B
- 2010-04-19
Thanks for your response. I knew there was something off about this contract. I have since received another contract for Dongying in Shandong province. A couple that are from only a few hours where I live now run 2 bilingual schools, and will meet me in Canada and fly with me to beijing, take me to get my permits and visas and things. I have a college diploma (2 year diploma) with some volunteer teaching experience, and am getting my TESOL as we speak. They have been very honest with me about everything. The pay is better than the other contract, and they also feed me during the week, pay for everything at my apartment, (which is on campus) and the remuneration for flight and medical care is much better (I pay up front and they reimburse me up to 8000 rmb for flights and all of my medical expenses at the end of the contract). They have been very helpful, so I hope to accept this contract and get to China as soon as possible. Thanks again for all of your help.
Callum West
- 2010-04-19
@B - cunning inguist has given you some sound advice there. I currently live in Chengdu but have not heard of the Sichuan Language School. (Not surprising since language schools in China are as common as rice!).
Firstly what you need to know about is your visa. Have they offered you a visa for the job? By law they are required to do this if they are a legal establishment. Some useful facts for you:
1) A language school can't just hire foreign teachers. They need a specific certificate from local/provincial government to do it. You should ask for a scan of this. (All Chinese but perhaps you can send it to me (email) and I can check it for you.)
2) Working illegally in China carries with it the following penalties: maximum = deportation, then fine. Max. fine = 1000RMB.
3) To teach legally you will need the following:
a) university degree
b) teaching qualification (TEFL, TESOL, CELTA, DELTA)
c) foreign experts certificate - which you get if you have the above two. This can be obtained from the Foreign Experts Bureau. - In Chengdu that's near the football stadium downtown last I checked.
4) with above stuff you can get a work visa. This is a Z visa. To get your Z visa you will also need the following:
a) Temporary Residence Permit - obtainable from local policestation near your residence.
b) Health certificate - there is one hospital in Chengdu responsible for this, on Tongzilin Bei Lu 1 Hao
c) Letter from employer.
Your company/school should be doing all of this for you. If they make excuses it means they are not legal and so cannot provide you with a visa. Watch out!
It sounds to me like this school isn't in Chengdu proper. There are satellite cities such as Xinjin, Pixian, Wenjiang which are about 30min bus ride outside of town. 5k/month is average.
Overtime: National laws introduced in 2007 state the following:
Working overtime (beyond agreed hours/schedule) constitutes a 200% hourly wage
Working on national holidays (look them up online) constitutes a 300% hourly wage
Warning: I have not found a single company whether school or other that abides by this law. In fact by my calculation it is most likely only foreign companies located in China that do. (Laughable indeed)
Other than that you should be fine. Although personally this seminar sounds fishy to me also. There is no guarantee that you will get the job afterwards, also, there is no guarantee that the seminar is in fact a seminar. And not a 2 week forced labour mass-teaching marathon. Beware, ESL industry recruiters are a shifty lot at best. Especially if you are not currently located in China. My advice is if you don't have those qualifications from the first list either don't bother, or get them. Your protection is not paramount to that company. Theirs is. Protect yourself and read forums like this for a better understanding.
For more information you can email me, or visit my website.
Good luck!
The Turtle
- 2010-04-18
I have to attend a 1-2 week unpaid seminar in China to make sure I am qualified to teach, and then they start paying me as of Oct. 15th.
That sounds very fishy to me. 1-2 week of unpaid work? Well, that's not really common in China!
Do you have a TESL qualification already? If YES, you won't need their crap.
I smell a rat, and I suggest you decline this job offer and look somewhere else. You could do much, much better....
Sichuan is quite a poor and underdeveloped part of China; salaries, even those for foreigners, are quite low. The eastern part of China is much better, but you may come across the usual crooks there as well.
cunning inguist
- 2010-04-18
My comments may seem a little obvious, but do you have a translated address for the school and post (Zip) code? Have your prospective employers told you they will collect you from the airport? Which airport? Ask them how far it is, and long it will take from the airport to the school or your accommodation. You say you are new to all of this, so maybe it would be good to share an apartment with someone else, although it would not suit me. I'm not sure why they want you to attend the seminar unless you don't have a teaching or TEFL qualification and the seminar is somehow a test. Have you considered what will happen if they think you are not qualified - whatever that means? If this was the case would you be re-imbursed before they sent you home? On the other hand, it could be that they are providing an induction course for teaching Chinese students for newbie teachers and want you to follow their approach. This could be a positive experience but only time will tell. Do they have a Staff Handbook? Some establishments have produced a handbook, but maybe this in only in the university sector.
Twenty classes a week could be quite tiring if it's your first time in a Chinese classroom. How many students? As for medical expenses I still feel you need your own health insurance, as 800rmb for a year will not purchase very much if you had to stay in hospital or broke your leg, for example. 100 rmb should be enough if your co-habitant also gets this allowance. But your heating bills will go up if you use portable heaters when it's cold and an air-conditioning unit when it's hot. You mention cancelled classes. What does this mean? Is it clear from the contract that this only applies if you cancel or miss a class and not if you employers cancel the class? Often you will asked to do a make-up class when given the national holidays as days off. For optional classes during the holiday, you should be asking for a minimum of 90 rmb an hour. And how will they deal with Chinese tax?
Clearly you may not get answers to all of these questions, but they indicate a few of the things I would want to know.