Job Discussion Forums

[mccallum.mitchell]

Hello

I received a contract from a recruiter with the following sections regarding absence.

"3 times salary deduction will be made for Party B’s absence from class without Party
A’s permission. Party B’s continuous absence from class without Party A’s permission
for 5 days, Party A has the right to terminate the contract besides the salary
deduction."

"Being late for class
for 5 minutes or leaving classroom ahead of the class dismissing bell for 3 times shall
be taken as absence from class for half a day. Being late for class for 10 minutes or
leaving classroom 10 minutes ahead of the class dismissing bell shall be taken as
absence from class for half a day."

The sick leave clause basically amounted to "30 days leave and the employer has the right to terminate your contract", which doesn't seem unreasonable (It's an eight month long contract).

My Main concern is the first clause I shared, isn't that fairly onerous for one unexcused. Please don't respond with >It's Chinese culture. Having a teacher work 2 days unpaid because they missed one day for whatever reason that the employer calls BS (no medical certificate) seems onerous to say the least.

[Blistering Zanazilz]

Rewrite the clause to what you think is fair and ask the other party if they agree. If not then move on.

[cormac]

Agreed. Rewrite the contract a bit. I wouldn't accept it as is... and I don't like the late for class clause. You're in trouble if you're positioned in classrooms across a huge campus. Some schools are massive and the organisation of your classrooms is sometimes their last priority.

[Non Sequitur]

Is the 'agent' your employer?
I doubt they have the right to issue the paperwork for you to get a visa. In this case the deal falls over right there.

[rioux]

I would also add in that if your pay is ever late then for each day there will be a fee for it being late. The reason is because they seem to be specific when it comes to you being on time and staying the full amount of time, etc., so there shouldn't be any problem when they just have to be on time only one time a month.

[Non Sequitur]

[rioux]

[litterascriptor]

My boss told me "it's China's culture, you just don't understand" and I replied by informing him I would now embrace Chinese teaching techniques that I've observed the Chinese teachers using at our school.

An hour of rote chanting, rote sentence writing, rote word writing, reciting- by rote- long passages, and scripted acting out in a rote fashion of role plays.

Man.. never have I gotten so much praise for a class so well taught.

I kind of gave up at that point, died a little inside.

[mccallum.mitchell]

[litterascriptor]

I have done unskilled work. I grew up on a farm, I've done factory work, and a few other low to no skill positions.

Rewrite the contract, these guys aren't pulling your chain, a bad contract here in China is an unholy nightmare.

Most of us laugh about our bad contract experiences later.. but.. man.. I suspect most of us could have skipped the experience altogether if we could have managed.

[nimadecaomei]

My contract has a clause, but instead of Party A's permission it is without informing Party A. After informing it is 10 days paid leave. Late works the same, if there is a problem it is my job to inform them I will be late so someone can watch my class. Routine lateness would be grounds for disciplinary action. It is also clarified that this disregards cases of emergency where Party B is unable to inform Party A.

Three days or more consecutive absents requires a doctors note. They provide good insurance, so that is not hard to do.

[scot47]

Move on. Ignore these people and find an employer that does things the right way.