Job Discussion Forums

[number1english]

Hi Everyone,

I've been teaching in Shanxi Province, China for the past year. Due to some unfavorable conditions at the school I was at, I recently made the decision to break the contract by leaving the school and going to teach at another school. I still had four months to go on my old contract with the first school.

I am hearing conflicting stories as to what will happen to a teacher who breaks a contract. In the e-mails my former employer is bombarding me with, I will supposedly get black-listed, the police will look for me and they can take my visa away, I'll never get another job in China, blah blah blah. On the other hand, I've heard from teachers who have been in China for a number of years that the school cannot do anything to me (none of those guys has ever personally broken a contract).

If any of you good readers out there has had first-hand experience with this issue, please reply-post, or e-mail [email protected]

Thanks, and I look forward to reading your responses.

[Orrin]

@number1english,

What were the terms of your contract with your old school regarding leaving before the end of your contract? How much notice did you give your old school that you were leaving?

Typically, schools require 30 day written notice of premature departure. If you comply with that clause, they are obliged to give you a �release letter� as you go out the door. If you have complied with the contract, and they do not provide you with a release letter, then your new school may well have difficulty transferring you work/residence visa, but that�s about as difficult as it can legally get for you.

Indeed, your old school may spread a lot of �slime� about you through the local EFL community, and thereby make it difficult for you to find work in the local community, but they cannot �blackball� you or have your visa terminated. They are bluffing and trying to frighten you! This is common practice with many of the less-than-reputable schools in China.

[Sonnibarger]

I could be wrong but i thought that if the school wont give you a release, you can always go to HongKong and get a new L visa... go back then apply for a Z with the new school... i know its a pain in the A$$ doin the traveling, but i always look for excuses to go to hongkong for a few days and eat some subway

[loboman]

My question is, if you give 30 days notice won't the school in all likelihood hold any monies that they owe you?

Won;'t you lose your pay?

[number1english]

No, I didn't give them any notice. I was the only foreign teacher still at the school, they couldn't find others, and they were unwilling to give me a release letter unless I paid them US$500, so I just found another job and left without telling them.

Can my new school have trouble changing my residency permit and/or renewing my visa? I am still living in the same province. I've been in this city almost two weeks, and they haven't asked me for my passport to register with the local cops. My visa/residence permit expires in January, so I'm guessing that they are just gonna wait until then.

[Anda]

If the local police let you work out your current work resident visa at where you are working then I can't see them giving you a hard time unless you cause trouble of one kind of another locally. I wouldn't let anyone know from your old location that you are still in country now or in the future.


I would tell the local police about the $500 thing and leave it at that. You should have gone to the foreign affairs office that was nearest to where you worked and notified them of what was happening. You could even let them know of what you have done and why at this stage as it could help at the end of your current visa

Keep your complaint simple and too the point; don't overdo it.

[El Macho]

What did your contract with your ex-school say about breaking contract?

At my school in Changchun we had a clause that said one had to give 30 days notice and pay a �6000 "fine" to the school if one chose to leave before finishing.
This was enforced selectively. Problem teachers were let go with a release letter and a smile without paying anything. However, one teacher tried to pull a fast one, giving notice after he'd been paid for the previous month, and the school literally brought in the police the next day. The cops told him that he had to pay the �6000 or have to deal with them. (This was a school whose owner had excellent guanxi.)

[number1english]

Yes, my contract said I would have to pay a US$500 penalty for breaking contract. I did what your friend did; I got paid and left the next morning. I'm pretty confident that my old school won't be able to locate me in a big city such as this, but I'm worried what will happen in January 2009 when I have to renew my visa. I'm just hoping this won't come back to haunt me then.

[Anda]

You might consider doing a visa run to Hong Kong and coming back on a Z visa. The problem would come if you try to transfer your resident visa to your new location so cancel the resident visa and apply for a new Z visa.

[Jordean]

I don't have any practical experience in breaking contracts, but your contract does have a liquidated damages clause (as you note). You can run, or you can try to settle the matter. I always prefer the latter, better not to have to look over your shoulder for the next year. Satchel Paige said something about this.

[Anda]

$500 US = 3,418.75 RMB

Going on what Mark Beckman has posted it would be cheaper to do a Hong Kong trip plus interesting.

http://www.cosmicguesthouse.com/


For a little less than 700 RMB you have a z visa in a day and with the other 2,700 RMB you have enough for the trip cost. Give them the money and they treat the next foreigner the same.

[number1english]

I heard that Hong Kong was no longer an option for foreigners. I went on the HK Foreign Affairs web site, and it says that everyone must return to their home country. I seriously don't want to go back to America. Is this new regulation permanent, or just until the olympics are over?

[Anda]

I posted that things were going to relax visa wise a little while back and they have. Will they stay this way? For the time being I would say yes until the economy goes down a lot more.

[stillnosheep]

You are allowed to leave your job.

If you are leaving because of problems with the the school it may be worth asking your local consulate to check whether the school holds the necessary permit to employ foreign experts.

If it doesn't, even if uses guanxi to get permits for its teachers to work, then not only can you legally walk free without giving any notice, but you will be in a better position to negotiate a payout of a fair proportion of the contract-end bonus and air-fare home agreed at the start of contract.

[jamesmollo]

Hi there, I have done exactly what you have done before although there was a 20,000rmb penalty. I now work in the same city at a different school. This was over a 2 years ago and nothing happened to me.
It really depends on the connections of your new employer in terms of issuing you a new r.p.f, f.e.c etc without the release letter, but it can be done. Or, you may need to leave the country, come back and do the procedure again. Nobody is going to inforce the breach penalty - why would the police care? it's a civil matter, remember. Bear in mind that the new school may, in full knowledge that they can't deal with this, make some money out of you until it comes time to renew your papers - then let you go. Working on a current work visa at a different location isn't such a big deal in the eyes of the law, at least you are legally allowed to work, you know what i mean?
You must be sure your new employer can deal with this, otherwise you could find yourself in a difficult situation.
good luck