Job Discussion Forums

[HGLTsuperstar]

OK so have emailed teachers at uni in question, seen photos and appreciate it is 1hr from Guangzhou in the middle on nowhere but it all seems pretty positive. Have looked over the contract and made my own notes, but am printing the original here for some comments to take to the negotiations, which are apparantly "non-negotiable" but got to try. Also any comments about Guangzhou and the surroundings, think learning Mandarin (which school provide free of charge) will benefit me later but not in this Cantonese area!
Anyway please help, I do know China but obviously this is a big step and am naturally apprehensive.
Cheers guys!
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT


hereafter called The College and________________________ (hereafter called The Instructor) agree to the terms and conditions stipulated in this Employment Contract by affixing their signatures and the seal of The College to this document.


CONTRACT TERMS

The Employment Contract covers the period from _________________, 2006 to _________________, 2007 and is understood to be the period during which The Instructor will carry out the Job described herein and adhere to the conditions included in this contract.


JOB DESCRIPTION

The Instructor will:

1． Conduct English or other classes for students, adults or Chinese teachers 20 classroom teaching periods each week plus one 90-minute English Corner or other English language learning activities per week. �Each period� is understood as 45 minutes.
2． Advise students on extracurricular activities using English as the medium of communication as directed.

WORKING CONDITIONS

1. The Instructor will have statutory holidays as specified by the Chinese government. In addition, The Instructor will get a Christmas holiday starting December 23, 2006 and ending on January 1, 2007. The Instructor will also have a Spring Break as scheduled by The College.

2. The Instructor�s total salary (after tax of _____________ RM paid by our college) will be 6500RMB per month. The actual money you get monthly is composed of the basic salary of 5500RMB plus an allowance of 1,000 RMB (defined in paragraph 3 below).

3. The 1,000RMB allowance includes 500RMB allowance for food and 500RMB allowance for electricity, gas, water, and personal phone usage. Each month�s allowance will be paid on the last day of each of the months as governed by this contract. The allowance will be paid to the Instructor for the whole period of employment.

4. The Instructor may convert a portion of his/her salary to a foreign currency, subject to government regulations, after making suitable arrangements through a banking institution. The Foreign Affairs Office of The College will help The Instructor to make these arrangements.

5. The Instructor is responsible for all bills, or, when housing is shared, for an equal share of the bills for electricity, gas, water and personal phone usage. If an arrangement can be made, those bills may be deducted directly from The Instructor�s monthly pay.

6. Salary will be paid to The Instructor for the whole period of employment. Each month�s basic salary will also be paid on the last working banking day of each of the months governed by this contract.

7. The College will provide The Instructor with furnished housing with the necessary amenities and equipment including TV, refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner, gas stove with a tank, telephone, LAN connection, etc. free of charge from the time he/she arrives at the college.

8. In most cases private accommodation will be provided. However, if more than one instructor shares a living unit, the bill for electricity, gas, water and phone will be shared equally between the instructors using the unit.

9. The College will provide scheduled group Chinese language lessons for the benefit of the Instructor.

10. The College will provide two free trips within Guangdong province for the first year foreign teachers. The Returning-teachers can choose to join the trip or get reimbursed 1,000 RMB traveling allowance each semester instead.

11. The College will provide 8200RMB for airfare reimbursement for the whole contract period. The Instructor will get the first half of the airfare at the end of the first semester and the other half at the end of the second semester.

12. The College will arrange and pay for all work related visas and documents including a multiple entry visa for the length of the contract.

LEAVE

1．A total of 3 days of leave(including sick leaves) will be allowed during the period covered by this contract without deduction of pay. The Instructors, in their second or subsequent contract, will receive 5 days. However, first-year instructors and returning instructors who do not use any sick leave will receive a bonus of 600 RMB and 1000 RMB respectively.
2. Any leaves must be in written form (get it from FAO).
3. The leave duration of 1�3 days must be approved by the director of the corresponding teaching Program A or B in EEC (or Director of Foreign Language Department), and get the approval from Director of FAO; more than 3 days to 7 days must be approved by the Assistant President who is in charge of FAO; more than 7 days, get the approval from school president; more than 2 weeks get the approval from the Board of Directors, for instance, if you need more than 7 days of leave, you will need approval from all four departments.
4. Any leave of absence can only be granted for urgent personal reasons. The Instructor is expected to obtain consent two days in advance of the leave and, if possible, to find a substitute for his/her classes. In other cases The Instructor must provide evidence proving that the absence is caused by an emergency.
5. Any sick leave must be authorized by a doctor�s certificate, submitted to the Program Office.
6. Excessive approved leave will result in pay deduction of the total pay according to the daily pay (total pay�22 work days). (Accumulated four periods equals 1 day).
7. Any unapproved leave will result in the penalty of RMB 500 Yuan per day (or accumulated four teaching periods). Repeated unapproved absences of two days (or 8 teaching hours during the period covered by this contract) are sufficient reason for dismissal of The Instructor.
8. Only the Program Director can arrange for substitute teachers. The instructors cannot arrange for their own substitute, otherwise it will be regarded as an unapproved absence from class and will incur penalties as per Paragraph 7 above.
9. When returning from the approved leave, the Instructor must report to the teaching office and FAO to verify the completion of the leave, failing to report will incur penalties as per Paragraph 7 above.


SPECIAL CONDITIONS

1． Working part time without approval from The College is regarded as violating this contract and may result in the dismissal of The Instructor.

2． The College will not be responsible for any claims resulting from traffic accidents, disease or natural calamities.

3. All supplied household items and appliances in the living units are the property of the College, as are all the teaching materials (books, tapes, tape or CD players, etc.) supplied to The Instructor. Every teacher must sign a check-in list upon moving into his/her housing unit; a checkout will be made before they get the last full month�s salary at the end of the contract. All listed items must be returned to The College at the end of the contract or upon request. The Instructor must pay the College if any of these items are damaged or lost.

4. The Instructor must observe the regulations of the Chinese Government and The College. The Instructor also:
A) Will not carry out any religious propaganda or religious activities with the students or Chinese people.
B) Must abide by the laws of China concerning residence, work, wages, benefits and travel of foreigners when entering, staying, leaving and passing through the territory of China.
C) Behave in a respectable manner both in and out of the classroom and not engage in any activities that might damage the reputation of The College
D) Be well prepared for and attend all classes and activities assigned by The College.
E) Start classes on time and teach for the full prescribed time period
F) Follow the approved curriculum
G) Dress appropriately � Instructor�s clothing should be clean, unwrinkled, in good repair and modest. Halter-tops, spaghetti straps, short shorts, immodest skirts and dresses, �muscle shirts�, tank tops, frayed shorts and hats are inappropriate. Swimwear worn at the pool must be modest; no bikinis, no street clothes will be worn in the pool.
H) Restrict excessive and disturbing noise or activity in your classroom or living quarters during class times and between the hours of 10:00pm and 8:00am
I) Not allow students to ever be unattended in his/her living quarters
J) Not �date� Peizheng students, either on or off campus
K) Refrain from inappropriate or dirty language with students, colleagues, staff and neighbors
L) Will participate in faculty/staff events, unless they are designated as �optional�
M) Is forbidden to keep pets on the campus.
N) Observations arranged by the college and teaching departments are mandatory.

5. The Instructor should carry his/her own health and other insurance as he/she deems necessary. However The College has a clinic on the campus and can supply limited health services to The Instructor free of charge. The college will also provide Chinese emergency insurance for the instructors, following the terms of Chinese Insurance Law.

6. The present contract is written in English.

7. Failure to abide by the terms of the contract may result in any of the following:
A) a letter of reprimand
B) deductions to pay
C) suspension without pay
D) termination for cause
E) a breach penalty of USD $500-800(or the equivalent in RMB)

CANCELLATION OF CONTRACT

1．The college may cancel the contract with 30 days written notice for failure to teach adequately, incapacitating health conditions, failure to abide by the regulations ( all the items stated in the above paragraph�Special Conditions�).
2．In the event of Cancellation of Contract voluntarily by The Instructor, the Instructor will get 80% of the prorated (by month) airfare reimbursement. By contrast, in the event of Cancellation for Contract voluntarily by the college, the instructor will get 100% prorated (by month) airfare reimbursement. Moreover, in the event of Cancellation of Contract voluntarily by The Instructor or the college, The Instructor will reimburse The College for 50% of his/her work related visa and document fees (not to exceed RMB600).

GENERAL CONDITIONS

Both Parties agree:

1. To fulfill the terms and conditions of the contract. Any changes included in this contract must be by mutual consent, in writing and signed by both parties. Any changes or agreements made to this contract without the knowledge and written consent of both parties, whether verbal or otherwise, are to be considered invalid, and as such are not part of this contract.
2. That every term in the contract will be strictly observed by both parties. Any disputes arising from the contract shall be settled by mutual consultation by the parties.
3. This contract binds and benefits both parties.
4. The present contract shall become effective on the date that it has been signed by both The College and The Instructor and sealed by The College and not later than 7 days after it has been received by The College. However, the salary and on-the-job duties of The Instructor shall begin on the date specified under Contract Terms in this Employment Contract.
5. Failure to have the contract signed by both parties and certified with The College seal shall void and invalidate all its terms and conditions.
6. This contract is signed in triplicate, two copies to be kept by The College and one copy by The Instructor.

[Mydnight]

Posted this on the other forum too.

I find several problems, well not neccessarily problems if you are willing to deal with their bull-hockey, in the contract that I'd bring up if I were you. Just because you are a FT, doesn't mean you have to be a slave to their system. You have rights.

The school is in Zengcheng, right? The city is the pits, btw. There is absolutely nothing nearby that's worth working there for that amount of money, first of all. As for the rest:

1. A 90 minute English corner = 2 class periods? I'd axe this if I were you. Or, ask them to plan the English corners for you. They are asking you to work 2 periods for free.

2. Be careful about "advise students on...". I'd make sure that that is IN THE CLASSROOM. You should not have to hold any office hours working 22 hours, and that's a fact.

3. Make sure the holidays are paid. If not, they are cheating you. Guangdong people aren't the most honest folks around.

4. I'd ask for 6500 to be the basic salary; nothing in China is non-negotiable.

5. I'm not sure the exact amount of foreign currency you can convert to, but there are limits. Do a search here to find out; we've covered that topic many times.

6. Housing is shared? You plan on having roommates?

7. Make sure the stuff that is provided is in good working order when you arrive to the college. They will provide you with stuff, but it may not all be good stuff.

8. Your Chinese language instructor will probably suck if they are from the South of China. Insist on someone from at least Shanghai or further North than that. It DOES make a difference.

9. 1000 travel fee within Guangdong province will only probably pay for one night or two in a hotel in most given cities. The stuff here is a bit expensive.

10. Airfare looks good...just make sure you keep a reciept of how much you spent on airfare. Sometimes ticket prices are higher than others and you can refute their offer if you had to pay more.

11. You should ask them to add a few days to the sick leave if you can. What if you get a real serious sickness or some stomach trouble...likely to happen to first-timers. Be careful about how they deduct you for leave; many a school leaves this as grounds to cheat a teacher if something serious happens to them.

12. You need to kill the "working part-time clause" if you want to actually make money when teaching in China. Working in one place is not good enough...if you are here for "experience" you picked the wrong place to get that. Guangdong is hardly a sight-seeing sorta province.

13. THE COLLEGE SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR SERIOUS AILS.

14. Make sure your stuff is working when you move in....in perfect working order. They will try to stiff you on that last months salary if they can.

15. They should arrange for some kind of local health insurance.

16. The breach penalty should be changed to 500-800 RMB...not USD. That is rubbish.

Be advised about signing contracts in China. You generally aren't bound to anything specifically with the school; I mean, you could pick up and leave anytime you want. Just be careful about the fine points, they will try to get you on anything that they possibly can if you do something wrong. Guangdong people are obsessed and overly concerned with one thing: MONEY.

Anyway, maybe I'm too strict. Anybody else want to take a crack?

[HGLTsuperstar]

Thanks for that input, yes I did mistakenly post on the other forum, but have acknowledged that and so reposted here.
The school is in Chini Town, 25mins from Huadu district, and 75mins by bus from Guangzhou, so not sure what last poster was referring to
The holidays are paid and it will be single accomodation.
Dont really think I can argue about the choice of Chinese lesson teachers!
The 90 minute English corner is planned and the schedule for the term is giving at the beginning, so why is that a problem?
I get free medical care on-site
The 1000 travel allowance is irrelevant in the first year anyway; instead we get 2 paid holidays to a resort in Macau and another one to be decided.
6500 is the basic salary- they just like to break it up I guess to look better!
If I get a weekend job in Guangzhou teaching privates, how would they know? And what's the going rate?
Thanks for the note on the breach penalty, but I'm confused about your line about beware of signing contracts (LIKE I HAVE A CHOICE?) and when you say I'm not bound by it, if I did up and leave could the PSB chase me for the breach penalty outside of China?
Any more points from anyone gratefully received, aswell as input on the location and the fact that current teachers emailed in confidence and have been straightforward and as positive as you can be about China.

[Mydnight]

English corner (your 90 minutes) = two free classes for them, hence a waste of your time. If you like monkeying around in front of a bunch of students for free, that's you prerogative.

Chini town sounds like it is in the middle of nowhere with very little going for it. I just asked a friend of mine (local to that area) where the place is, and they have no idea where it is...did you spell that right?

You may think that 75 minutes away from GZ is not a big deal, but when you're running to catch the last bus back to your quaint middle-of-nowhere school, it ain't so convenient. Being stuck in GZ is also not very fun unless you have friends there you can crash with. BTW, Huadu is not exactly the center of fun either.

5500 is yours; the other 1000 is what they can, and will, deduct from when the time comes. I'd push for higher.

You do have a choice; you ain't gotta sign jack if you don't want to. The contracts usually aren't professional, notorized, or even witnessed when signed, so you have all kinds of legal ground. You are not a citizen of this country; if you jumped ship and went home, they could do NOTHING. Hell, if you jumped ship to another town, they wouldn't be able to do much either.

You can tell them to change the monetary unit to RMB instead of USD. I have never heard of such rubbish before; they are trying to capitalize on your lack of knowledge about Chinese schools (they also assume you know nothing about anything related to China and you are impossible to teach). They would be hard-pressed to get another teacher out there in the boonies, so if you did a runner they wouldn't waste the time to find you...they would try their best to find a replacement as soon as possible.

[HGLTsuperstar]

OK calm down, I sense you've had some tough times in China. What do you mean the 1000RMB is what they'll deduct from - deduct what?
Also I'll be in China, using RMB, and I'm not American anyway (UK) so why do I want to be paid in dollars? Sorry if I sound thick just want clarification.
And anyone else got any thoughts aswell?

[atruelove]

I don't really understand the "free english corner" remark either. If you're being paid a salary and English Corner is written into your contract then it's not exactly unpaid - it's part of what you're being paid that salary for.

[tofuman]

"If I get a weekend job in Guangzhou teaching privates, how would they know."

They might not. But you are signing a contract which effectively states that you will not teach privately without their permission, which they will probably not give.

I know it may seem novel, but how about living up to your end of the deal?

[struelle]

Just a few comments:

[Mydnight]

I guess my post was erased or something.


The only person I have found that knows a town called "chini" is one of the drivers for my company. He says it is a small village of Houjie town here in Dongguan. It's a pretty run-down but rich area, so I suggest you ask for a higher salary.

It is not 25 minutes from Huadu district, it's about 45 minutes from the airport which is in the Huadu district. 75 minutes to GZ is also pushing it...you need to find out something about the geography of where you are going to be living.

I haven't had any more tough times than the average guy in China, I just don't deal with school nonsense contracts anymore. Last school I was officially "signed on" with treated me like I didn't exist and tried to deduct salary from me at every corner. They said you will get 5500 with a 1000 stipend for bills and deductions. You didn't read the contract closely?

I think they should just add on the English corner into the class hours and not try to specify it as something special and tack on the "extra curricular activities" line. They can and will exploit this.

There are many vague points about your contract that have been mentioned several times by me and others. It's to your benefit to get them to clarify...the people in this area, Dongguan, aren't the most honest people around. I have lived here for a while now and most foreigners that I know stay here only for a few months and then jump ship. Your life quality will correlate to how well you can deal with your contract.

BTW:

The breach of contract clause; they should change 500-800USD to RMB. I have never heard of that high of an amount of money for such a thing. They are trying to leave themselves grounds to rip you off, I think.

[Ariadne]

I'm pretty sure I know exactly which school he's looking at. They do some advertising on this site if I'm not mistaken. They hire lots of FTs and I doubt that the OP will get them to make any changes to their contract. The salary might be negotiable though.

.