Job Discussion Forums

Red Moppet · Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 3

hi! my story might be a tad long but please bear with me... i would like to hear what people might have to say about my situation.

i was teaching in china for several months and before i returned back to canada for a visit/holiday i signed a temporary contract (until i returned and signed a 'real' contract) with a school. the start date was set for the middle of september.

anyway, i came home and enjoyed my time with friends and family and began making preparations to return to china for september. but i received an email from the school stating that things had been delayed (it is a new school, under construction and i guess trying to obtain the necessary gov't ok's etc) for a couple more months - postponing my teaching (and salary) until the end of november. i wasn't pleased with this news as i didn't figure on having to budget for an extra couple of months and i have student loans to pay blah blah blah (originally i was to be in canada for about 6 weeks - certainly not long enough to bother with a job. had i known that i wasn't returning to china until the end of november i would have had 5 months of making money...) needless to say i was upset. they didn't offer a retainer either. i emailed the school and told them of my poor financial status and got an email in reply that seemed to me a response just to cover loss of face. it said that i should come right away and that school will start sooner.

however, they still don't have other teachers, don't have students, i'd have to stay in a hotel for the first while, and they still need to send me the documents so i can apply for a visa.

all in all, i figure that they have already broken the contract and i am technically a free woman - free to decide not to take the job afterall. or am i still tied to the contract? it is starting to sound a little too sketchy for me. what does anyone else think? any info, insights, advice, commisseration etc would be appreciated!

cheers!
Red Moppet

Joe C.

Susie · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 390 Location: PRC

Why not contact Chen haitao (Jack Chen), a Chinese lawyer, Shenzhen, by email: [email protected] (that's a small letter L before @).

He has filed law suits before on behalf of foreign employees working in China.

latefordinner · Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 973

Red Moppet:
i was teaching in china for several months and before i returned back to canada for a visit/holiday i signed a temporary contract (until i returned and signed a 'real' contract) with a school. the start date was set for the middle of september.

Did you sign a new contract with your old employer, or sign a contract with a new school?
If with an employer that you've worked for, then you're in a better position than any of us to assess their integrity and organisational competence.
If however this is a contract with someone you haven't worked for before, then you have to assess their commitment toyou. Have they gone to any trouble on your behalf yet? If not, if they haven't even sent a letter of invitation, forget it and start looking for another school. There are still alot of schools hiring, and there's no guarantee they won't give the job to someone else anyway.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

I think LOD said it in a nutshell...if they haven't given you anything yet (ie invitation letter, etc) the ball is really in your court to do what you will.

It seems not unordinary for schools to ask you to come even though your apartment isn't ready. I HATE THAT> GET A CLUE FAO's READING THIS!!! Then they put you in a hotel as if you should be thatnkful for having to live out of your suitcase/

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Did you sign a contract for one year, when?
What kind of school?
Did they pay your airfare when you returned to Canada?

I personally would not put any trust in a school that cannot employ me gainfully for a couple of months beyond the commencement of the new term.
You will be biding your time in an empty school, not getting your dues. Move on!
You will, however, need a release letter!

Red Moppet · Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Posts: 3

susie: thank you very much for giving me a name to contact, but for now i'm not interested in pursuing legal action. but it is a good thing to have just in case...!

joe c and latefordinner: the contract i signed is with a new school. it is a kind of convoluted story (as i'm getting the impression all teaching jobs in china are...) but i worked part time for them while i was in china last as a favor to the school i was working for already. i didn't get paid for this so i'm not sure whether they really would pay on time etc. they certainly seemed professional at the time, however.

roger: i signed a 1year contract with the school (it is a new international school that is owned by a company. i'd be teaching an ielts prep course) back in june. they did not pay for my airfare back to canada (the other school i was working for did). they are offering return airfare though in the contract.

and what is this release letter you speak of? do tell...

the school is now asking me to send a copy of my passport so they can prepare a letter of invitation. and even though the school year finishes in july, they want to keep me on for a full year until october - yet i couldn't get them to tell me what i'd actually be doing after classes finished. hm.

i really did fall in love with china, despite (or perhaps because of?) all the wacky stuff that can happen there to foreigners. i'm sure you all can relate to this.

and speaking of hotels... i spent 6 months living in a hotel because the school didn't have room in the foreign teachers' residence! it was a beautiful room (nice, too nice) and while it was pretty cool to get clean linens every day it wasn't the best situation... additionally, it provided the school with fodder to guilt me into extra teaching assignments free of charge... heh heh.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

If you switch schools you need a release letter from your former employer. This has been dealt with a number of times. It's to do with you having or not a clean track record (breaking rules or laws in the country - the PSB will know, and they have to sign and seal your release letter too).
Maybe since you are interested in ap position with your part-time employer from before y0ou can skip the release letter thing - though I doubt it. Ask them anyway!
A release letter states that you have discharged your duties, no more, no less than this. You can type it yourself and ask them to sign it. It should mention how long you had been with that school, and that they have no complaints against you leaving them.