Job Discussion Forums

[Herman Blume]

Hello all,
I want to first state that I do know there is a contract questions thread but it has been inactive for 2 years...

I have an offer for a language mill in Wuhu and am asking for the board's input on it and the beautiful city of Wuhu.

A bit about me;
I am a 41 year old soon to be economic refugee from the U.S. I am wanting to teach in China and study Mandarin in order to give myself a better chance at landing a job in my field (telecom engineering/broadband testing) when, if ever, the economy improves. I have never taught Engish and I do not have a 4 year degree so my options in China are reduced to the smaller cities/provinces.

I have been to China many times, but never to Wuhu. From what I have read here, when the search function works, is that it is both the armpit and a$$hole of China rolled into a fragrant entity. Is this correct?

Since the contract is only for 20 hours a week what are the possibilities of getting privates there and for how much?

Anyways, here is the contract. The basics of it are 6000 RMB per month with an apartment...



Employment Contract
THIS CONTRACT is entered into on the ___ day of __March____, 2009__, between Modern foreign Language training school, referred to as the �Party A,� and _____________________ as the foreigner teacher, referred to as the �Party B�.
Party A approved the employment of the Administrator as English Teacher in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract, and Party B desires to be employed by the Party A in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract, the parties in consideration of the mutual promises contained in this contract, agree to the following:
1. Term.
This contract shall take effect on the ___ day of _March____, 2009__, and continue in force through the ___ day of _January____, 2010__,
2. Duties.
★ Party B represents that he or she meets all the requirements and the qualifications established for this position. And agrees to perform the duties of English teacher in a competent and professional manner in compliance with the laws applicable to the school district and the bylaws, policies, and regulations adopted by Party A.
★ Party B shall devote the whole time, attention and skill to the duties of the school and shall faithfully and diligently perform such duties and exercise such powers as may from time to time be assigned to or vested in the employee.
★ Party B is not allowed to take any part-time paid work unless work is related to or permitted by School.
★ Subjected to China Law and any regulations issued by the School which is applicable to the Employee, he shall not be entitled to receive or obtain or indirectly any discount, rebate or commission in respect of business of the School.

3. Remuneration.
★ Party A shall pay to party B a monthly salary of __6000_____ RMB with 20 teaching hours per week. 80yuan will be paid per hour extra if the teaching hours are over 20 per week.
★ The individual Employee is responsible towards the tax authorities in China for personal income tax. The School will deduct the income tax due on a monthly basis and pay the tax authorities the taxes and pay the individual the net amount thereafter.
★ Party A will provide the employee, on successfully finishing this contract with no final warning report receiving during the service, 2000 RMB travel reimbursement award. The employee shall not entitle this reimbursement if he/she fails to finish the contract as the date mentioned above and ever receive final warning punishment during service period.

4. Housing
★ The School will provide an apartment with adequate furniture, basic telephone service and basic electrical appliances (as per article for use of foreign teachers) free of charge.
★ The School will provide 200 Yuan per month as water、electricity、telephone and gas allowance, The Employee should bear the balance against the actual expense bills.
★ The Employee should take good care of the house and other appliances which belong to the householder and should not make any structural change or remove any equipment set by householder. If there is any damage to the house / equipment / appliance due to the employee�s fault, he/she should be responsible for the compensation.

5. Leave
★ The employee is subject to the legal and national holidays stipulated in China: New Year Day (1 day), Spring Festival (3 days), May Day (3 days). And National Day (3 days)
★ The employee is entitled to 20 days of paid leave per year of employment.(12 months). The annual leave has to be taken in the respective year. Annual leave is to be taken at a time mutually agreed between the employee and the school.
★ Payment in lieu of annual leave will not be granted in any circumstance.
★ Annual leave in lieu of unfinished service will not be granted in any circumstance

6. Employment Medical Check-up
In order to apply for a work and residence permit in China, the Employee will be required to undergo a medical examination inclusive of AIDS test conducted by a medical practitioner appointed and approved by the PRC Health and Quarantine Bureau.

7. Conflict of Interest and Maintenance of Confidentiality
★ During the service with the School and thereafter, the Employee shall observe all the rulers and regulations and shall comply with all the lawful instructions from the School and Employee shall not use, disclose or divulge confidential information relating to the business of the School which may come within knowledge or into possession in the course of the Employee�s employment.

8.Validity ＆Termination
★ This agreement takes effect on the date of signature and will stay valid until the end of contracts party B works in Party A. This agreement will end if either party of this agreement breaches the up-written document.
★ Each party of the Employment Letter has the right to cancel the employee/employer relationship at the end of a calendar month by giving two (2) months of written notice.
★ In the event of any willful or continued negligence by the Employee , or of any serious misconduct on the Employee�s part, or of any breach of China Law or the School Regulation, the School reserves the right to terminate the employee/employer relationship without advance notice or pay in lieu.
★ In the event that the Employee is unwilling or fails to finish the agreed contract , the Employee should inform the School about his departure 30 days in advance in written form, and will be required to refund to the School prior to his departure, the recruitment cost ,the work permit and visa cost ,etc. paid by the School on commencement of the assignment.
Any other items that are not included in this agreement shall be discussed and agreed by and between party A and party B.

Modern Times Foreign Language School



---------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------
Party A Party B



合同附件：
A． 关于�服务满一年，表现优秀者经总校批准后可以享有7000RMB 机票补助奖励（凭机票，车票报销）和2000RMB旅游补助奖励（凭正规发票报销）�的说明：
1． 7000RMB机票补助奖励乐意凭在校工作期间发生的机票，车票及相关住宿发票报销，不可用餐饮发票冲抵；
2． 对于从国内其他地方来我校工作且需要出境办理工作签证的，因办理工作签证而产生的差旅费包括在7000RMB之中，不另行支付。
3． 2000RMB旅游补助奖励凭正规发票报销，不可用餐饮发票冲抵。学校每年组织两次教师集体旅游（北京，上海，黄山），外教每参加一次集体旅游，扣除1000元的旅游补助奖励。
B． 关于�外教每年享有20天的带薪假期�说明
1． 带薪假期是指10天法定假日（五一3天，十一3天，春节3天，元旦一天）以外且不超出20天的一切休假。超出10天法定带薪假期的，扣除相应的工资。
2． 带薪假由各分校安排外教在教学工作较松的时间休假，外教本人提出请假须经分校校长同意后才能休假。学校统一安排的集体旅游所需时间计算在20天带薪之中。

Attachment to the contract:

A. On �If the employee has serviced for one year and does a good job; and the headquarter ratified, the employee will get 7000RMB air ticket expense reimbursement award (the employee should offer the formal ticket invoice), and 2000RMB travel allowance award (need the official invoice)�
1. The 7000RMB can be reimbursed with air ticket, rail ticket, bus ticket and the related hotel invoice, but ticket and the related hotel invoice, but can NOT be reimbursed with meal invoice;
2. For those who come to Modern Times from elsewhere within China and need to travel out for a Z visa, the incurred travel expense for Z visa in included in the 7000RMB,no extra reimbursement is provide for the up-mentioned Z visa travel expense.
3. The 2000RMB travel expense can be reimbursed with any formal invoice but meal invoice. Modern Times organizes two travels for foreign teachers every year (Beijing, Shanghai, Huangshan), if the foreign teacher takes part in such travels for once, 1000RMB will be deducted from the 2000RMB travel allowance, If the foreign teacher takes part in such travel for both times, no travel allowance is given to the foreign teacher.
B. On �All the employees will be granted 20 days annual leave with pay every calendar year�
1. 20 days annual leave with pay refer to any leave except the 10 days nation holiday (3 days for May1st,3 days for October 1st,3 day for Spring Festival, and 1 day for NEW YEAR�S day)within 20 days .If a foreign teacher leave work for more than the up-mentioned 20 days annual leave ,his /her relevant salary will be deducted.
2. The 20 days annual leave should be arranged by the school within light time. If the foreign teacher applies for leave, this leave has to be approved by the principal of the school. Days needed for the two free travels organized by the school are counted in the 20 days annual leave.

[Sonnibarger]

thats why ill never work for a mill.... couple things that jumped out at me... 80 rmb for extra classes should be atleast 100... also you might want it to read... extra classes if agreed to by both parties will be paid 100rmb per class... if not you may find your 20 hours turn into 40 pretty fast... the housing sounds a little suspect.. is it a private house? with bedroom, livingroom, ect... or one room with a hole in the floor for your business... "no final warning report receiving during the service" sounds like an easy way to screw you out of your bonus... a week before your contract is up i would be expecting that notice...

[Herman Blume]

[Sonnibarger]

thats a start... I would ask to be in contact with current/former FT's.... I talk to people for my current school sometimes... good way o get info on the school, city, housing, ect

[Herman Blume]

[YankeeDoodleDandy]

I lived in Hefei , Anhui and I worked in Wuhu for 6 months on the weekends, from October 2005 to March 2006. Wuhu is a nice city. Although it is relatively small , compared to Chinese standards, there is a great : Walking Street:, that is far more beautiful and a wider variety of stores to spend your money. 80 RMB is too low for hourly work. Ask for 140 and then come down if you have to. Wuhu is home of Anhui Normal Teacher's College, the best school for teachers in poor Anhui. Li Bei is buried in Ma Anshan, which is about a half an hour away by car. Li Bei has two monuments to commemorate his death ( one has his remains and the other site has his clothes. In May of 2006, I went with two students and we took turn reading his poems in English and Chinese. I even brought a little bottle of white wine. When I was last there nearly three years ago, Wuhu impressed me. Don't forget to take in the sights around Mirror Lake. There is also a great hot pot restaurant kitty corner from the Xinhua bookstore near walking street. Hope this helps. YDD

[Sonnibarger]

I have done a few privates... I charge different prices depending on the student (no it doesnt depend on her looks)... The min for a 2nd/3rd tier city is 100rmb an hour for part-time work... If you are doing 1 on 1... I think 150+ is reasonable(put in the effort.. make sure u are worth the cash)... 1 on 1 is a little more taxing... you need to create your own material (I do this at mills anyway)... also you cant bounce 1 idea/topic around a class for an hour... you need to focus on what he or she really needs... that means the easy vocab/ what country do you wanna visit lessons are out... One thing i have started doing as of late is.... round up 5 or 6 families that normally send their kids to a mill for English... put on a class for them... charge the parents a little less than the school... you end up making a killing... the families are happy because the kids get more face time with a laowei.... one thing is u need to do is arrange a place.... most times the parents will volunteer their house... even cook u dinner...

[Herman Blume]

Yankee,
Thanks a lot for all that info. It seems that some of the unflattering things I had read about Wuhu were a bit biased. I will be sure to check out all the places you mentioned if/when I arrive.

1 question for you;
Any idea how far from Shanghai and Guangzhou Wuhu is by train?

Sonni,
It seems that small group lessons for privates might be the easiest and make the most money so that will be something I will be looking into.

[YankeeDoodleDandy]

From Wuhu to Guanzhou, I would estimate that it would be about 22 hours at least. You may have to go to Hefei or Bengbu to catch a train going towards GZ. For Shanghai, they now have some high speed trains that travel to Shanghai. You may not be able to take one from Wuhu. Best case scenario 4 to 7 hours and worst case scenario 10 to 12 hours. I will email my friens in GZ and Wuhu and let you know. To ride a train is the way to really experience travel in China. Crowded at times, but you get to meet a lot of great people. Be prepared for your first experience with a squat toilet

[Herman Blume]

Thanks Yankee,
It would be great if it were only 4 hours or so to Shanghai thus allowing me to get there once a month or so to get any Western amenities I might need.

I have ridden a train once in China before but only a short trip between SH and HZ.

[YankeeDoodleDandy]

Wuhu to Shanghai T778/T775 6 and a half hours. Wuhu to SH 2184/2181 will take you a little over 8 hours. Wuhu to GZ K224/K221 will take you a little over 22 hours. Caveat Emptor !!! Buy your tickets as far in advance as you can. Five to ten days in advance. What ever you do, try to avoid traveling during May Day, National Day or near Spring Festival. It is extremely difficult to purchase tickets. I have some good news for you, there is a Walmart in Wuhu. There selection was pretty good, but that was nearly three years ago. Best of luck. YDD PS If you have friends in SH or GZ, they can buy tickets in advance for you, if you plan it far enough in advance. If you arrange your schedule with a university to work 3 or 4 days in a row, hopefully you will have will have 3 to 4 consecutive days off , that will give you some time to travel. For western food items there may also be a Metro, Carrefour or Tesco near by.

[Herman Blume]

Since I am sure you are all waiting with baited breath on my status for Wuhu here is what I have received....

Attached is the invitation letter for you.Because the working visa invitation letter will need about one month time.The new semester had started about five weeks.Please print out the invitation letter with color ink and apply a two months business visain the chinese embassy.After you arrive in the school,we can help you extend it into a one year visa. By the way,there are two campus,you will work in the Maanshan school campus. SincerelySunshine


I replied back that I will not head to CN on a tourist visa.

[suanlatudousi]

[Herman Blume]

[YankeeDoodleDandy]

Herman, Sorry to hear that the school, jacked you around. Welcome to China. Maanshan, I believe is about a 45 minute ride or less to Wuhu. It's a smaller city, but is developing rather rapidly in poor Anhui. Li Bei is buried in two different places there. Best of luck in your legal job search and " Welcome to China."