to this forum!
When are you going to grow up and act as an adult person?
If you have legitimate complaints, then list them accurately, and mention your own quals.
Such blanket statements as yours are unhelpful in the extreme and border on the libellous!

[zimbo]

maybe it might not be of interest to you, but could be beneficial to someone else. Why dont you keep your comments to yourself. Or at least post something of interest.

[randyj]

Roger only makes the point that a reader cannot take such vague complaints too seriously. Any business organization, whether in China or elsewhere, values employees with some level of team spirit. In my opinion, a wise teacher looks to establish a reservoir of good will by cooperating to some extent. It seems much more productive to rely on informal relationships than to quickly quote chapter and verse of a contract. No doubt the poster has suffered quite seriously, but it would be more helpful if the transgressions were specified more precisely.

[Rhino]

I've only been posting for 6 months here but I dont ever remember seeing so many "stay away from here" posts on the China forum. I myself am a newbie, but I'm wondering if some of these teachers didn't do thier research before they showed up in china, or is teaching in China really going down the drain? Dont give up! I had an amazing year teaching here and will return...someday

[Roger]

Not only that; who is "zimbo"? Is he a 'teacher", or...?
If someone makes such simple and negative comments I for one canNOT sit back and keep quiet. I want to know FACTS.
Where are those 'facts', zimbo???

[kmanisok]

I applied for a job at Alcanta over a period of a month -- about mid-May to Mid-June, 2004. I was in America at the time and was corresponding with many job prospects via the internet. I submitted all of the paperwork and exchanged a few emails with Nicki Deng, the girl who hires teachers at Alcanta. Even at that time, when we were exchanging emails about the job, I was getting a bad feeling about her--basically she was abrasive, rude, and often vague regarding the questions I asked her. She made me feel like somehow I was violating her by asking her questions -- questions like: What's the length of a teaching hour? What are my benefits for a six-month contract? etc. My sixth sense was in-play, but I decided to see for myself when I got to China.

In mid-June, I was in Guangzhou, gave a demo lesson at Alcanta, and was offered a job by Nicki. I had said all along that I was only interested in a six-month contract, and Nicki had said all along that that was fine. But when I got to China, she continually pressured me to accept a 12-month contract; when I refussed, she begrudgingly conceded to a six-month contract. When I asked her to send me a copy of the contract by fax or email to my apt. in Guangzhou she snapped " Well, I'll only send you the contract if you think you're going to take the job. If you don't think you're going to take the job, then I'm not going to send you the contract."

That's the wrong answer in business. She should say something like "Yes, I'd be happy to send you the contract. Please review it and let me know what you think." If she's under pressure to get teachers, then she can explain such to me and ask me politely to review the contract quickly.

Anyway, it was this and several other bitchy remarks of the same quality that led me to not take the job there. I don't trust her. I recommend not working there.

I should also note that I met a foreigner in Guangzhou who from his personal experience was against Alcanta.

[zimbo]

Well it seems I am not the only person that has experienced difficult situations at Alcanta. I don't want to go into the details of my situation as it would not be appropriate or professional. Rodger can jump up and down, thats his problem. All I can say is that if you are deciding to teach somewhere check them and the contract out carefully. Ask around about the college. I have found that it takes a while for you to find a good working environment, and somewhere that you enjoy working at.

[Roger]

kmanisok,
that was a somewhat more convincing contribution than zimbo's. I am glad we are privy to your experiences; you are not the first to detail such experiences.

But it is unethical for individuals to anonymously bad-mouth a wellknown employer with vague and unsubstantiated "don't work for them!" calls!
In not a few cases, job applicants themselves have to accept blame for a stand-offish attitude on the part of hirers!

[Susie]

You're not the only person to think of Alcanta the way you do, but you obviously are privy to more specialist information in that you have experienced what is was like to work there whereas after an interview with Nicky Deng and Dave Feng (who seemed to be the decision-maker regarding foreign teachers) I chose not to join their team of foreigners. It was obvious from the contract, my interactions with Deng and Feng, the students, and other foreign teachers what was in store and I take the avoidance approach.

So if you feel able to outline in more detail what went wrong there I'd like to read about it, but sometimes it is better to wait a while (sometimes a few months), and reflect, before doing so because there are some without mercy on this forum.

[wailingtraps]

I worked there for a while about two years ago. Here is my experience.

Do they pay you the correct money at the correct time?...Yes

Do they offer you reasonable housing?...Yes....In fact I would rate the place I had as a winner. While I'm on this ATTENTION PLEASE IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A PLACE IN BAI YUN DISTRICT GUANGZHOU.........Do not get a place in Baiyun Gardens ..it lies under the main approach to the airport and is the worst place I have ever lived!!!!!!!!

Do they make you work overtime? Not in my experience....

Do they change your schedule Not in my experience.......

Are the staff cool/competent/whatever?...... Yes and no.....the usual work story ie ...some stars.....some ringers....and some in the middle

Do they make you do things outside of your contract?......Yes. But if you have anything about you then you will realise that this can be avoided/got around/refused.....this is the real world and it's not all going to go your way.....get some life skills and if you really think you are getting screwed then do something about it........


Did they screw anyone? Yes....All the FT teachers got paid a normal hourly rate for the summer camp while the PT teachers got a much higher rate.......What did I do? Talked my way up to the higher rate and was smart enough not to tell anyone else...I'm sure we all did this.....So nobody lost face and all was well........


Are they trying to fleece the students? In my opinion...Yes...and...no ........Crammed classes and high fees are the usual allegations...OK..they are crammed...but no more than the average University class........Yes they could make them smaller but they will wait for the students to go bananas before doing anything about this...market forces and all that.......as for fees ...don't know....not my department.....


Would I give the school the thumbs up? Not exactly...if you can look after yourself and don't have an explosive temper then it is worth considering if you want to work in GZ.....I have a hunch that there are better packages around but it is up to you to look...............


Would I work there again? No..........Been there and done that...left China and may well not come back...........Who knows?!!!!!!


Keep wailing and hats off to roger for reminding everybody that facts are what we need.........................



The Wailer

[randyj]

Many thanks to Wailer for this objective assessment. I see words of wisdom from which we might all benefit. No change of schedule? That in itself is amazing. I mean, how many have not experienced an unannounced schedule change at a school, public or private?

[scoobydo]

deleted

[leetrefz]

See what impression you get of this enterprise from the contract they sent me below. As for myself, this is at least within the top three worst contracts I've seen among the dozen intensive job searches I've done in China, and probably takes gold. What school calls you "persona non grata" if you refuse to comply with a contract clause? nazi schools. what kind of school says you can't talk about your job to others? loser schools with something to hide. What school makes you teach a 45 minute make-up class the second time you are "1 to 5 minutes" late for class? again, nazis. also I personally, I don't think it's appropriate for a school to fire you for being late/missing classes and call the contract 'teacher terminated', with the extra conditions that entails. schizophrenic. For me the list of disturbing points goes on and on. besides all that, over the course of a few phone calls they can't hold a story, promise you something and trim it later in the day. Altogether they didn't seem like the kind of people I'd want to do business with.

But maybe I'm picky. If you really, really don't think you could do better, well, whatever blows your skirt up, good luck to you.

Employment Contract

This agreement made effective on the day of , 2006.

Between:
Alcanta College of Foreign Languages
An education institution founded in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P. R.C.
( Herein referred to as �Alcanta�)

OF THE FIRST PART
-AND-

(herein referred to as Teacher or Employee)

OF THE SECOND PART

1. Interpretation:

For the purposes of this agreement, except as otherwise expressly stated or unless the context otherwise requires:

a) �this Agreement� means this Agreement as from time to time supplemented, or amended, by one or more agreements or Contracts entered into pursuant to the applicable provisions hereof;
b) The words �herein�, �hereof�, and �hereunder� and other words of similar import refer to this Agreement as a whole and not in any particular paragraph, subparagraph or other subdivision;
c) The headings are for convenience only and do not form a part of this Agreement, nor are they intended to interpret, define or limit the scope, extent or intent of this Agreement or any portion hereof;
d) Unless otherwise indicated, all dollar amounts referred to in this Agreement are in RMB Chinese Yuan;

2. Duration

This Agreement shall take effect on the day of , 2005, and shall remain in force until the day of , 2006 provided both parties are in agreement. This contract can be amended by mutual agreement of both parties.

3. Responsibilities of the Teacher

a) As Teacher, you shall be responsible to the Vice-President of foreign affairs and the Dean of English Department of Alcanta.

b) As Teacher, you shall be responsible for:

Designing and Teaching ESL programs to students at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels at the Alcanta site or Alcanta�s clients� sites;
Assisting in marketing and promoting Alcanta programs to public individuals, joint ventures and multi-nationals if necessary at weekends but no more than 4 times yearly;
Spending one and a half hours one evening each week participating in and/or organizing English-related activities (e.g. English Corner, English Evening Activities); This is part of the contractual workload in addition to the contractually required number of teaching hours, and shall not be perceived as part of teaching hours.
Teaching oral and/or written English classes as scheduled;
Using the textbooks as prescribed;
Adhering to the Code of Practice for Alcanta Teachers;

c) You shall maintain a professional image, which shall include, without limiting the generality of the foregoing: wearing business-like attire, observing and maintaining high levels of personal hygiene, appropriate dress, conduct and mannerisms.

d) Any other tasks or assignments as might be directed by the Management Committee of Alcanta;

e) The teacher shall not disclose the terms and conditions in this agreement to any third party;

f) Other terms as per Appendix A;

4. Responsibilities of Alcanta

a) Alcanta shall pay or cause to be paid to Teacher for his/her services hereunder, the sum of RMB￥ per month (the compensation) for the probation period which is two months from , 2005 to , 2005; and the sum of RMB ____________ per month for the rest of the Agreement, commencing from the of 2005, and continuing until the completion of this Agreement, and the sum includes payment for all holidays and festivals (See Appendix A for specific paid holidays and festivals).

b)Twenty-day paid holidays, to be taken during Chinese New Year (around Mid- January and February), or after the summer camp in August.

c)Alcanta shall either provide the Teacher with free accommodation (with two bedrooms, one sitting room, one bathroom and one kitchen) or pay the Teacher a monthly accommodation allowance of RMB￥800 on the pay day; The Teacher shall pay for his/her own electricity, gas, TV, water and local and international telephone service, and the sum of above fee shall be deducted from the monthly salary in line with the actual sum on the bills. Alcanta will provide copies of bills.

d)At the end of the contract, Alcanta shall pay the teacher a performance bonus of RMB8000 if the result of the assessment by students and management reaches the average and if the contract is not terminated by the Teacher or Alcanta. The decision on the amount of bonus is based on:

i)The teacher shall be entitled to 100% of the bonus if she/he, for the duration of the contract,
has never been late for class
has never ended class ahead of the scheduled time for class
has never been absent from class
has never received written complaints from students or has been able to improve in areas of teaching students have complained about.
has attended English Corner or English Activities as scheduled.
ii)Any one action in violation of the above instances shall lead to reduction of the full amount of bonus by 5%.
iii)Should the Teacher not meet the weekday minimum teaching load of 22 teaching periods and refuse to teach evening classes or weekend classes as contractually required, 10% of the full amount of bonus will deducted.
iv)Should the Teacher engage in after-school private tuition of Alcanta students, 20% of the full amount of bonus will be deducted.

e)Other terms as specified in Appendix A.

5. Conduct

The Teacher shall maintain high standards of modesty and behavior throughout the duration of this Agreement. Any use of illegal drugs or the over indulgence of alcohol or other stimulants will result in the termination of this Agreement. Smoking is not permitted on the Alcanta Campus.
As this Agreement pertains to all activities in China, all TEACHERS shall refrain from teaching or promoting any Western religion, politics, ideologies, or theories. It is understood that any violation of this provision shall result in automatic termination of this agreement. The teacher further agrees that they shall keep all personal relationships in good taste and in keeping with the image of the Center, and that their private life shall not affect their normal work.
Pets are not permitted on campus.

6. Termination

a) At any time during this Agreement, should Alcanta determine that the Teacher is guilty of any misconduct, incompetence, or failure to complete the terms of this Agreement in a professional and capable manner, Alcanta may terminate this Agreement upon providing thirty (30) calendar days written notice, and under such notice, the Teacher shall be entitled to any unpaid salary for that particular month.

b) The Teacher may terminate this agreement within one month, thirty (30) days notice. Otherwise a compensation of one month�s salary shall be paid to Alcanta.

c) Alcanta shall reserve the right to terminate the contract immediately in the following cases:
i)Students� evaluation of the teacher performance is less than satisfactory (less than 50% of the students are satisfied);
ii)Students lodge repeated complaints (over three times) about the teacher, and the teacher fails to show any improvement in performance after the management talk to the teacher about the complaints.

d) Should the Teacher terminate the contract, He/She shall refund Alcanta the full cost of work permit, residence permit, working visa and insurance, and return his/her work permit and residence permit to Alcanta.

e) Should Alcanta terminate the contract due to the Teacher�s misconduct, incompetence, or failure to carry out the terms of the contract, the Teacher shall refund Alcanta the cost of work permit, residence permit, working visa and insurance for the remaining period of the contract, and return his/her work permit and residence permit to Alcanta.

9. Insurance

Each employee shall be responsible for maintaining and acquiring any and all life, health, medical, disability or any other type of insurance. Alcanta shall only provide to the Teacher one year local medical insurance for Accidental Death & Dismemberment (ADD) and Accidental Medical Reimbursement Rider (AMR), with insurance compensation up to RMB150,000 and RMB10,000 respectively.

10. Jurisdiction

This Agreement shall be governed and construed according to the laws of the People�s Republic of China.

11. Confidentiality

Employee shall not disclose or divulge information relating to the college without authorization by Alcanta.

12. Entire Agreement

This Agreement constitutes the sole and entire Agreement between the Teacher and Alcanta, and shall not be modified or added to in any manner, except by written instrument duly signed by all parties above written. Both parties agree that there are no verbal conditions or terms attached to or forming part of this or any ancillary Agreement.

In witness whereof the parties hereto have executed this agreement numbering nine pages in total this day of , 2005.
This Agreement may be executed in counterpart.

Signed, sealed and delivered
In the presence of
____________________________ ______________________________
Witness Employee
____________________________ ______________________________
Witness Alcanta College of Foreign Languages


Appendix A
1) Salary and income tax

a)Monthly salary shall be paid by the 6th working day of the following month;
b)The teacher shall be responsible for his/her income tax;
c)Income tax shall be based on a teacher�s total income for the month, including salary, extra pay for extra work, housing allowances and performance bonus;
d)Income tax shall be deducted automatically from monthly income and paid to the government as stipulated by the law.

2) Workload

The teacher shall be required to work 40 hours per five-day week from Monday to Friday as follows:

a)Minimum teaching load of 22 45-minute teaching periods per week with flexible teaching schedule;
b)One hour and a half English Corner activity between 7pm and 8:30pm per week on either Tuesday or Thursday;
c)Teaching no more than 2 evenings per week between Monday and Friday;
d)Preparing lessons, marking students homework and test papers, and fulfilling other responsibilities outlined in Clause 3 of this agreement;
e)During summer or winter camp, the teacher will be required to teach everyday from Monday to Sunday and will be given time off in lieu after summer or winter camp.

3) Extra pay for extra work

a)Should the teacher be required to and agree to teach more than 22 teaching periods per week, the teacher shall be entitled to an extra pay of RMB150 per teaching period for the teaching periods exceeding the teaching load of 22 teaching periods;
b)Should the teacher meet the weekday minimum teaching load of 22 teaching periods per week and agree to teach weekend classes, the teacher shall be entitled to an extra pay of RMB150 per teaching period for the teaching periods exceeding the minimum teaching load of 22 teaching periods per week;
c)Should the teacher not meet the weekday minimum teaching load of 22 teaching periods per week and agree to teach weekend classes, the teacher shall be entitled to an extra pay of RMB20 per weekend teaching period until the weekday minimum teaching load of 22 teaching periods is reached;
d)Make-up classes due to personal leave or sick leave shall not be considered as extra work;
e)Extra teaching work shall be calculated on a monthly basis as follows: total number of teaching periods per month minus total number of monthly required teaching periods.

4) Holidays and Festival

There will be no classes or make-up classes on the following holidays:

a)Christmas Day � one day;
b)New Year's Day � one day;
c)May Day (1st, 2nd, and 3rd of May) � three days;
d)National Day (1st, 2nd and 3rd of October) � three days;
e)Spring Festivals (3 days� holiday, 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January of Chinese Lunar Calendar);

5)Travel Remuneration

One (1) return airfare (economy class) to the maximum value of RMB6,000.00 from the employee�s home country to Hong Kong or Guangzhou after the employee has completed his/her contract. Ground transportation in homeland and Hong Kong will be the responsibility of the employee. Airfare will be compensated at the completion of the contract.

6)Work permit and visa

Alcanta shall help employees obtain work permit and a single-entry visa (Alcanta shall pay 100%of the cost of visa application fee). Employees shall help provide the related documents required by the immigration bureau. Alcanta shall pay the employee for the coach/train transportation cost involved in going to and coming back from Hong Kong to obtain a single-entry visa if necessary. During the contract period, if the employee loses the residence permit or does things leading to the invalidation of the residence permit, he/she shall pay all the costs incurred in obtaining a new one.

7) Leave of Absence

a)If the Teacher asks for leave on personal matters, she/he shall be requested to submit a 3-day notice, and to make up for classes cancelled the subsequent week. In this case, the Teacher�s salary for the month shall not be deducted.

b)If the Teacher asks for leave on personal matters and refuses to make up for classes cancelled the following week, or fails to find a quality replacement for make-up classes, his/her salary for the month shall be deducted on the following formulae:

Number of days of leave times monthly salary/22, in the case of leave-taking not affecting the teaching schedules;
Number of cancelled teaching hours times RMB200, in the case of leave-taking affecting the teaching schedules;

c)If the Teacher asks for sick leave, she/he shall be requested to submit relevant documents signed by a doctor (hospital), and to make up for classes cancelled the following week. In this case, the Teacher�s salary for the month shall not be deducted.

d)If the Teacher asks for sick leave and refuses to make up for classes cancelled the following week, or fails to find a quality replacement for make-up classes, his/her salary for the month shall be deducted on the following formulae:

Number of days of leave times monthly salary/22, in the case of leave-taking not affecting the teaching schedules;
Number of cancelled teaching hours times RMB200, in the case of leave-taking affecting the teaching schedules.

e)If the total number of cancelled classes reaches or exceeds the number of contractual hours per week, this shall result in an automatic termination of the contract by the Teacher. In this case, the Teacher shall not be entitled to any pay for the month.

f)If the Teacher asks for leave from evening or weekend classes for any personal reason, he/she should find, at his/her own cost, a quality replacement who should be accepted by Alcanta.

g)Make-up classes due to personal or sick leave shall not be considered as extra teaching hours for the week when make-up classes are taught.

h)Any refusal on the part of the Teacher to comply with this clause concerning Leave of Absence shall constitute a severe breach of the contract and shall be regarded as Persona Non Grata, and shall lead to an automatic termination of the contract by the Teacher without being entitled to any pay for the month.

8 ) Being Late for class

a) One to five minutes late for class is considered as being late for class.
b) For teachers late for class the first time, the management will issue a letter of warning.
c) For teachers late for class the second time, the management will issue them a letter of warning, and require them to teach the affected class an extra 45-minutes as compensation.
d) For teachers late for class more than three times, the penalty is RMB200 each time. The amount is to be deducted from the salary automatically.
e) Being late for class the fifth time shall lead to an automatic termination of the contract by the Teacher, and as a result, the teacher shall not be entitled to any pay for the month.

9) Ending classes ahead of time

a) Terminating the class one to five minutes earlier than the scheduled time is regarded as ending the class ahead of time.
b) For teachers ending the class ahead of time the first time, the management will issue a letter of warning.
c) For teachers ending the class ahead of time the second time, the management will issue a letter of warning, and require them to teach the affected class an extra 45-minutes as compensation
d) For teachers ending the class ahead of time more than three times, the penalty is RMB200 each time. The amount is to be deducted from the salary automatically.
e) Ending the class ahead of time the fifth time shall lead to an automatic termination of the contract by the Teacher, and as a result, the teacher shall not be entitled to any pay for the month.

10) Being absent from class

a) The following instances will be considered as being absent from class:
iii)Teachers fail to come to class to teach without notice;
iv)Teachers fail to come to class to teach but informs the office verbally with very short notice (less than five hours before the class begins);
v)Teachers come to class more than five minutes later than the scheduled time for class or end the class five minutes earlier than the scheduled time;
b)For the first instance (a-i), the penalty is RMB400. If the teacher is absent from class more than twice, his/her contract will be terminated immediately;
c)For the second and third instances (a-ii & a-iii), the penalty is RMB200 each time plus making up for the number of hours missed.
d)The penalty will be deducted from the salary automatically in the above cases.
e)Being absent from class the third time shall lead to an automatic termination of the contract by the Teacher, and as a result, the teacher shall not be entitled to any pay for the month.

11. English Corner

a) Inability to attend English Corners or Evening Activities as scheduled, or to find a replacement at the teacher�s own cost, or refusal to make up for activities missed the subsequent week shall automatically result in a penalty of RMB 200 each time;
b) Arriving late or leaving early shall be counted as non-attendance.
c)The penalty will be deducted from the salary automatically.

12. Summer Camp
a) Since foreign teachers have to experience non-stop Summer Camp, enough holidays would be arranged before and/or after Summer Camp.

b) Foreign teachers would get normal pay for the holidays.
~ The end ~[url][/url]