Job Discussion Forums

[mailimiller]

How difficult is it break a contract?

[Mister Al]

It will depend on your relationship with your employer whether they decide to enforce the penalty clause in your contract or not. Start talking and negotiate the best deal you can.

On the other hand you could wait until an appropriate pay day then do a planned runner.

I prefer the former approach, myself.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

If you try to leave early and tell them you are leaving, you will be fined.

If you just leave without them knowing, you won't be fined.

Basically, do what you feel is best for yourself. However, if you do what is commonly known as "a midnight run", you will have a bad reputation and obviously not be able to use them as any sort of reference in the future.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

depending on what kind of school it is (university), if the contract runs from september till july, then often the last 2-3 weeks of the contract are free anyway (exams/marking/admin stuff and FTs usually finish up early if its oral english). if the contract runs from march till january, same thing just different time of the year. you might not have to do much to extricate yourself from the situation.

at any rate, you can tell the school you need to leave and you can tell them why. if you have a good relationship with them, you might find they'll let you go and you wont be fined.

i left one school in the past because of something that happened there, i told the school i was leaving in one week's time and they could start looking for a replacement, and no effort was made to stop me (no hassles, no fines, no blacklists etc etc). i left the country for awhile, and came back six months later to a new job.

[Jayray]

If the OP is from the U.S., he should be aware that most public schools (K-12) begin hiring and signing contracts in April before school ends.**

Colleges and universities begin placing job opening advertisements in February and March (for the fall term) even though the position may be (and usually is) filled before the ad is even published.

If you're in the U.S., be sure that there are actually job openings before you shoot yourself in the foot in China.

That's not to say that there is no hiring during the summer right up to the wire before the public K-12 schools open. There is.

Just be sure to get your ducks in a row before you start shooting. If you intend to apply via job fair, you stand a better chance of gaining employment than if you are planning to scour the papers for single opening advertisements.

There's another discussion about the ethics of canceling contracts that you may be interested in.

** Conditions may vary from one state to another, but April is usually Job Fair month

[rc81]

[Mr. Ed]

Chinese people are very compassionate.

Just tell them your mother or father died and you need to return home. They will release you with a proper release letter.

This is the most common excuse used successfully.

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[tomstone]

[rc81]

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

it's possible but it may not be so easy.

i noticed you asked a similar question (breaking contract) on the saudi forum. like one of the posters over there said, i think you're putting the cart before the horse. get an offer, find out what kind of school they are, get the visa, start working, and if problems crop up deal with them as necessary.

[rc81]

[Mr. Ed]

[rc81]

[Mr. Ed]

The fact that the policy seems extreme to you is irrelevant and indicates that you have either been in China a very short time or have never adjusted.

Since you decided to insult me, I will withhold any further information from you.

I wish you the best.