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| Do you ask a lot of questions before signing a contract? |
| Yes, I always do, and I never sign a contract until all my questions are answered |
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82% |
[ 14 ] |
| Yes, but just a few, and I don't particularly mind if they don't answer them all |
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17% |
[ 3 ] |
| No, I hardly ever do, as I am usually happy with what the contract says |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| No, never, because I am sure that the school has thought of everything |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 17 |
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| Author |
Message |
Chris_Crossley
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 1797
Location: Still in the centre of Furnace City, PRC, after eight years!!!
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 Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:28 am Post subject: Any questions? Yes, LOTS! |
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Dear All, Be They Newbies or Veterans,
Greetings! I'd like to share with you a few thoughts about questions you should ask if ever you want to make sure that you know exactly where you are if you want to start a new job and have a happy and, hopefully, trouble-free contract period.
Although I am not a newbie myself, since I do have three years of teaching experience in China by now, I know that sample contracts (if such they are) like the one I am reproducing below are, to me, nothing short of a joke, since they contain very little information and should start alarm bells proverbially going off.
Here is the so-called "sample contract" that I was sent just today for a public-sector high school "somewhere in China", which I shall refer to as YY, although the initials bear no relation whatsoever to the name of either the school or the place in which it is located. X X is, as you may guess, the foreign teacher (to-be).
| Quote: |
YY wishes to employ the services of X X as English teacher. Both parties agree to enter into the contract and fulfill their obligations as follows. This contract is valid for about one year from (Month Date Year) to (Month Date Year). X X will teach 20 lessons per week at YY. X X must complete any tasks required within these specified contract hours as scheduled. X X must get the permission of YY if he wants to teach extra classes out of school.
YY will provide free housing to X X during the time this contract is valid (see above).Free housing includes the payment of all utility bill,excluding telephone usage, for which X X must pay. Free meals in cafeteria will also be provided to X X, from Monday to Friday during the time this contract valid.
YY will pay X X the sum of 4000 RMB (25 classes for 5000 RMB) on time each month. Extra classes at weekends or holidays will be paid 70- 90 RMB per hour according to the number of the students.
YY will pay X X all the Chinese holidays except summer or winter holidays. YY will provide round-trip airfare（at most 8000 RMB for one year contract, 4000 RMB for a half year contract.）
YY will provide X X free internet access in the office. YY will also provide X X limited insurance for emergency .
Director of YY
(Name)
Signature
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Needless to say, I was very surprised at this "sample contract". It was not even included as an attachment to an e-mail, but was put in as part of the main body. Newbies who may not have that much experience in the world of work may not be unduly fazed by the above words, yet there are so many questions which experienced people may think of that they would take up far more space than anyone might possibly imagine.
My reply to the school is below, though, as in the above, I have substituted the name of the school with YY.
| I wrote: |
Dear (Name)，
Thank you for sending me the sample contract。 I still have some questions， which I would like to ask you。 Your answers to them would be greatly appreciated before I can make any final decision as to whether or not I would like to accept the terms and conditions of the contract。The first questions are based on clauses within the sample contract you sent me。
1． �X X will teach 20 lessons per week at YY. X X must complete any tasks required within these specified contract hours as scheduled。�
How long do these lessons last？The term �any� is， I feel， very vague。 Indeed，I would like to know exactly the sort of �tasks� that foreign teachers are asked to do。
2。 �X X must get the permission of YY if he wants to teach extra classes out of school.�
If permission is granted， are there any maximum hours of teaching outside the school that the foreign teachers are expected to observe， if any？How much money outside of school are foreign teachers allowed to earn without the risk of a pay reduction？
3． �YY will provide free housing to X X during the time this contract is valid. Free housing includes the payment of all utility bills, excluding telephone usage, for which X X must pay.�
Does the free housing include internet access？If not， where can I gain internet access outside of working hours， including weekends， without having to leave the school premises？Regarding the telephone， are local calls free？
4。 �Free meals in the cafeteria will also be provided to X X , from Monday to Friday， during the time this contract valid. �
How many meals are there per day？Does this include the evening meal？How can foreign teachers get meals during the weekend？
5． �YY will pay X X the sum of 4000 RMB (25 classes for 5000 RMB) on time each month. Extra classes at weekends or holidays will be paid 70- 90 RMB per hour according to the number of the students. �
On what day of the month is the salary paid？How is the salary paid （in cash or into a bank account or a mixture of both）？ Can I be paid partly in foreign currency？ Is the term �per hour� referring to a period of 60 （real） minutes？How many students must attend a weekend or holiday class in order for a foreign teacher to receive 90 RMB per hour？
6． �YY will pay X X all the Chinese holidays except summer or winter holidays.�
Why does the school not pay for these holidays if contracts are for one year？
7． "YY will provide X X free internet access in the office.�
Is the office open outside working hours in order for teachers to have internet access if they do not have any in their free apartments？
8． �YY will also provide X X limited insurance for emergency .�
I would like more details of this insurance policy。What is the maximum amount of cover？ What does it cover？Does it cover all medical expenses in case of accident， hospitalisation or illness？How much of the medical expenses is the foreign teacher expected to pay？Will the teacher be reimbursed for all medical expenses，or only for essential treatment？
In addition to the above， I have other questions：
9．Would the school consider giving an increased amount of salary to a foreign teacher who already has three years of teaching experience in China including one year at a public-sector primary school？
10．What is the policy regarding absences from the school， both authorized and unauthorized？ What are the penalties for unauthorized absences？How much notice must a teacher give for an intended absence for whatever reason？ How many days per month is a teacher allowed to be absent without having the monthly salary partially reduced？Is a teacher allowed a certain number of days during the validity of the contract for personal leave？
11． Is there an end-of-contract bonus for a foreign teacher？If so， is it based upon performance， including students� test and exam results？
12． What other incentives are there for teachers？
13． Are the teachers expected to be involved in administration work and/or extra-curricular activities？ If so， how many hours per week are there and what does the work/do the activities involve？Is there any extra pay for such work？If so， what is it per hour？
14． Do foreign teachers have Chinese assistant teachers in the classroom for all classes？
15． What materials do the teachers use in class？ Are they published in China or are they imported from an English-speaking country？Can the teacher make and/or use any other materials， or must he or she only use what is provided by the school？
16．How much notice is a teacher required to give to the school if he or she wishes to terminate the contract early？ Are there any financial penalties for leaving the school early？
17． If a teacher does not wish to accept the free accommodation provided by the school，will the school allow him or her to live off the school campus？ If so，how much money per month will the teacher receive for payment towards rent？Will the teacher also receive any allowance for transportation to the school。 If so， how much per month is it？Will the teacher have to provide taxi receipts as proof of transportation？
18． If there is any dispute between the foreign teacher and the local management， which cannot be resolved within the school itself， can the foreign teacher go to a higher authority， such as the provincial education bureau， for the purposes of arbitration？
You may believe that I have quite a lot of questions to ask you， yet these are based upon three years of teaching experience in China， so I hope that you can understand that I consider them important � as well as the answers that I hope that you are ready to give me before I can give my final answer as to whether or not I wish to accept the terms of the contract. |
Then comes the Yours Sincerely and my name bit.
I hope that you can see from my questions that the school provided a lot less information than it ought to have provided, and this is, to say the least, very worrying indeed, especially for Newbies who may otherwise be totally unaware of the kinds of questions that they should ask.
Reading fellow posters' comments of their experiences can, of course, be enormously helpful to Newbies and even Veterans in finding out exactly what schools are doing right, what they are doing wrong, and what they should be doing to make the foreign teacher's time at the school a happy one.
Since people are always wanting the best from the school, and not always getting it, it is important for everyone to make sure that they know how to probe schools who provide such vague information in pitiful amounts. Signing a contract without being absolutely sure of the rights of the foreign teacher can spell disaster.
So-called "verbal" contracts are themselves an absolute no-no. My wife told me that she read in a newspaper about a foreign teacher who was sworn to secrecy on a very high salary. As a result, at the end of the first (and last) month, the foreign teacher was horrified to discover the pay: a mere 2,500 RMB. That FT had been had for a great big sucker. With no written contract to go on, the FT could do absolutely nothing; it was his or her word against the word of the management. In any case, it was undoubtedly an illegal hire, so the PSB would not have known that the teacher was working there in the first place.
The moral of the story is: always have a written contract, and make sure that all your questions, queries and concerns are answered BEFORE you sign it. Once you do sign, you are accepting all the terms and conditions within it, and it is little use moaning and groaning because something happens that you had not thought of earlier. Not all schools have the best interests of the FT at heart.
The contract of my current school does have all the points listed in the questions in the long quote box, so it may not surprise you to know where I got my questions from in the first place. It does help to have a contract which spells out everything you need to know. "Forewarned is forearmed", as they say, and it can be tremendous helpful to know what you are getting into by asking the right questions.
At this time, I do not know when to expect any answers from the school I sent this long e-mail to. Since the New Year holiday is coming up, it may be several days before I receive a reply.
In the meantime, my fellow TEFLers, have a Happy New Year!
Chris Crossley |
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timmo
Joined: 31 Mar 2004
Posts: 660
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| Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 9:26 am Post subject: |
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Good post Chris, thx for your time and effort. All pertinent and useful points for the wide-eyed heading into China.
Thanks for all the fun this year, good luck to you and yours for next year.
Happy New Year.
China is not a place... its an attitude of mind.  |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 10:18 am Post subject: |
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Good points Chris.
Another point that needs to be addressed and which you forgot to ask your potential employer, is if you have a choice whether or not to accept overtime classes. Some schools require teachers to teach extra classes and you may not want to.
Also, how long are the holidays in which you don't get paid?
I also would never sign a contract without first talking to a current teacher who is working there. Never talk to them when they are the school because you never know who is listening to the conversation. Talk to the teacher at their house. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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You have worked in China, yet you feel you must ask some questions that I find hard to understand. That is, you should already know the answers. Free locals calls, for example.
I would never ask the questions you did about teaching classes outside of the school. Ask other teachers, maybe, if you are moving there for the first time, or if this is a new area for you to live in, but don't ask your employer about stuff they ban in the contract.
Asking the employer where you can get internet access outside of working hours? Geez, if you don't know, ask later. This really can't be a serious consideration for taking the JOB.
How can foreigners get meals on weekends? Umm, how about cooking for yourself?
Asking what currency your salary is paid in. You are in a foreign land. Expect that country's currency.
Asking WHY the school doesn't pay for those holidays. A direct answer like this, after so many others, will have your resume in the garbage, I would think.
I think a single simple question about absences would suffice. Some ofc your other questions grill the potential employer so much that I would pass your resume on by if I were him. Sounds like you are NOT a newbie, or that you were one that got burned by a bad employer, and would be a real complainer at work.
Maybe it's me. Maybe this is acceptable in China. |
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Chris_Crossley
Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 1797
Location: Still in the centre of Furnace City, PRC, after eight years!!!
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| Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2005 4:21 am Post subject: Direct questions? Sometimes, they need to be! |
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