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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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 Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 2:18 pm Post subject: I sued my school - and won |
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It's official. My school didn't offer a new contract to me and wouldn't pay me severance pay as outlined under Chinese Labor Law article 39.
I asked them several times to compensate me and they wouldn't even respond.
I hired a labor lawyer and the lawyer got me a settlement.
The settlement was to my advantage and the lawyer only cost me 3000y.
So foreigners - you DO have a voice and rights. DON'T let your school push you around and DON'T let them make you think they have total control over you and your employment.
The lawyer told me that most things schools put in their contracts are illegal and unenforceable but most foreigners are ignorant of the law and too scared to fight for their rights.
Hopefully this post enlightens others to protect themselves.
And I post this cause I got the money in my bank. |
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Foo_Fighters_Dave
Joined: 09 Dec 2016
Posts: 162
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| Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Congratulations! How long did it take for you to get back your money from the beginning (hiring a lawyer) to winning and getting a settlement? |
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rioux
Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 880
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| Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 9:53 pm Post subject: |
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| What's the name of the school? |
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getbehindthemule
Joined: 15 Oct 2015
Posts: 712
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:05 am Post subject: Re: I sued my school - and won |
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| Well done! I think we all need a better understanding of Chinese labor law!! |
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Alien abductee
Joined: 08 Jun 2014
Posts: 527
Location: Kuala Lumpur
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| Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:20 am Post subject: Re: I sued my school - and won |
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| kungfuman wrote: |
| The lawyer told me that most things schools put in their contracts are illegal and unenforceable but most foreigners are ignorant of the law and too scared to fight for their rights. |
First of all, congratulations. It puts to rest the notion that a foreigner can never win a case against a Chinese employer. I'm guessing the reason most people who have a grievance never go to court is because armchair "lawyers" on forums like this keep saying "you can never win."
| kungfuman wrote: |
| It's official. My school didn't offer a new contract to me and wouldn't pay me severance pay as outlined under Chinese Labor Law article 39. |
Are you sure about the article? When I search Article 39 this is what I found.
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| Article 39 If an enterprise is unable to implement the provisions of Article 36 and Article 38 due to its particularitise of production, it may introduce other systems of work upon approval of the labour administrative department. |
Back to the part I quoted from your post, your Chinese lawyer said most things schools put in contracts are illegal and unenforceable? I've read my contract from back to front, and I don't see much, if anything, that looks unfair or illegal. Breach penalty is a possibility, but apparently nobody ever pays those anyway. Omissions? My contract says nothing about severance pay. Is that illegal? Please elaborate on what your lawyer told you. |
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OhBudPowellWhereArtThou
Joined: 02 Jun 2015
Posts: 1168
Location: Since 2003
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| Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:42 am Post subject: |
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I think that part of the problem is a language barrier. FTs don't know where to turn for help, and the Chinese whom they know who speak English (e.g., students and Chinese teachers) don't know where to find a lawyer.
Another barrier to finding representation is a matter of timing. Some schools have a tendency to give the FT the bum's rush on the last day of the semester so he doesn't have time to seek counsel.
But Congrats, kungfuman! |
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kungfuman
Joined: 31 May 2012
Posts: 1749
Location: In My Own Private Idaho
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| Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: I sued my school - and won |
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| Alien abductee wrote: |
| kungfuman wrote: |
| The lawyer told me that most things schools put in their contracts are illegal and unenforceable but most foreigners are ignorant of the law and too scared to fight for their rights. |
First of all, congratulations. It puts to rest the notion that a foreigner can never win a case against a Chinese employer. I'm guessing the reason most people who have a grievance never go to court is because armchair "lawyers" on forums like this keep saying "you can never win."
| kungfuman wrote: |
| It's official. My school didn't offer a new contract to me and wouldn't pay me severance pay as outlined under Chinese Labor Law article 39. |
Are you sure about the article? When I search Article 39 this is what I found.
| Quote: |
| Article 39 If an enterprise is unable to implement the provisions of Article 36 and Article 38 due to its particularitise of production, it may introduce other systems of work upon approval of the labour administrative department. |
Back to the part I quoted from your post, your Chinese lawyer said most things schools put in contracts are illegal and unenforceable? I've read my contract from back to front, and I don't see much, if anything, that looks unfair or illegal. Breach penalty is a possibility, but apparently nobody ever pays those anyway. Omissions? My contract says nothing about severance pay. Is that illegal? Please elaborate on what your lawyer told you. |
No one's contract says anything about severance pay - it's THE LAW under Chinese labor law. If you are terminated or your contract is not renewed then by law they must pay you one month's salary for every year you have worked. For Chinese and Laowai.
The lawyer told me there are 5 conditions on obtaining severance pay - or exclusions to it. Like you can't be fired for misconduct and expect to get severance pay.
The lawyer sent me all the conditions to my wechat so I have to look on there and see if I can post it later.
Just so you know every city has labor lawyers - the trick is finding one who will help you and not take advantage of you. I felt paying 3000y was far. |
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Elicit
Joined: 12 May 2010
Posts: 244
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