Job Discussion Forums

[yamahuh]

This is a tale of naivete and perhaps stupidity. You be the judge. That being said I don't need to be made to feel like a moron, what I DO need is some real world advice from the ESL community.
I don't want to get too specific with dates and names (just in case)

The situation:
I arrived in China with the promise of work for me and my wife around mid Oct. Around Nov 1st I began working as per my contract, however there was not enough work for me to fulfill my 22 hrs per week. We were told that we would be given contracts to sign backdated to Nov 1st for me and dated Dec 1st for my wife (she has no Tesl cert and Nov was supposed to be her training period)
This never happened and the H.R person who hired us went away to sort out some personal stuff for over a month mid Nov, leaving us sans contracts.
Dec 1st rolls around, my pay day and I'm told that I can't get paid because I have no contract & the only person who can approve me getting paid (HR person) is away.
1 e-mail and I have cash in my pocket.
Meanwhile the senior teacher is doing sweet F-A while the HR/VP is away. No input for the new teachers, no constructive criticism, no suggestions. He doesn't even bother to attend the primary school classes taught by my wife, even though she has NO experience teaching and has been thrown in at the deep end. He forgets when he has classes, doesn't recognise when he has days off, he introduces a new syllabus that is NOT what has been used before and takes focus away from the students speaking in favour of the Teacher spending a bunch of time explaining what they want the students to do.
Absolute bullshit.
This goes on for 5 weeks until HR/VP comes home.
We met with her today and she informed us that the promotions have not resulted in much new business (none actually) and that the company is not in good shape. That being said it is the end of the semester and she is hoping that new clients will sign up for the beginning of next semester. It's China so we won't know until last minute of course.

Our problem:
We have no contract so far, we have no visa except for the 'L', we have no residency permit, we are seriously concerned that we are going to get stiffed on the plane fare reimbursement (50% due April 1st ironically), our tourist visas run out mid Jan 2005.

Our options:
Don't sign a contract and leave for a different position somewhere else.
Don't sign a contract until they promise to reimburse the plane fare on a monthly basis (we have decided that this will make us feel at least a little more comfortable since we don't want to wait until April, sign a contract in the meantime and then find out that they can't afford to pay us for the flight)
Do a visa run to HK and continue to work illegally until we can determine whether there will be new clients next semester (if not, leave)
Sign a contract and look for something else (my understanding of this situation is that it is very difficult to break a contract and gain employment elsewhere without a letter of release, which would probably NOT be forthcoming)

Our feelings:
We are in a relatively small city where there isn't much to do. We can save a reasonable amount of coin provided we get paid and reimbursed for the plane flight.
We both enjoy teaching our respective classes.
We both enjoy the other office staff and other local teachers and people we have met (with the exception of the neurotic, lazy old shite we are unfortunate enough to work with)
We are in an area that is conducive to both of us in terms of climate.
The money is OK
The vacations are OK
Apart from the HUGE feelings of uncertainty and disquiet we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves.
The teacher who was in charge while HR/VP was gone has not received good reviews from his coworkers and students; both my wife and I have recieved nothing but praise.

I'm sure I've missed some relevant stuff, but I need input.
Has something similar happened to anybody else? Did it work out or did you walk? My feeling right now is to walk unless they agree to reimburse us for the plane flights on a monthly basis additional to our wage.

[Spiderman Too]

If I were in your shoes I'd run, not walk.

Any agreement to pay you a proportion of your airfares on a monthly basis will only be as good as any undertakings they have previously agreed upon (contract, 'Z' visa and F.R.P., timely payment of salary?).

With so many jobs currently available (see below), and many, many more jobs soon to become available (for the start of the new semester in late February), both you and your wiffe have good prospects of securing decent employment.

http://www.aacircle.com.au/cgi-bin/forums/china/teach-in-china.pl

http://www.eslcafe.com/joblist/

http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/China/index.pl

[badtyndale]

Well, first of all if you are enjoying your post then that is as good a reason as any to stick with it. Huge uncertainty is not that unusual a feeling for FT's in China.

Have you had the first half of your flights reimbursed yet or does that come on April 1st? If the latter, it's a bit of a raw deal and I'd negotiate to bring the date forward. If you've signed no contracts then you have room to manoeuvre.

Here's a bit of a worry, though. You mentioned getting a back-dated contract. I can't see how this is possible if your employer is to sponsor a working visa and residency permit because there are time limits within which these things have to be applied for. However, you can sign a contract dated now or in the near future and then your employer can sort out this paperwork for you - obviously this needs to be done before your current visas expire.

This business about the 'HR' person not drumming up any clients and the company being in bad shape is possibly the most serious thing that you should consider. For one thing, private companies (if that's what it is) don't always have provincial approval to sponsor work visas. For another, China is full of 'organisations' claiming to have business needs that they don't in actual fact have. In short, you must consider the possibility that there is no job for you next semester.

From what you've described, I think it all sounds a bit dodgy. Two months is long enough (even for Chinese) to at least begin to get their act together. Think on.

[lagerlout2006]

it might be the local way of being pokey about things but really it sounds very unpleasant. Not signing a contract right away makes no sense. And then they threw this back at you on payday. So you have nothing signed and they say they "might not" have enough students. Will you get salary during the break?

Are the school legal for certain? There have been schools who will use a teacher for as long as their visa lasts. None of this is your fault---guess you have to decide if you trust them or not. Are there other contract teachers? good luck--I would make my proirity getting a work visa and green book before the tourist visa expires in January.

[yamahuh]

[Roger]

What kind of school is this???
If it is a training centre, and the part of your post that revolves around it not drumming up enough custom makes me assuem this, then I would suggest you better look for another job RIGHT NOW.
Right now means before the holidays, during which period they are not going to have any business. Will they pay you throughout that season???
If it is a PUBLIC school - and a place that has HR (meaning???) and a VP (meaning "Vice Principal"???), then I would sign my contract but insist on getting your dues NOW and your visa ASAP.

My overall impression is that your employer is a newbie that's not quite in the know of how to employ a foreign national. But you must beware too: if they fall on hard times they inevitably pass their responsabilities, and you will find yourself down and out.

If you are considering going on working on a tourist visa, I would feel you are pushing your fate too far!

[yamahuh]