Job Discussion Forums

[igorG]

I have gone through many contracts and some of the issues, that seems to be rather difficult to negotiate, are 1) the payday 2) who is to evaluate my effort 3) probation period

Here is the door to one sort of abuse. For example, an agreement, which states that the FT is on a month probation for, say, a thousand Yuan less than the rest of the year, and s/he is to get paid on 15th every month, s/he may have to leave without the pay and then wait for a couple weeks for for the payment. What could make things worse is that this FT would either have no place to live for that couple weeks or that s/he would have to pay the school, say, a hundred quai per day till the payday.

Now, imagine the dean, his/her assistants, local teachers and even students may play a role in one FT's misfortune. How do we protect ourselves?

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

I am a very demanding teacher. But I perform as a result. My boss would not be paying me what he pays me if I was lousy.

That said, I am growing tired and want to go home. Besides, everything is becoming too expensive compared with days long gone, and salaries haven't kept pace.

If I was going to look for another school, I would demand that after I work 30 days, I am paid for those full days with no cut off period. There is no need for them to hold onto my money; I have been at the same school for the better part of a decade.

Like I said, I'm not a good person to ask, as I have high standards in schools.

[Miles Smiles]

There is really no way to protect oneself from abuses. The only thing that one can do is to finish the contract, get the letter of release, leave in good graces, and then warn others about the school.

If it serves the school to breach contractual agreements, it will. Breach of contract will become more and more common in public schools as privatization becomes more prevalent, even though funding for foreign teachers comes from the government.

[Lobster]

The probation period of one month is legal for a one-year contract. If you have a track record of stability and good teaching, you can try to negotiate it out.

Your first issue is very good, the late pay period. I get paid for the previous month on the 10th so that the accounting department can do its thing. I don't like it, but all the staff at the school live with it and I won't fuss about it. That said, I put a clause in my contract that all monies owing must be paid on the final day of the contract. That includes airfare, overtime and regular pay. Essentially, the contract becomes invalid on that date, so there is no reason to withhold. This clause is a must. As stated, too many FTs will leave on the final day or day after and sticking around for pay is out of the question for many reasons.

The thorny issue of evaluation. You should ask about who will conduct it and how if there is a contract clause related to performance. The only time I've had this in a contract it stated who and how the evaluations would be performed and how the results would be dealt with by the school. To be exact; peer and Academic Director simultaneous independent review. Discussion between the reviewing FT and AD to compare notes. Meeting with the teacher to discuss the lesson observation, provide feedback and if required, to make suggestions to improve the quality of teaching. You don't want to be evaluated by some fresh CT with no idea about western teaching methodologies.

RED

[askiptochina]