Job Discussion Forums

[landa]

(Guangzhou)

CONTRACT
Ⅰ.Party A _______wishes to engage the service of Party B as________ The two parties, in a spirit of friendly cooperation, agree to sign this contract and pledge to fulfill conscientiously all the obligations stipulated in it.

Ⅱ.The period of service will be from the ___ day of ___, to the day of ______, ____

Ⅲ.The duties of Party B (see attached pages)

Ⅳ.Party B�s monthly salary will be ￥6500 yuan RMB, _______ % of which can be converted into foreign currency monthly.

Ⅴ.Party A�s Obligations
1.Party A shall introduce Party B the laws, decrees and relevant regulations enacted by the Chinese government, the Party A�s work system and regulations concerning administration of foreign experts.
2.Party A shall conduct direction, supervision and evaluation of conditions.
3.Party A shall provide Party B necessary working and living conditions.
4.Party A shall provide co-workers.
5.Party A shall pay Party B�s salary regularly by the month.

Ⅵ.Party B�s Obligations
1.Party B shall observe the laws, decrees and relevant regulations enacted by the Chinese government and shall not interfere in China�s internal affairs.
2. Party B shall observe Party A�s work system and regulations concerning administration of foreign experts and shall accept Party A�s arrangement, direction, supervision and evaluation in regard to his/her work. Without Party A�s consent, Party B shall not render service elsewhere or hold concurrently any post unrelated to the work agreed on with Party A.
3.Party B shall complete the tasks agreed on on schedule and guarantee the quality of work.
4.Party B shall respect China�s religious policy, and shall not conduct religious activities incompatible with the status of an expert.
5.Party B shall respect the Chinese people�s moral standards and customs.

Ⅶ.Revision, Cancellation and Termination of the Contract
1.Both parties should abide by the contract and should refrain from revising, canceling, or terminating the contract without mutual consent.
2.The contract can be revised, canceled, or terminated with mutual consent. Before both parties have reached an agreement, the contract should be strictly observed.
3.Party A has the right to cancel the contract with a written notice to Party B under the following conditions:
(1) Party B does not fulfill the contract or does not fulfill the contract obligations according to the terms stipulated, and has failed to amend after Party A has pointed it out.
(2) According to the doctor�s diagnosis, Party B cannot resume normal work after a continued 30-day sick leave.
4.Party B has the right to cancel the contract with a written notice to Party A under the following conditions:
(1) Party A has not provided Party B with necessary working and living conditions as stipulated in the contract.
(2) Party A had not paid Party B with as scheduled.

Ⅷ.Breach Penalty
When either of two parties fails to fulfill the contract or fails to fulfill the contract obligations according to the terms stipulated, that is, breaks the contract, it must pay a breach penalty of US $500 to 2,000(or the equivelant in RMB).
If Party B asks to cancel the contract due to events beyond control, it should produce certifications by the department concerned, obtain Party A�s consent, and pay its own return expenses; if Party B concels the contract without valid reason, it should pay its own return expenses and pay a breach penalty to Party A.
If Party A asks to cancel the contract due to events beyond control, with the consent of Party B, it should pay Party B�s return expenses; if Party A concels the contract without valid reason, it should pay Party B�s return expenses and pay a breach penalty to Party B.

Ⅸ.The appendix of this contract is an inseparable part of the contract and has equal effect.

Ⅹ.This contract takes effect on the date signed by both parties and will automatically expire when the contract ends. If either of the two parties asks for a new contract, it should forward its request to another party 90 days prior to the expiration of the contract, and sign the new contract with mutual consent.
Party B shall bear all expenses incurred when staying on after the contract expires.

Ⅺ.Arbitration
The two parties shall consult with each other and mediate any disputes which may arise about the contract. If all attempts fail, the two parties can appeal to the organization of arbitration for foreign experts affairs in the State Bureau of Foreign Experts and ask for a final arbitration.

This Contract is signed at , in duplicate, this
__________, in the Chinese and _______ languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Party A Party B
( Signature ) ( Signature )

[Hansen]

Standard. The devil is in the appendix to the contract.

[vikeologist]

This contract is quite bad; or at least badly written.

I'd be a bit concerned at having to pay up to $2,000 if you fail to fulfil the terms of the contract, which, as per the appendices as the other poster has pointed out, could include them not being unhappy with your performance. Its reasonable to expect yu to repay them for any incurred expenses if you break the contract (and this can be quite a lot with accomodation and hours spent on paperwork) but the amount of money is ridicuously vague.

As an ex contract manager, there are other worrying thing in the contract. being paid regularly means next to nothing as does necessary working and living conditions. (Different cultures would have different definitions of this. My flat which is a standard residence or a foreign teacher makes Chinese acquaintance thin that I'm living in the lap of luxery).

Also you can't give notice without mutual consent.

All contracts boil down to a matter of trust and mutual convenience, but this contract is bad. I don't think its malicious, just badly written.

I suggest rewriting it in clearer and better English, making all the details crystal clear if they are not already in the appendices. I think that it's usually ok to agree amendments to contracts before signing them as long as its fair to both parties.

In summary, I would strongly recommend not signing this contract as it stands, unless the appendices are crystal clear.

Sorry for all the spelling mistakes. I'm helpless without a spellcheck or a second cup of coffee.

[teachaus]

The "Penalty" clause is not a special clause that has been added to the contract by the employer it is simply a standard claues in the normal government contract.

As someone already said the appendix is an important part of the contract and is often the part that determines whether it is a good or a bad contract as often the first part of the contract is simply the standard government contract with some specific details outlined in the appendix

What has been shown so far is in itself neither good nor bad just standard.

[Jordean]

Standard SAFEA contract.

They're unlikely to sock you with the penalty clause simply because your performance is sub-par, unless you stop going to class.

If you "rewrite" the contract, they may just rewrite the offer letter by excising your name. Once you have worked there a while you might renegotiate, but since supply (teachers) > demand (same), don't hold your breath on getting any concessions.

Getting paid regularly is a valuable contract right. Check out some of the threads on this forum on this subject.

With respect to terminating w/o mutual consent, you can terminate without their consent, but you'll pay the penalty. While the figure may be vague, you may be able to 'buy out' your contract for as little as $500. You might not get a release letter though, which could complicate things.

The appendix has all the juicy details, though probably not that juicy.

Have a shot at amending, can't hurt. Just don't put your foot down unless you're prepared to walk away (hm?)...

[Afroste]

Can someone post their successful contract and appendix? I actually want to see an example of something GOOD here if possible....thanks in advance.

[Dan The Chainsawman]

[nickpellatt]

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[YankeeDoodleDandy]

I beg to differ. You can only send home 70 % of your monthly salary.

[Dan The Chainsawman]

[Jordean]

[nickpellatt]

To be honest Dan, it wasnt anything special. All they did was take my salary to a money changer, the kind who hangs around the bank, and would change money from my salary and give the currency to me.

I didnt think it needed clarification. Its only here on the forum I have ever had the impression it was anything different.

[Renegade_o_Funk]

6500 is not enough for GZ, try to negotiate up to at least 8000. Just say "we need to talk about the salary" they should get the idea, and throw out another offer. If they don't, or just say ok what's there to talk about, just tell them it is not enough.

[vikuk]