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eik
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 45
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 Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:15 am Post subject: Leaving after half a year ? |
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Suppose I have a one year contract, but want to leave after half a year. Can this be done, or can I expect trouble ? If so, what kind of trouble ?  |
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java_gila
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 21
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:24 am Post subject: leaving??? |
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| Read your contract...you will know exactly what are the consequences. |
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eik
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:10 am Post subject: Re: leaving??? |
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| java_gila wrote: |
| Read your contract...you will know exactly what are the consequences. |
I said : "suppose I have a one year contract..." which in this case means I don't have a contract...I am just curious to know what will happen. |
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father Mackenzie
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 105
Location: Jakarta Barat
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:32 am Post subject: |
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| It will depend on your contract and your relationship with your employer but basically if you decide to break contract then you will probably lose your return flight money, any contract completion bonus and you may not get a written reference from the company. Also there will be clause in your contract detailing the financial penalty that you will have to pay should you break contract and that can be a lot of money. If you give the employer notice then your visa will be canceled correctly and thats pretty much it. If there are other circumstances which mean you have to break contract, lets say for personal reasons, then this may well be handled differently. |
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malu
Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 1344
Location: Sunny Java
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 5:58 am Post subject: |
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If you make a one year contract with someone - anyone - and you plan right from the outset to break that contract half way through, then I'd say you deserve whatever you get.
I'd be the first person to kick up on this forum when schools behave unethically toward teachers, but at the same time it is sometimes difficult to find sympathy for a minority of unethical teachers. |
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eik
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:07 am Post subject: |
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| father Mackenzie wrote: |
| It will depend on your contract and your relationship with your employer but basically if you decide to break contract then you will probably lose your return flight money, any contract completion bonus and you may not get a written reference from the company. Also there will be clause in your contract detailing the financial penalty that you will have to pay should you break contract and that can be a lot of money. If you give the employer notice then your visa will be canceled correctly and thats pretty much it. If there are other circumstances which mean you have to break contract, lets say for personal reasons, then this may well be handled differently. |
Thanks, father !
1) But what if you just run away, what will happen to your visa : I guess it is possible to leave the country without permission of your employer ?
2) What kind of money are we talking about, can you give a rough impression ?
3) What is the normal trial period in which the teacher has the possibility to leave without sanctions ? |
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eik
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:09 am Post subject: |
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| malu wrote: |
If you make a one year contract with someone - anyone - and you plan right from the outset to break that contract half way through, then I'd say you deserve whatever you get.
I'd be the first person to kick up on this forum when schools behave unethically toward teachers, but at the same time it is sometimes difficult to find sympathy for a minority of unethical teachers. |
Life isn't that simple, malu ! |
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father Mackenzie
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Posts: 105
Location: Jakarta Barat
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:45 am Post subject: |
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Malu is right, if you plan to break contract before hand then you should consider if it is worth you being here in the first place.
I am unable to say what would happen if you just run away. All I know is that once you have signed the contract then you are obliged to pay any penalties that are written into it. The penalties normally cover the cost of your right to work and stay here. |
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Fishy
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 138
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:47 am Post subject: |
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If after 6 months you still do not have a KITAS, contract, work permit and are not tax registered, then I would not have much sympathy for your employer and would actually advise you to leave and work for someone who does things properly.
If you have signed a contract and are working legally then I would say the employer has every right to hold you to the terms of the contract. Normally contracts here stipulate that if either party breaks contract without an acceptable reason, the other party must pay out an amount equaling the monthly salary due for the remainder of the contract. So, if you earn 20m per month and break contract with 4 months to go you will have to pay the employer 80m.
If you have important reasons for leaving, try making a deal to your employer. If you don't have a very good reason for ending your contract then I agree with malu, you have made a commitment to someone and should see it through. |
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malu
Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 1344
Location: Sunny Java
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:07 am Post subject: |
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| Fishy wrote: |
If after 6 months you still do not have a KITAS, contract, work permit and are not tax registered, then I would not have much sympathy for your employer and would actually advise you to leave and work for someone who does things properly.
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Agreed 100%. |
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Vertumnus
Joined: 03 May 2006
Posts: 142
Location: Indonesia
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:58 am Post subject: Re: Leaving after half a year ? |
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| eik wrote: |
| Suppose I have a one year contract, but want to leave after half a year. Can this be done, or can I expect trouble ? If so, what kind of trouble ? |
1) If you have valid reasons for leaving (ie: you have to return home to tend to serious family matters; there is serious threat of death due to civil unrest or terrorism; etc.) then you can usually either get out of your contract entirely, or have it delayed until you return (if you wish to return).
2) If you have problems related to your job, such as breach of conduct by the employer, bad working/housing conditions, etc., contracts generally require you to finish out either the semester or school year before leaving. Failure to do so means you lose any end-of-year bonuses, the airplane ticket home, etc., and you may have to pay a penalty. AND they will probably make it difficult for you to live/work in Indonesia - even if they are wrong, it only takes money to win in court here. If they are ethical, you may be able to reason with them, but there's no guarantee of that, either (as I know from my own experience of being screwed by an otherwise ethical employer).
3) If your reasons for leaving are petty and childish, they'll just blow you off.
4) If you leave after half a year, having intended to do that from the very beginning - but never having told your employer - then they should hang you out to dry. I despise teachers like that - and I've worked with some and watched them screw the boss for no reason at all.
5) If you have no contract (yes, I know you said a 1-year contract), then you can leave at any time.
6) If you have no contract but they have provided you with documentation (somehow), then there is only the moral perspective to stop you from walking/running away. No contract means no rules.
7) If you have no contract and no documents, then there are no rules or moral objections. You owe them nothing, and they owe you nothing.
 If you run to another country, most schools do not have the resources to come after you. So long as you stay away from Indonesia, you'll be ok unless it's a REALLY big company. If the employer is evil, then that's the only way out of the deal without paying a huge set of fines (depending on the contract). However, they may put the word out about you, and foment trouble with immigration to keep you from returning.
If you are running away because of a nasty employer, you can ask immigration for an emergency cancellation and EPO. I'm not sure what kind of documentation you'd need to prove it, but I've known several people that ran away suddenly from schools that didn't treat them right, and the ones I heard from afterwards didn't have any problems because they returned to their home countries.
If you leave the country without your documents being cancelled and without the EPO, which is theoretically possibly if you exit via land (Kalimantan, Timor and Papua), they will figure it out and, upon returning here, you'll have a BIG hassle with immigration (money greases their wheels, tho). Of course, there's also the cost of the FISKAL tax that you'll have to pay if they haven't issued your NPWP (taxpayer) card.
Here're my suggestions:
If you just want to work for 6 months, tell the employer. Some will do that, some won't. If you ditch your job, it'll get around.
If you're really being abused by your employer (and I don't mean you're working harder than you want to), and you have no ties here, then ditch and run to another country.
If you have money, get a lawyer to get you out. If you need to, some law departments at state universities offer pro bono consultations and advocacy. If it goes to court, they'll even try to help you find a lawyer. Remember, though, that judges sometimes make decisions based on the largest bribe.
If, however, you've got ties here, wait until your contract let's you out. Give them a letter of resignation that states the reasons you're leaving so that (hopefully) they'll improve.
If you have no contract, and you have no morals, then run away. If you have morals, then give notice.
If you have no contract, no documents and no obligations, then you're free to leave at any time.
I think that about covers it.
-D |
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eik
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:41 am Post subject: |
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God of seasons : great reply !  |
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tanyakenapa
Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 180
Location: Batavia
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:34 pm Post subject: |
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someone from our workplace has just done that.. left half way during his contract. He was an ass*ole anyway
He now owes the school about 6million. He still has a few months on his KITAS so thats why he has 6million owing...
They wont give him an EPO until he pays that.
So he's now moved to another company and working illegally there until he sorts out his problems with his old place of work.
Good riddance to him I say!!! He needs anger management classes!!!! |
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laughing_magpie06
Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 282
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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A friend of mine worked for an EF school a few years ago and wanted to simply leave the country for a short while not knowing the rules. They asked him in Batam at immigration for the EPO which he didn't have. Immigration in Batam are a little more 'flexible' than in other parts of the country and said if he could only get a letter with an EF letterhead stating he wishes to leave they would let him go. So his girlfriend knocked one up and faxed it to immigration there and off he went. He hated the place pretty much anyway and didn't stay much longer as the EPO gave him the get out of jail card he needed. He returned later in the year and I remembered him saying he feared being in the interrogation room for hours. But I told him Indonesia is a big place and not that sophisticated.
I never myself did this as I did have personal reasons to stay and didn't want to blot my copybook but would have been within my rights when working for Berlitz who stated in their contract that you would pay back in full if you left the first 6 months but it was in my last 6 months they screwed me around and gave me very few classes. They had this idea that bules didn't need money anyway as we have unlimited supplies back home. Neverless I stayed on while struggling like I never had before and never looked back after completing their contract. |
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eik
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 45
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| Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Good story ! |
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