Ask Headmaster Ken

I signed a contract with a private language school in Tangshan in Hebei in late June. It specified starting on August 1st and, at the time, I asked for time off in early August to do a TEFL course.

They told me I didn't need to come to the school in the days before the course, and when I turned up ready to start after its completion, they told me that my teaching and pay would start from September 1st!!

Talk about contracts being the start point for future negotiations! I think I am entitled to my pay and accommodation allowance from August 1st.

The manager told me he has a Foreign Expert's Certificate for me. Should I ask to see that?

Hello,

I am really quite surprised that a headmaster would provide housing and salary to an unknown teacher, only to have the teacher simply sit idle for a month before classes. That makes little business sense.

Although your school is a private language school, it seems you must be on a quarter or semester system - most Foreign Teachers begin work immediately upon arrival. Why didn't they start using you?

I'm guessing your school provided you a contract in order to cover a gap in your FEC during the summer, and perhaps they thought it was too obvious to explain, or simply failed to communicate, or just forgot to clearly inform you that your contract start date was not the same as your payroll entry date.

Their argument will likely be you did not work during this period and enjoyed free housing and an FRP as a courtesy.

Frankly, I think you'll find it next to impossible to convince anyone (Chinese) who could change things, to see things your way.

In their eyes, they probably feel they did you a favor, and even if they were at fault by not communicating clearly, you suffered no real "loss".

So, it likely boils down to having two very different mindsets at work and poor communication (at best), as well as a disparity of views regarding the sanctity of contracts, (contracts here are somewhere between translucent and invisible at times.)

You might want to discuss with any fellow teachers what are the habits of the school in these sort of matters.

As for the FEC, you may wish ask for a copy, for your records, if you suspect the school has not really obtained one.


Best of Luck.

Headmaster Ken,

Where I come from a contract for employment which specifies a monthly rate of pay and a start date would mean that pay starts on that date unless stated otherwise! It is not my problem how much work they have at the time. If I was under a misconception about this, they certainly did not clarify it.

I have just finished a one year contract with a local university where I was paid a monthly rate (and provided an apartment) regardless of whether I had classes or not. I wanted to stay in the same city for personal reasons.

It shows me that written contracts are just the start point for negotiation, and how money driven they are over integrity.

Thanks for your response so far, and I have got three weeks to do something about it.

While we are waiting for headmaster Ken to reply, maybe you can provide us with a few more details.

Your initial contract had you starting on August 1st. You mentioned that you asked for "some time off" in early August to complete a TEFL course. Exactly how much time are we talking about? A few days, one week, two?

We're surmising you reported on August 1st, taught no classes, left shortly after that for an unspecified period of time, returned sometime in mid- to late-August and then were informed that your start date had been moved to September 1st. Based on this very vague timeline, this actually sounds reasonable to me. No employer in China, private or public, is going to pay a salary to a new foreign teacher--who hasn't even taught a single class--simply to report in and then leave. What was your original understanding of when you would start teaching (what date)?

Yes, universities do pay their foreign teachers when classes are cancelled by the university (Sport's Day, Chinese holidays, etc.) but they won't pay the full salary if, for example, you have to return home for a week or two to attend to some emergency. Most universities in China would dock your salary for that period of time.

If you would like a more specific and focused reply, you'll need to provide more details. There are two missing pieces of critical information here: Precisely, how many days in August were you absent for and did the school ever specifically commit to paying your salary in August while you were out attending a TEFL course? Asking for permission to take a leave of absence is not the same as receiving a commitment to be paid regular salary while on personal leave. This type of concession would only be afforded to long-term employees and, in most cases, not even then. Where I come from, you generally have to work for a minimum of one year before being entitled to vacation and personal leave pay.

My impression based on the little that you have provided is that you were absent more than a few days so the school pushed your start date back to September 1st and then either postponed the start of classes or hired someone else as a temp for one month to cover them.

We really don't have enough information with which to give you a useful answer.

When I signed the contract in late June, we entered 1 August as the start date. The monthly salary was specified. At the time, I asked for seven days off to do an additional TEFL course at my own expense. In late July they told me I didn't need to teach the three days of August before I was away. "I will come to school on the 12th ready to start" I said. On the 12th, they said that no classes had been scheduled for me until 1 Sept.

Talking to my previous employer, apparently this is acceptable behavior in China. He said "The contract is just to get the Foreign Experts Certificate"!!! And they will then impose hidden terms on the teacher I suggest.

I expected to start work and be paid from the contract start.

Based upon the details you provided, your school should have either paid you from the new start date or renegotiated a new start date.

This is not unusual, but that does not make it correct. You are correct in expecting to be paid from the start of your contract.

Your choices are few. Since your employer almost surely simply cannot and will not see your point of view, you'll need to:

a. Accept this behavior.

b. Issue an ultimatum you have the will and means to enforce.

I suspect there is no amount of reasoning or pleading of your case is going to trump keeping money in the pocket.

The only reasoning that is effective is, "You will lose more money if classes open and you have no teacher." That is a notion that can be perfectly understood.

But, you need to be prepared to back up the threat and actually leave.

If you do get paid, you quite possibly poison your future working relationship.

Unfortunately, there really is no "good" outcome.

I wish you well.

Headmaster Ken wrote:If you do get paid, you quite possibly poison your future working relationship.

Unfortunately, there really is no "good" outcome.

I want to strongly underscore this point with you.

If, by some miracle, you are successful at strong-arming this school into paying you for the month of August, I guarantee that you will live to regret it. The school will do everything it can to recoup this loss before you leave: They will try to cheat you on overtime pay, income tax, paid vacations, office hours, etc. Whatever they can think of to compensate themselves for this "loss," they will try to pull. You will be engaged in a continuous and heated game of tug-of-war until the moment you leave. It will be very unpleasant for you.

Either leave for another job or stay and accept this very common and "clever" Chinese business owner tactic: "say one thing, do another." In terms of work milieu, it is much better for you mentally if your employers know that you feel cheated than if they feel you have cheated them. If they know you already feel cheated, they will be less likely to try and exploit you further in the future.

Best of luck with this.

TWO CAN PLAY THIS GAME.

I came to this job through an employment agency and in the interview the manager said "I want to employ you but I don't want to pay the agency fee". He said "just say you decided not to take the job," which I basically did.

I'll remind him of this and see what he says when I suggest telling the agency the truth.

StephenfromNZ wrote:TWO CAN PLAY THIS GAME.

Except you're not playing on a level playing field. You now need these people for your next job. If you force the issue via blackmail, you will end up paying for it... one way or the other.

The Chinese believe that one good "knock" deserves another. They maintain a very rigid balance sheet for both good and bad interactions.

You might win the battle but you will definitely lose the war. Let it go Stephen. You are a foreign resident in communist China. You can't win.

You really might want to think twice about that.

I let an employee go a several years back, and informed the PSB official as required. He asked me, "Is she a troublemaker? I can have her out of China in 24 hours if you like."

I don't think I have any special relationship with the PSB. I suspect that option is pretty much on the table for any headmaster.

You are right, two can play this game, except you are very, very likely to lose in the first seconds of the game. Rather than hurling a fireball in his direction, you are committing self-immolation.

If you do decide to challenge him I can predict what will likely happen. He will smile, flick a piece of imaginary lint off his trousers and excuse you.

A few hours later, you are going to encounter problems with your visa. Problems that require your presence at the PSB. After that visit ends, someone will translate and tell you how many days/hours you have remaining on your new tourist visa.

End of game.

That's how it is played here in China. If you are not prepared for that, some reconsideration may be in order.

Best of Luck.