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Banner41
Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 656
Location: Shanghai
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 Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 2:35 am Post subject: |
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| LongShiKong wrote: |
| Banner41 wrote: |
I kind of see the op as credible. |
Well put, Banner 41 but I'm wondering why neither the articulate OP nor the F. Mngr bothered to follow the grievance procedure outlined in the contract? I did on more than one occasion and got results. I even emailed a list of critical issues to address and recommendations to the CEO (forwarded to all managers) and received a lengthy reply and personal thanks. When a school carelessly missed a pay date for the second time in a row, I encouraged the FT to go on strike with me. Needless to say, we were promptly paid. |
Never worked for Aston so I do not know the grievance policy for the school in particular. The information is still useful regardless of the outcome or the steps that the op did or didn't follow. Now, according your your post there is a grievance policy in place but it still doesn't bode well for the school as a whole if you had to organize a strike (I am sure that went over well in the Chinese government system) due to non-payment. Having to beg and plead for monies due to services rendered knocks them down a few pegs in the language mill environment I would guess. Someone at some Aston (or any) school somewhere may be going through the same thing and useful information on how others successfully or unsuccessfully have dealt with issues like this seems exactly what these kind of forums are for. Some just blindly blast people as stupid and unable to use the search function which is kind of a moronic statement since the have obviously found these forums. Some people are new to the game and instead of the negative one hit swipes at them....would be nice to see a bit of of civility at times seeing as we are all in somewhat the same boat as far as the job we do is concerned. Ways to deal with bad situations and employers seems to be a great topic no matter how many times it crosses the board. Every situation is different and I like seeing all sides of it and ultimately resolutions be it good or bad. |
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Teatime of Soul
Joined: 12 Apr 2007
Posts: 905
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| Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Having to beg and plead for monies due to services rendered knocks them down a few pegs in the language mill environment I would guess |
I fail to see how having to beg and plead for monies due to services rendered knocks down the school in the slightest.
It isn't the school owner that's reduced to begging.
What's Plan B - waxing the owner's Mercedes outside the KTV while he sports away the evening? |
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Banner41
Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 656
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:55 am Post subject: |
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| Teatime of Soul wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Having to beg and plead for monies due to services rendered knocks them down a few pegs in the language mill environment I would guess |
I fail to see how having to beg and plead for monies due to services rendered knocks down the school in the slightest.
It isn't the school owner that's reduced to begging.
What's Plan B - waxing the owner's Mercedes outside the KTV while he sports away the evening? |
I am not sure I understand what you are trying to say. If I had to beg my school to pay me on time I would think that would be a red flag in most peoples book. Please explain how it would not be perceived as a negative to have to organize a strike to get paid. |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Banner41 wrote: |
Never worked for Aston so I do not know the grievance policy....
Having to beg and plead ... |
We didn't need to beg, not with classes scheduled the next day. The manager even came over to our restaurant with our pay and apologized. That�s what I meant by going �on strike�, not marching with placards.
My point about the grievance policy is that the OP fails to mention any formal complaint made other than to the local Chinese management�only the first step. You shouldn't need a policy to tell you there�s more to it than that. Perhaps there was but the opening statement by the OP suggests otherwise: 'I can't vouch for all other branches but from what I have heard most are the same if not worse.
As much as someone�s behaviour gets to you, you have to remain focused�that�s been a tough lesson for me too. In my 1st year as FM, a franchisee and CM asked me to fire an FT for violating multiple contract obligations. I felt like just firing him the minute he showed up but someone in HO insisted I follow a standard procedure of verbal and written warnings. It left me and the FT in a much better position. I actually liked the guy.
I�m not defending Aston. As FM, I�ve used the process to complain about the same sort of problems the OP mentions but to HO personnel. But for issues that were not addressed to my satisfaction, perhaps I too should write a post warning which Astons to avoid and why. Smaller city Aston managers and franchisees can be almost criminal in their regard to contract obligations as mentioned elsewhere on this forum.
There was far less info about teaching in China when I first began but there's no excuse now for not doing your homework before going off to live on the other side of the planet.
Here�s Aston�s grievance procedure (from the OP's contract):
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| In the event that a teacher feels they have reason to be dissatisfied with any aspect of their employment including but not limited to housing, the school, or that Aston School is not fulfilling its contract obligations, the teacher should in the first instance raise the matter informally with their Location Manager. If this does not lead to a resolution of the grievance, the teacher should formally request their line manager to take action. The Location Manager will clarify any perceived discrepancies or rectify any problems within three (3) working days. If, after this period, the teacher still considers the situation to be unresolved the teacher is obligated to contact the Regional Director who will ensure that Aston School is meeting the terms of this agreement. Any situation directed to the Regional Director will be acted upon in no more than seven (7) working days. Regional Directors� contact information can be obtained by emailing [email protected] |
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TexasHighway
Joined: 03 Dec 2005
Posts: 779
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| Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Regional director? Location manager? Line manager? It sounds like an assembly line factory job! I am so glad I teach at a university! I hate being micro-managed! At the beginning of the term, the Dean handed me a teaching schedule and I haven't seen or heard from him or anyone else since! |
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The Ever-changing Cleric
Joined: 19 Feb 2009
Posts: 1523
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| Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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| TexasHighway wrote: |
| Regional director? Location manager? Line manager? It sounds like an assembly line factory job! I am so glad I teach at a university! I hate being micro-managed! At the beginning of the term, the Dean handed me a teaching schedule and I haven't seen or heard from him or anyone else since! |
this kind of micro-managing at private language schools translates into "I don't trust you and I have to oversee everything you do." |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| The Ever-changing Cleric wrote: |
| TexasHighway wrote: |
| Regional director? Location manager? Line manager? It sounds like an assembly line factory job! I am so glad I teach at a university! I hate being micro-managed! At the beginning of the term, the Dean handed me a teaching schedule and I haven't seen or heard from him or anyone else since! |
this kind of micro-managing at private language schools translates into "I don't trust you and I have to oversee everything you do." |
Huh? If there was any micro-managing happening, it was usually me doing it. I can't say the same for the Chinese staff however but I was surprised to see a manager abdicate her duties which led me to quit that school. And as far as Location and Line Managers (which only exist in multi-school cities) overseeing everything, the common complaint was the lack of support (or call it what you will) from HO. |
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Banner41
Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 656
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:51 am Post subject: |
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Here�s Aston�s grievance procedure (from the OP's contract):
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| In the event that a teacher feels they have reason to be dissatisfied with any aspect of their employment including but not limited to housing, the school, or that Aston School is not fulfilling its contract obligations, the teacher should in the first instance raise the matter informally with their Location Manager. If this does not lead to a resolution of the grievance, the teacher should formally request their line manager to take action. The Location Manager will clarify any perceived discrepancies or rectify any problems within three (3) working days. If, after this period, the teacher still considers the situation to be unresolved the teacher is obligated to contact the Regional Director who will ensure that Aston School is meeting the terms of this agreement. Any situation directed to the Regional Director will be acted upon in no more than seven (7) working days. Regional Directors� contact information can be obtained by emailing [email protected] |
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I am just wondering, what if Aston, or any school for that matter does not follow this policy. What are the penalties that the individual staff member drags their feet on this. Do you get a take it or leave it statement? The standard "I don't speak English very well so please forgive me for not paying you?" By that policy, something like not being paid, no water, electricity...etc could actually not be resolved for 10+ days. When you are living a long way from home, 10 days is a lot of time to be without something critical like money, electricity, etc. (I know some response will be you don't come here to make money...blah blah blah....Don't come here without an exit strategy blah blah blah) I am not just trying to pick out flaws in Aston. I am just seeing how people deal with some major issues that can come up and what exactly can you do about them instead of the standard TIFC. I have been lucky to have a very supportive environment with not problems but that may not always be the case. Could lose my job and have to "take up" with one of these schools (which wouldn't be the end of the world). Hopefully I will never be in that situation but I do like to hear how some of these problems are handled. |
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Banner41
Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 656
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:42 am Post subject: |
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| LongShiKong wrote: |
There was far less info about teaching in China when I first began but there's no excuse now for not doing your homework before going off to live on the other side of the planet.
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Well put....Think that's what people are trying to do on forums such as this so the more good info the better. |
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Daphne
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Posts: 119
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:18 am Post subject: |
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With Aston, it is seemingly always a case of "the more things change, the more they stay the same."
The head office somehow still puts profits above all other considerations, not only for its foreign employees, but also for its clients.
Dodgy housing, error-filled textbooks used in classes, no effort to discipline kids that make teaching and learning for others impossible, putting people just a few months out of College or after just a few months in China in "management" positions...all familiar refrains with this outfit.
A while back I gave them credit for seemingly finally having implemented a mandatory training program for all new foreign teachers, but now after reading about your experience realize that even that step forward is overlooked when they are low on the number of foreign faces they can market in a certain location. |
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Little Tiger
Joined: 09 Mar 2011
Posts: 58
Location: Zhongshan, Guangdong
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 5:34 am Post subject: |
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Ok so why didn't I follow grievence proceedures? Well to be honest, it never really occured to me that I could. My FM was terrific (he really tried his best for us, but even he was 'put on ice' i.e. told lies and shrugged off), and so I felt that going over his head would be a little too far - a little like betrayal kind of a stupid attitude now that I think about it.
But an Aston franchise really works like this.. They pay the money for the name, head office doesn't seem to really care what goes on at these schools aslong as they money keeps coming. When I had specific problem with the school or the management I didn't feel that going to regional directors would achieve any results, as it was simply 'this is the situation - end of'.
Will I follow my grievence proceedures next time? Damn right I will do, and thats something I would recommend to anyone - if it's in the contract stick to it, if enough people at my school had done that maybe things would have been different in the long run.
| clownshow wrote: |
| It sounds like you were registered with a school other than the one you were working with, and that could prove difficult as to the release letter. Were you able to obtain a RL (from any school) and if so did the guys down south accept it... |
Yes thats pretty much what happened, thanks to my ex-FM I managed to get all my documents and the guys in the south accepted them - though they wanted to see originals.
| Daphne wrote: |
| ..putting people just a few months out of College or after just a few months in China in "management" positions...all familiar refrains with this outfit. |
it was very strange being offered a management position after 3 months work, not unpleasent, but I can see how things go bad when some regional directors may only have 1-2 years experience teaching - you move up the Aston ladder very quickly as they have to constantly fill positions that other have vacated. |
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Daphne
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
Posts: 119
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 6:56 am Post subject: |
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Well, LT; I for one felt so indignant after my experience with them that I made sure through my Chinese friends that the word got out in sites in Putonghua about what a sham these "schools" were, and it paid off handsomely: the ones I targeted specifically from my own experience went belly up shortly afterwards 
Something worth looking into, if you feel as pissed off as I did. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 7:36 am Post subject: |
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Daphne,
Can you tell me what branch you worked at? |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Daphne wrote: |
| ... the ones I targeted specifically from my own experience went belly up shortly afterwards |
Really?!?! Aston schools going under? Which ones?
Even more interesting was your approach!!! Rather than the foreign community, you chose the Chinese community. Elaborate, please!!! I was once tempted to mass-text every parent to let them know why I left.
I'd always thought the best mode of attack was to post details of contract breaches on the part of the school and more importantly, the details of any grievance process and it's result which, as I'd learned from Aston, should be in writing--isn't that what the term 'formal' in the grievance process means? Would forum mods object to copying and pasting such specific correspondence even if we blanked out names and just left titles?
I'm reminded of a Nixon/Frost movie scene when Frost finally catches Nixon in an unguarded moment to declare: "When the president does it, it's not illegal!" A similar unguarded statement by an Aston franchisee to a remarkable colleague of mine was the deciding factor in choosing to leave. |
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JZer
Joined: 16 Jan 2005
Posts: 3898
Location: Pittsburgh
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| Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Did Aston ever not pay you? |
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