Job Discussion Forums

[deputamadre]

In my contract I am to be reimbursed for "one-way international airfare."

The school is now telling me that they will reimburse only $500. I live in America and a one-way ticket back home in the middle of summer is about $1000, round-trip is closer to $1400.

Have any teachers had similar experiences? Usually when I've dealt with this clause in a contract that reimburse me for the exact cost of the plane ticket after I provide a receipt. What should I do?

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

had a somewhat similar experience before, school didnt want to pay for the air ticket at all.

i politely insisted that the school pay me the full value of the ticket. a week went by, nothing happened, i met the FAO again, and insisted that i needed the money for this ticket. Another ten days went by, and another handful of phone calls and attempted meetings before I finally got (most of) the money.

Be firm, insist that this is a benefit you were promised, and keep asking. ask for an explanation why they're not paying what they promised. play up the fact that you have never been treated badly by this school and you'd hate to go out with bad memories etc etc etc. this should work. sometimes (from my perspective anyway) these schools like to say they wont pay you in the hope that you'll give up easily and just leave and then someone's just saved/pocketed a nice pile of cash (they must have taken lessons from insurance companies in this respect).

once you get closer to the end of your contract and your residence permit, 2-3 weeks before the end, if it still looks bleak, then tell the school you'll be visiting the local authorities to have them enforce the contract for you, and inform the school that you'll be pasting this story of yours all over the internet along with all the pertinent details and you'll be warning all FTs to stay away from this place. If it were me, and as a last ditch effort I'd even tell the FAO that the students will be hearing of my story, since the students might be interested in knowing how the school treated a foreign expert and why they may not have a FT next year. Chinese like to pride themselves on their friendliness towards foreigners - play that up too.

Escalate slowly and surely, stay cool and polite, and I think you'll get results before you need to take drastic action.

[deputamadre]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I've begun to escalate things a little bit, but haven't yet brought up contacting the authorities. Has anyone actually tried contacting SAFEA and successfully resolved a contract dispute?