Job Discussion Forums

[btwninchinatwn]

Hello, not my ideal first post!
Today, my school fired me, on the spot, with no written warning and no notice, effective today! Basically it was over some (I think) very trivial matters and as my money situation is dire I have no time to think, just act. I dont want to fight it as I know I can not win, but I have some queries, and any advice or suggestions would go a long way right now. I was in the process of negotiating contract terms, so the only official piece of paper is the government contract, which says nothing about written warnings or a notice period. So...
*If I lose my job do I lose my Z visa?
*Do I HAVE to hand in my working visa?
*If my visa is cancelled, can I go to HK and apply for a new business or work visa?
*Will this affect any future work opportunities in China?
*Does your school need a teacher!

Any advice or prior experiences will help greatly.

[tw]

[btwninchinatwn]

Cheers tw,
Does the release letter have to say anything specific? Or just that I'm goooone!
I asked the visa question b/c the school today asked me to bring my passport in tomorrow, to get the visa cancelled.
"that only happens to other people, it wont happen to me"
ha ha yeah...

[cj750]

tell them that you sent the passport to the embassy to get additional pages..and then press them for a release letter stating that you have no further contract obligation...and if possible that you did a good job and pm me for a job lead....

[BlakeS]

Notify the PSB and the Foreign Experts Bureau if they don't supply you with your release forms. They *are* required to but that doesn't mean they will.

In some cases, if you notify them that your schools refuses to supply one then your next employer won't need to have it in order to transfer/renew your RPF.

But don't give your RPF (residence permit) to your current/former employer or it *will* be cancelled and then you will be 100% required to take a little vacation to HK.

[englishgibson]

The release letter is a must! After you get it, go to the PSB and get your L for that residency permit sticker in your passport. Finding a new job in China is not difficult. Notifying foreign affairs would of what happened would be a good idea as well.

Good luck
and
cheers and beers

[Calories]

Any idea as to why they fired you?

[HGLTsuperstar]

And following on from the last question- have you checked your contract for the clauses about terminating contract etc. They have to have a reason that excludes them from paying/not giving notice. is there more to this?

[mike w]

[WordUp]

It seems odd that a school would arbitrarily fire you. They don't usually do that without some kind of reason unless they are going broke.

First tell them you will not pursue the matter with them unless they give you a release letter. Make it seem like you will be a headache if they dont dont this thing, you really need one to get a new visa.

When does your RP expire?

China Visa Service - Specialize in Visas For ESL Teachers

[Kelsie]

that's scary. now i'm afraid of being fired, and i just got here! do you have any idea why? i'd like to know what not to do.

[no_exit]

What kind of school is it? A training center? Did you show up late a lot (even by a few minutes)? Dress scruffy? You say it is a trivial matter, and if it doesn't involve your teaching directly, then it probably is fairly trivial, but training centers often have annoyingly strict rules for FTs.

As for your visa, I agree that it is important to get your release letter. The rules regarding whether you'll have to go to HK or not if they give you an L visa really vary from province to province. Your school is not going to want you to keep your visa, obviously, since you probably have a decent amount of time left on it, but whether they decide to get nasty about it really depends how badly you ticked them off.

[btwninchinatwn]

WOW! Thanks all for some great advice. My school is a private institution. I am on a Z visa, which I believe is just a standard working visa? As for my contracts details about termination of contract, like I said, the only officially signed piece of paper is my government contract, which states that Party A can fire Party B whenever they like if they believe I have neglected my requirements.

Ok here are the reasons for my sacking:
1. I rendered my services elsewhere. Completely untrue, pure speculation and based on hearsay.
2. I was late by 30 mins to one class. After apologising for this often unavoidable situation, I thought it was done and dusted. No. Confronting my boss yesterday regarding this all I got was "well if you were late in your country by 30 minutes you would also lose your job"
3.Taking students outside the classroom without '"formal application". After my younger teenagers on their 'summer holiday' complained about the rigours of the classroom everyday ( I teach them once/week) they asked if they could do a lesson outside. I thought this was a great idea so I took them to the supermarket, mall etc for outside learning, something they enjoyed very much.
4. One student complained that me taking the class outside made the class "ineffective". This is the same student who out of a possible 8 classes showed up twice, explaining her absences with excuses like "I was tired, with my boyfriend, eating, playing QQ, or being miserable about my sad life".
5. Refusing to be photographed for the companies services, brochures, advertising etc. Is this part of a teaching job? I know in China a "foreign" face will sell and draw attention, but surely it is my right to refuse this exploitation.
6. Refusing to teach a kindergarton class, after been given 2 hours notice. Basically I refused this class because in my 'agreement' it said I would be teaching 9 years plus, not 3 year olds.

So basically, my dismissal had nothing to do with my teaching style or results, just my attitude towards being thrown around like a puppet.

So now I will check my visa sitution, the school I believe wants it cancelled, as I am only 4 1/2 months into a 1 year contract. I would like to keep it and continue working in China, so I will fight hard for this.
So I will seek this refusal form, leave, find work elsewhere and keep my head up. I am young and this is not the end of the world.

Thanks for the PM's people and the helpful advice.

Cher

[vikdk]

good on yer mate - China needs more like you

[Calories]

I'd refuse to teach a kindergarten class too. I wouldn't ever do a class unless I was told about it at least 1 day before. When will people learn that teaching is not an "on call" type job? Besides, with training centres there's always some other schmuck to do it.