Job Discussion Forums

[Yu]

So as you may already know I am trying to find a job teaching in Shanghai.

I am reading posts from a few people who already have "contracts".
I have received some e-mails from prospective employers that give details about the position, the salary, etc... but I would not consider these contracts. They are just more information about the position to see if I am still interested, right?

So how exactly does this process work?

After I find a job that I am intersted in, send a CV, etc., get a reply back from the university that they are intersted in me (verses hearing nothing back at all), what is the next step?

I have been sending an e-mail saying I was intersted in the position, and I may ask a few questions to get more information about the position. (i.e. Is health care provided?), but then I do not get any reply back (it is been 2 weeks to a month). So I just sent a follow up e-mail saying I am still interested in the positon. What is going to happen next? Or am I just being impatient as I know things are not exactly efficient in the PRC.

Any information that will help me understand this frustrating process would be welcomed.

Also, how much are contracts negotiated? I am willing to take 4000 per month plus housing (or 3000 mo. housing allowance), chinese lessons, return airfare, and health care in Shanghai for teaching at a university for 12-16 hours/week. I want the job to be at a university that has a good reputation. I am not willing to work at a langauge school. I guess I just do not want to sell mysef short, and I am not really familar with contract negotiations. Is there a good way to negotiate verses a bad way to negotiate. I know 4000 isn't much, but I am not coming to China for the money.

[nolefan]

this is your typical contract:

http://teachinchina.cn/contract.php


most legit places will have it in form of a booklet that says SAFEA all over the cover.... as most of us would say, that contract is not worth the paper it is written on

[About The Author]

CONTRACT FOR SALARIED TEACHERS

___________ School hereby appoints ________________to the position of full-time language teacher subject to the following terms and conditions.


1.0 EMPLOYMENT TERMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1.1 The employment period covered by this contract is from __________ to _____________
1.2 The teacher will serve in whatever capacity is deemed necessary by the School Director or Teaching Manager. This may include classroom instruction for adults and/or children, curriculum development, interviewing prospective students, materials preparation or any other related activities.
1.3 The teacher will be evaluated after the first month, and then annually for effectiveness and participation.



2.0 SALARY, BENEFITS, AND HOURS

2.1 The teacher's monthly salary is the sum of RMB4000 calculated from the first day of employment. The salary is payable on the first day of the following month, unless that day is a holiday and then it is paid on the next workday.
2.2 Teachers are required to teach 20 hours per week as scheduled by the school. Any teaching time beyond these hours will be paid at a rate of RMB100 per hour. The teachers will be expected to arrive at least 1/2 hour prior to the beginning of the class.
2.3 Teachers are required to arrange at least one special event per class per term outside of class time.
2.4 The teacher is also required to participate in regular meetings to share teaching experiences and evaluate and develop curriculum. Teachers are also required to assist in the interview process of new students as scheduled, generally 2 weeks before classes begin and during the first 2 weeks of the term.
2.5Visa and work permits will be provided and paid for by the school in the case of the teacher. The School will arrange but not pay for visas for spouses and dependents.
2.6 The school will provide a private furnished apartment. Teachers are responsible to pay for payment of the monthly utilities (including water, electricity, gas, telephone bill and security fee). 2.7 The school will pay RMB7000 upon completion of this 1-year renewable contract.
2.8 The teacher may be required to teach a class off campus. In such a case if the travel time incurred adds additional time of a minimum of over 1/2 hour one way to the teacher's schedule beyond 20 hours, the teacher will be compensated for the travel time at a rate of RMB50 per hour (i.e. one-half overtime pay).
2.9 The school will provide full accident insurance for the teacher, at no extra charge, effective for the full duration of the contract.
2.10 General medical fees incurred by the teacher during the contracted period will be repaid by the school to a maximum of RMB 1000 per year.
2.11 School will arrange and pay for medical insurance of RMB10000 for the full duration of the contract.


3.0 HOLIDAY AND VACATION TIME

3.1 Paid leave will be granted for Chinese public holidays. Any personal time off must be approved by the director and make-up classes must be arranged with the students (see 4.1 & 4.2)
3.2 Paid vacation time will be 8 weeks per year as scheduled by the school. If the teacher would like to work during that time, they may consult with the school manager to see if additional work can be arranged.
3.3 Additional unpaid leave can be arranged during the course of this contract. Such additional leave must be arranged and agreed to at least 6 months prior to the leave. Additional time will be added to the end of the contract equivalent to the amount of time taken off should the teacher wish to get the year bonus. For example, if the teacher takes additional leave of one month, an additional month will be added to the end of his contract.

4.0 TEACHER'S ABSENCE

4.1 Approval for the teacher's absence during work hours must be sought directly from the managers. Private arrangements with colleagues without prior consent of the managers are not permitted.
4.2 In the case of sick leave, the teacher is responsible for rescheduling the class hours with the students. Arrangements may be made for a substitute teacher approved by the director.



5.0 GENERAL POLICIES

5.1 The teacher understands that the school seeks to promote high ethical and moral standards and agrees to ensure that his/her conduct both inside and outside the school does not reflect negatively on the school in this regard. The teacher may not do anything to damage the reputation of the school in the local or national community.
5.2 The teacher shall not participate in any form of activity that might be interpreted either directly or indirectly, as interference in the political affairs of any particular government, or that might be prejudicial to the public interest or the welfare of the school or its teachers or students.
5.3 No money will be collected from students without the consent of the school administration.
5.4 All materials prepared by the teacher for the school as part of his/her responsibilities become the property of the school. Any cost incurred by the teacher in preparing the materials may be reimbursed upon the presentation of a valid receipt and agreement of the office manager.
5.5 The teacher will not teach outside of Fountain English School without the consent of the director. However, the teacher may take on private outside students provided they do not interfere with his/her responsibilities and obligations to the School. Any group of private students should not consist of more than four students.



6.0 TERMINATION OF SERVICE

6.1 This agreement may be terminated by giving advance notice in writing to the Director at least two months before the end of his/her term of teaching. If the teacher wishes to leave the school without giving such notice, he/she shall pay to the school a sum equal to the amount of the notice not given. (e.g. one-month notice given requires one month?��s pay paid to the school.) In addition the teacher will be required to reimburse the school for the cost of the remaining months of the visa, work permit, resident card and health certificate.
6.2 This agreement may be terminated by the school by giving the teacher two weeks notice in writing or by paying the teacher a sum equal to the amount of notice not given (see example in 6.1).
6.3 The school may exercise the right to dismiss the teacher without giving notice or payment in lieu of notice for misconduct, breach of school regulations or policies, absence without the school?��s consent or failure to abide by the conditions of the contract.



I have read and understood fully the above terms and conditions of
this contract and agree to abide thereby.

Signed________________ ______________________
Teacher Director
Date__________________ ______________________

[Roger]

Some schools have a penalty clause. If you quit before your contract expires, for whatever reason, you owe the school a specifiedc amount of dough (they have to advertise the vacancy again...).

And, public schools also have a clause that specifies that you get a travel allowance for your spring holiday travelling season.

[Yu]

So if I am applying for a job from outside of China when will I get to see this contract. Do I request them to fax one to me (of course I expect this should not be a problem.)

Also, I sent an e-mail to the schools that replied back to me that I was also intersted in teaching at. The next day I got a reply from one of the schools saying they would increase the salary by 1400 RMB per month.

I did not ask for a salary increase or anything.

What is going on with this?

[About The Author]

......words are words.....blablablablba.......

I you plan to be sharp:
Have two contracts signed [hard copy] and send to you -
One in English and the second one in a local tongue -

Have the second one translated (making sure it�s not a cooking recipe)

If they match and you like the flavor its�s a GO!

[Yu]

Good idea,
Translation not a problem as my husband is a native...

[SeaLawyer]

The official contract issued and printed by SAFEA is on government safety paper, you will see two kinds of watermarks, and has a serial number in the upper right corner. By Law, this is the only contract that provides the protection of the government of the People's Republic of China.

The new SAFEA Division of Regulations point of contact is Ms. Xu Jin (Jessica). She can be reached at 010 69848899 x50541. Mr. Wan Xueyuan is the Director of SAFEA. SAFEA is under the Ministry of Communications. The Ministry of Communications is under the State Council. SAFEA, contrary to the official SAFEA contract, no longer handles arbitration. Arbitration is handled by the local labor office of the Ministry of Labor. Lawyer fee ranges for arbitration cases are set at the provinicial government level. Lawyers are authorized to double the fee for handling disputes involving foreigners. Expect to pay about 10,000 RMB yuan.

Five entities are involved in the administration of relevant documents for Foreign Experts. The provincial Foreign Affairs Office, the provincial Bureau of Foreign Experts, the provincial Education Department, the Entry and Exit Management Section of the local Public Security Bureau and the local Labor Office. In order to work legally in China, you must have a Z-visa. A Foreign Experts Permit serves as your legal identification in China during your stay. An Alien Resident Card (either Temporary Foreigner Residence Permit [ less than six months ] or Foreigner Residence Permit [ six months or longer ] ) is required. These documents are issued to you, not your employer. If they want to retain them, something is wrong. They also have absolutely no reason to try and hold your Passport. If you desire to move, you must go through the removal process at the issuing Public Security Bureau (PSB) prior to the move and then register with your new PSB within 10 days of change of address. [Article 22 of Rules Governing the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Control of Entry and Exit of Aliens (Article 33)] [Article 42 specifies the penalties for failure to comply with this rule. 100-500 RMB yuan, 3-10 days imprisonment, or further sanctions if the violation is serious.] Although the responsibility for these items is shared jointly by the Foreign Expert and the "Host Institution" , do not expect any problems to cause any difficulties for anyone other than you.

Be advised, that even though it is hard to imagine, Autonomous Regions are even more corrupt than Provinces. How can you be more than 100% corrupt? Ask me.

P.S. Don't expect to take care of any problems by phone or by mail unless you want to make it even easier for them to lie to you. If you present in person and get a Director level person to sign for a document, there is an infintesimal chance that they will bring out a microgram of honesty. It will be short lived and pointless, but it is fun to get one or two sentences of truthful discourse with a Party Member. Make sure to use Party phrases in your letter. The "Documents of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China" are my favorite sources for citations. My second favorite source is "Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping."

P.S.S. Having a battle of wills with Jing Cha is fun, but, make sure you know exactly what you are doing and exactly what everybody else around you is doing. This one is not for the faint at heart. Make sure you have your Consular Citizen Services Office and Hotline numbers in your mobile and in your wallet or purse. Do not sign a Police Report unless a Certified Translator (they have a book issued by PRC) translates it. The "Police" care about truth even less than they care about rules of evidence. If you find yourself in a situation of having to file a Police Report against your employer, plan a long hard uphill fight just to get to the Detective and then gale force winds and heavy seas from there on. If anybody can contradict my position statement based on their own experience, I'd be happy to hear it.

[Sinobear]

Ha! Negotiate for the money and terms you want. Get them to add it to the contract. delete whatever offends you or scares you. Sign the contract. Start work. If they seem to be scr*wing you over in any way, shape, or form...leave.
Contracts have always, and will always be no more than an understanding...a basis from which to go from, in China (sorry SeaLawyer, you're either paid by someone with vested interests, or you're on drugs).
The money and conditions (health care? Yu, you've been here long enough to know that there's no real comprehensive health care in China - ask for $500-800 USD a year to purchase your own health coverage) are all that's important. You get your pay, and things are as "promised" during the hiring process. If the school does not deliver as promised - talk to the top dog and try to achieve satisfaction (never back down and accept less). If you still can't achieve satisfaction - leave, there and then.
SAFEA? Rub shoulders with the right people and you'll never have cause to worry about anything whilst in China.
If you get screwed, it is because you set yourself up for it or let it happen. No pseudo-government agency can protect you from ignorance (especially a foreigner). The police? Excuse me, Sealawyer, since when do the police in any country, have anything to do with work disputes? The PSB is only concerned with the legality of a person's right and eligibility to work. The Dep't of Labor governs the enforcement of contracts; however, they don't give a rat's a$$ about the problems of a foreigner. Private litigation is far too expensive and time consuming for a regular Joe (or Yu) to pursue. Therefore, it is best for the individual to negotiate the terms, conditions, salary, etc., and bail should the employing organization renege on what was agreed upon in writing or words).

Words are real nice (and cheap). Experience is the best teacher.
End of rant.

[SeaLawyer]

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Woah...

Yu is a veteran now. This is way old.

She's married with a Chinese husband (handsome look'n guy) and got a kid.

Old news.

YAWN.

If anything, she should be giving us advice now.

[SeaLawyer]

[ShapeSphere]

SeaLawyer - I'm not bored. Your posts about the legal aspects are interesting and could be very useful in the future, if I have to use them. But I won't know how effective or truthful it all is, until that time. Hopefully that won't happen.

However, Sinobear is right that the contract is not worth much. I adopt the same attitude - it's just an "understanding". Nothing more, nothing less.

I speak to colleagues & friends, and read all these posts about visas, permits, contracts, etc., and frankly it is all as clear as mud. I still feel none the wiser. Everybody has different opinions, facts and experiences. This is how China works. It is absolute corruption (as SeaLawyer knows) with mass confusion and contradiction.

[Sinobear]

And Sinobear should have checked the date on Yu's post
Anyhoo, SeaLawyer, it remains that no matter how legal and legit a contract might be - it is normally beyond the means of an average FT to pursue legal recourse should the school renege on the contract.
A friend of mine wanted to go after her school for breach of contract. She contacted a (Chinese) lawyer who gave her a free consultation on the matter. She was estatic after that meeting. Oh yes, she could sue for all kinds of things, ask for all amounts of money. But, BUT she had to pay 20K RMB first and was told that it may take more than two years to ever get the case in front of a judge.