Job Discussion Forums

[drewteacher]

How often do most schools in Taipei pay? Once a month? Twice? More? Thanks.

[BigWally]

once a month is standard operating procedure

[Dr_Zoidberg]

As BW said, once per month is standard. They also like to pay you so many days into the following month, in case you decide to run off in the night. Some schools pay on the fifth of the following month, others pay on the 10th. Under no circumstances should you accept being paid later than this.

[markholmes]

To avoid having to leave money behind, if you should have to run, you book vacation time for the beginning of the month up until paid day. I have done this. I'm not proud of it, but it was necessary to avoid either my wife or I having a nervous breakdown. If the school had had a resignation policy, this would not have occurred.

I worked at another school that paid twice a month, but once a month is normal.

[Ki]

My school has a policy that if I take any days off before pay day I will get paid the same days later. So if I take a day off on the 6th I get paid on the 11th. Two days off I get paid on the 12th, etc.

I have no problems with people doing runners from schools with questionable moral contract clauses. I only hope teachers are weary about being blacklisted for life if they do so.

[markholmes]

By this time Ki, we couldn't have cared less whether we got blacklisted or not. We had secretly given notice on our apartment six weeks in advance and moved to a hotel two nights before we 'ran'. We worked up to the last day of term before Chinese new year (we didn't want to leave the kids without a teacher). We had a quick drink with all the staff and managers and then walked out of school onto the main road and flagged a cab, went to the hotel and picked up our bags, before leaving for a flight to Bangkok. The tension was awful even until the plane took off. Absolutely nobody at school had any idea what we were doing.

We had a friend (at our previous school) check our bank accounts until our wages had been deposited and then we immediately sent emails and mailed letters to every manager explaining why we had left and also why we had felt that we had to leave without notice.

We gave as much notice to the school as was possible without losing money that we had rightfully earned. We specifically left at that time, because it would at least give them 10 days to find a teacher before term resumed. Honestly, for our own health, we should have been out of there three months before.

A sad end to nearly three years in Taiwan and five in Asia.

I'm not sure how the blacklist works, but I've been back to Taipei several times, coming and going on business trips to other parts of Asia, and it hasn't been a problem ever.

In all my business dealings with Chinese, Thais and Indonesians since, I've never had anything like the trouble I had in Taiwan. I guess, as limited as mine is, money speaks. A warm body doesn't compare.

[Ki]

A sad ending yes but I don't blame you for it. I think the ban only applies if you want an ARC. But that could also depend on when abouts you left. If the ban was in effect at the time I mean.

I guess for me it isn't the actual monetary worth as most of it could probably be successfully contested anyway. In a way it is the blatent realisation of it all. I'm not to be trusted in any way. I am the foreigner teacher. That is all. If I do anything wrong I will pay for it. I don't know.

[SanChong]

I'll go ahead and ask the question which everyone must be thinking: What school did you work at!!?

[markholmes]

No problem San Chong. Taipei Oxford American School in Neihu. I think they may have changed the "American" bit to 'International' now. I have mentioned this school before in posts. I think it is (or was) connected with Frobel in Taoyuan.

Please note that I have not specified why we left and three years after leaving there is a good chance those people have moved on, so there is no point going over it again.

The teaching positions are best suited to those who have been through a strict South African school system or perhaps Catholic schooling or those who have been in the military and like to told what to do (and do not deviate).

In fairness to some of the teachers working there they were excellent educators, I mean truly great. But the system seemed designed to crush the spirit of new teachers at the school and bolster the power of the three of four teachers who had ''started' the school some ten years before. Any teaching experience gained prior to entering the school was deemed worthless.

I could go on, but after this prolonged period of time my opinion has mellowed and my blood no longer comes to the boil.

[Forumosa Maoman]