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Gringo Greg
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 264
Location: Everywhere and nowhere
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 Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:46 am Post subject: Need Help Understanding Pay in Contracts |
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I got some good help on my other threads, but now I have one about contracts. These are confusing concerning pay. I have some good Chinese friends here and they have taught me just how important knowing about your income is.
I have had some contacts with recruiters and agents and they say the salary is something like this:
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| RMB8200yuan (including basic salary RMB 5500yuan, plus deducted house rent allowance, RMB 2000yuan, deducted residential allowance RMB 500yuan, deducted insurance and clinic allowance RMB 200yuan each month) |
Can I assume that my real salary is really only 5500 RMB a month and that 2700 RMB in deductions are just ways to inflate my "salary" so they can advertise a higher salary? In other words, the 8200 RMB and free apartment is at best a fabrication since I am paying for the rent? and they have it on both my wife and I's contract.....in other words we'll share an apartment and they'll take 4000 RMB out for rent? That's more than I pay now for rent here.
Or am I on the wrong page? Am I really taking home 8200 RMB? Asking them hasn't gotten me a clear answer.
In another position, I was told that the salary was 6500 RMB and a free apartment, but the contract came back with 3500 RMB. When I asked about the difference, I was referred back to the additional agreement where it says:
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| Each month of subsidy Party B room spends 600 Yuan, the meal expense 500 Yuan, the transportation spends 600 Yuan (according to working day each month of 22 days� computations) the communication to spend (spends 300 Yuan including computer network expense and handset speech), accumulates 2,000 Yuan. |
I'm a Math teacher and I can add 3500 and 2000 and it only equals 5500. Is that 2000 given to me or is it spent on my behalf so I never see it? Or will I really see 6500 magically appear in my hands every month?
This is not my first teaching job abroad, in fact I've been teaching abroad since 1997 and on Dave's since then. But right now I feel like an an idiot newbie, newbie because I feel like I don't know anything and an idiot because I don't seem to understand anything.
Can someone please help me understand this? I assume these are pretty standard because we've seen it several times. |
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wangdaning
Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 3154
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:56 am Post subject: |
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| Sounds like they are wheelin and dealin to me. Contract should state take home pay and there should be no deductions. Either they are responsible or you are. If they pay housing, they pay. I would blow these people off and keep looking. |
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dean_a_jones
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 1151
Location: Wuhan, China
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:22 am Post subject: Re: Need Help Understanding Pay in Contracts |
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| Gringo Greg wrote: |
| Quote: |
| RMB8200yuan (including basic salary RMB 5500yuan, plus deducted house rent allowance, RMB 2000yuan, deducted residential allowance RMB 500yuan, deducted insurance and clinic allowance RMB 200yuan each month) |
Can I assume that my real salary is really only 5500 RMB a month and that 2700 RMB in deductions are just ways to inflate my "salary" so they can advertise a higher salary? In other words, the 8200 RMB and free apartment is at best a fabrication since I am paying for the rent? and they have it on both my wife and I's contract.....in other words we'll share an apartment and they'll take 4000 RMB out for rent? That's more than I pay now for rent here.
Or am I on the wrong page? Am I really taking home 8200 RMB? Asking them hasn't gotten me a clear answer. |
It sounds to me like they are being a little sneaky in the ad. Certainly there is nothing wrong with a school pointing out that providing you with a decent apartment (assuming it is decent) is part of the overall package you receive at the school. Stating in the ad that the pay is 8,200RMB and a free apartment and then actually offering 5,500RMB and a free apartment is a different matter. Welcome to the world of Chinese advertising.
The fact that there are two of you puts you in an interesting negotiating position. If you are going to share a flat, I would try to negotiate the better salary on one of the contracts based on the cost of renting the apartment. The problem you might find is that the school actually owns the apartment and isn't paying rent, so you not taking a second and them giving you money instead means they actually lose out. If that is the case, I would suggest asking for two apartments. A couple at our school did this and used the second apartment as a quiet place to work or where friends could crash if they visited.
| Quote: |
In another position, I was told that the salary was 6500 RMB and a free apartment, but the contract came back with 3500 RMB. When I asked about the difference, I was referred back to the additional agreement where it says:
| Quote: |
| Each month of subsidy Party B room spends 600 Yuan, the meal expense 500 Yuan, the transportation spends 600 Yuan (according to working day each month of 22 days� computations) the communication to spend (spends 300 Yuan including computer network expense and handset speech), accumulates 2,000 Yuan. |
I'm a Math teacher and I can add 3500 and 2000 and it only equals 5500. Is that 2000 given to me or is it spent on my behalf so I never see it? Or will I really see 6500 magically appear in my hands every month? |
This sounds like a terrible contract. Asking you to pay meal and transport expenses is ridiculous (and they are also overpriced). A school should offer transportation and food for free, or as an option. Anywhere that charges you by default is best avoided. Also, the internet here should be around 800 - 900 per year (or at least is where I am), not 300 per month (although it sounds like you get a phone as well, which is kind of useless). Even the first contract seems to be charging quite a lot for medical insurance that might turn out to be useless anyway. It is another thing I would query (ask to see policy documentation, though they will probably tell you it is only in Chinese, which might in fact be true).
I assume these are public rather than private schools. When discussing contracts, it is easier to judge if we also know what kinds of hours they are expecting from you and where the school is located. Obviously knowing something about your teaching experience and qualifications is also useful.
It would also be worth finding out things like who will pay for a medical, residency permit, Foreign Experts Certificate when you arrive, and what they are offering in terms of flight allowances, travel allowances, time off (winter and summer vacation, paid or unpaid). You really do have to judge the contract as a whole, especially for universities where the pay may be a bit lower, but where all the added extras at a decent place will make the package a lot more attractive.
Unfortunately the language is usually pretty poor in contracts and communication can also be difficult with the contacts at schools--this doesn't help figure these things out. As you have already demonstrated, what an ad states and what is actually in a contract is can vary significantly (and adding a middleman like a recruiter can make things even worse).
The best thing to do is read carefully, question everything, don't fill in the blanks with assumptions, hopes and dreams, and try to speak to a native teacher who is actually at the school and can give you some insight (or even better, a few different teachers).
In terms of the two contracts in front of you, the first might be alright (when you have filled in some of the blanks), the second is a definite pass. |
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Gringo Greg
Joined: 19 Jan 2003
Posts: 264
Location: Everywhere and nowhere
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:54 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Dean, about the second offer, I had sent an email to the recruiter and she came back and said, oops, I forgot they have a new additional agreement that is 3000 RMB instead of 2000 RMB. She says those amounts are paid to me as in addition to the base salary so my take home will be 6500 RMB. Confusing but if I ignore seeing that first contract it makes sense. They pay for everything in China concerning visas and medical and they reimburse flights up to 5000RMB. The school is public middle school. I haven't talked to anyone working at the school, but I did contact a man who worked in the same city and knew teachers at that school and they were happy.
About my background: I taught TEFL from 1997 to 2007 in Honduras, Mexico, Korea, and Thailand. I taught high school Math and Science for 2 years and 8th grade Math for 1 year in a US territory(Saipan) and hold teacher certification here. |
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kev7161
Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 5880
Location: Suzhou, China
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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See, if it were me, I'd want the amount that's going into my pocket (or direct deposited in my bank account) stated in the contract. If they want to do a little tricky advertising to attract interest, well what can you do? But I would want them to say with no uncertainty that I am going to earn XXXX yuan each month (also, I'd recommend negotiating a NET salary - they can put that in your contract as well and then deal with deducting taxes from a higher amount on their books on their own). If they want to say housing costs them this much and internet costs them that much, so be it. I'd just want to know EXACTLY how much I'm earning each month.
Also, if you and your girlfriend are coming in as a package deal, you have a little negotiating you can do. Let's say they are offering 1500 a month for housing + 500 for utilities. I'd advise you or your girlfriend to ask for that extra 1500 (forget about the utilities; after all two of you will use twice as much electricity, right? Uh, maybe not, oh well.) in lieu of housing allowance. If they balk then I agree and take two apartments. Why not? |
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