Just thought I'd post something about contracts and teaching conditions which are common in China. Hopefully this will help you identify professional and legitimate concerns from those which exist solely to exploit teachers. There are too many rogue schools out there. The Chinese Authorities appear to be putting their house in order and are beginning to regulate schools - but this will take time. Meanwhile cowboy outfits still operate - and it is best to be wary. Below is an example of a contract (quite a typical one) and examples of how schools in China abuse their contractual obligations.
I hope you find this post of value.

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

SANTANA ENGLISH SCHOOL, ZHUHAI, CHINA, hereafter referred to as School and__________________________________ hereafter referred to as Teacher, do in a spirit of friendly cooperation, agree to sign this contract and pledge to conscientiously abide by all conditions and obligations stipulated within

As you will soon see, the spirit of friendly co-operation wasnt taken seriously by Santana. Numerous articles in this contract were ignored and broken by them. This School is operating illegally for reasons which will be explained below. Santana isnt the only School whose operations are arousing the interest of The Zhuhai PSB, Labour Ministry and Police. Fountain School and TPR appear to be in the same boat. My advice to anyone wanting to work for Language Schools in Zhuhai is :- Dont. You will be laying yourselves open to exploitation by people who dont give a damn about you or Education or for that matter The Law. You will also run the risk of falling foul of the Local Authorities. You have been warned!!!

1. CONTRACT PERIOD AND PAYMENT
1.1 The period of service will be from _________to _______.The first one month of the contract period will be a probation period. The school has the right to cancel the contract if the teacher is fails to meet school requirements after the probation period.

This clause allows the School to exploit teachers. Technically the School could employ teachers during a busy period (for example Summer School) rake in money and then fire the teacher on the flimsiest of pretexts.

1.2 The monthly salary will be paid in cash before 15th the following month.

Sadly for teachers at Santana, pay has not been punctual and for some reason the person in charge of wages Shelly (sister of Jack one of the Board members) would insist that staff shouldnt be paid until the 18th of each month despite the terms of the contract. On three occasions when we went to get our wages, Shelly contrived to be absent as her daughter was sick. The same excuse was given every time. Not only do staff at Santana have apparent problems with reading a calendar or honouring a contractual obligation they appear to assume that Westerners are gullible fools of limited intelligence. This attitude is self defeating as it can only get rogue Schools like Santana into trouble. Apparently over the past year, 40 such Language Schools in Zhuhai have been closed down by the Authorities for non-compliance of regulations newly issued by Guangdong Province at Beijings behest. Hopefully, Santana will similarly bite the dust and very soon. They thoroughly deserve what they are asking for in my opinion.

1.3 The salary to be paid to the teacher is 6,000.00 RMB per month.

Santana would have a flexible attitude towards wages. Desperate for teaching staff for their Summer School they offered us 6,000 RMB. Other teachers already there were in fact being paid less. This unprofessional and unethical way of operating didnt seem to bother Santana. Naturally, Santana were keen on keeping this state of affairs secret from the other teachers. But hey, 6,000 RMB is in the contract so that is sacrosanct isnt it? Why of course not. This, after all, is China, a developing country, where there is much scope for cultural misunderstanding and breakdowns in communication. Youve heard these excuses for commonplace sharp practice before. Suffice to say, that for convoluted reasons this month Santana paid only 2,000 RMB. Their rationale? Money has to be withheld in case we break our contract!!! And Shelly (bless her) laughed in our faces at this. As well she might at the irony of Santana again dishonestly and flagrantly breaking a Contract but hey because business is not going too well they have to claw the money back somehow even if this means robbing their teaching staff.

In terms of salaries in South China many schools will only pay their teachers something in the realm of 3,000 to 4,000 RMB a month. Even on a salary of 6,000 RMB a month you can be sure that a School is making some 2,000 RMB profit from you monthly. Santana, for example, charges about 130 RMB per lesson. You as a teacher will be lucky to get half of that amount.

1.4 Benefits:
a. School will provide free accommodation. The teacher is responsible for paying all utility fees to include: water, electricity, gas, telephone bill and any properties monthly management fees. If the teacher does not elect the option of renting their own apartment, the school will pay 700RMB per month to the teacher.

Santana has one dirty, grubby apartment which they expect its staff to live in. All mod cons were promised and of course none were there. The toilet didnt flush, and the cupboard doors in the kitchen were held together by sellotape. Dirty floors and dirty walls with cracks in, and a fridge / freezer which was filthy. We spent a week there having insisted that Santana find us somewhere habitable. The next tenant brought in by Santana to market the School stayed there a month before he left Santana (as he hadnt been paid any money at all because of Visa Problems) The next person, was moved to other accommodation because he found the apartment to be inadequate. Last week, two new teachers refused point blank to be housed there. They were put up in a local hotel whilst suitable accommodation was found for them. This costs Santana money which, of course if our experience is anything to go by, they will later claw back by failing to pay the agreed contracted monthly salary.

One thing will remain constant though - Santana will not pay any money to upgrade the "free" but substandard accommodation they offer to newly arrived teachers. Any outlay on providing decent accommodation will be clawed back by hook or by crook (which to me is a very apt word!)

With us Santana then objected to paying the 700 RMB per person allowance as we (Santana) have never had to pay for other private accommodation before We compromised as this was early days and my wife was prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt.We settled for 600 RMB each per month. This is a saving for Santana over the year of 2,400 RMB which is a good result for Santana considering their failure to provide basic acceptable living accommodation in the first place. Still, Santana has had to make further savings and in suspending my contract only now has to shell out 600 RMB for my wife. We now have to pay the remaining balance of the rent - some 1,300 RMB monthly - out of our own pocket. On top of this, Santana has deducted 3,000 RMB from this month's salary without consultation in order to recoup the cost of their share of the deposit paid for us to move into better accommodation some four months ago.

b. For a one (1) year contract, the teacher shall receive 5000.00 RMB for the cost of flight tickets. This payment shall be paid upon the successful completion of the specified term of the contract.

Teachers need to be alert to clauses like this. Invariably the clause is worthless. Here's why. Last Summer, staff at Fountain Language School in Zhuhai (the best Language School in Zhuhai apparently if you believe their blurb) had their contracts terminated conveniently just before their years contract was up and The School would be bound to pay the staffs airfares. This obviously- is very sound Chinese Business Practice as it saves the School money and no doubt the cheated teaching staff will have been expected to swim home. This shining example of ethical Chinese Business Practice hasnt been lost on Santana. As I write this, my contract has been suspended by Santana unilaterally and the likes of the laughing Shelly are now really showing a spirit of professionalism and friendly co-operation by withholding monies left right and centre from my wife. So instead of 12,000 RMB this month we got a princely 3,000 RMB or so. I also have no flight reimbursement. You just know it makes good Chinese business sense!! Learn to love their developing sense of honesty and fair play. It can be such an education working at Schools in China! Luckily I do know how to swim and I know the addresses of the local PSB and State Administration of Foreign Experts' Affairs! Santana should really have done their homework!!!

c. The teacher shall have at least one day off every week, and all statutory Chinese holidays.

Thats kind of them. A six day working week which means that you will have no time to travel and explore China. That Oriental sense of humour again. Remember the job ads Come and explore China. ? Oh, I hear Shellys laughter even as I type this. Also, some local schools expect Foreign Teachers to accept the Chinese concept of a holiday. You have two days off youll then have to work two extra days later on to make the time up. Busy little beavers are our friends! No rest for the Westerners!

d OverTime will be paid at the rate of 100 RMB per teaching hour, after completing the required 24 hours of teaching per week specified in the terms of the contract.

No teachers to my knowledge have been given any overtime. That would entail having to pay teachers promptly, regularly and on time with money. We cant have that now can we?

eThe school is responsible for the costs of obtaining the teachers work visa, and work/ residence permits. The teacher is responsible paying the cost of obtaining the required Health Certificate.

On arrival in Zhuhai we had current and valid Z Visas. We told Santana when these would expire. All Santana had to do was to renew them before they expired. Did they? Of course not. We were then obliged to go to the local PSB and sign a statement saying that we had been working illegally in Zhuhai. We were then fined 2,000 RMB. Santana, culpable of negligence or incompetence, refused to foot the bill. I tell you, these Schools do have a problem with understanding contracts. But hey youve got to understand that China is a developing country. Theyre all having a long march towards being reputable and honest. Cmon guys Rome wasnt built in a day was it?

So we get our new Visas. They are valid for 11 months. Our contract is for 12 months. The one month discrepancy? Catch up people. Well get the chop one month before Santana has to cough up the cash for flight reimbursement (5,000 RMB each) stated earlier in the contract. Well, Shelly must now be wetting her knickers with mirth! Theyve saved 10,000 RMB on the deal!

This discrepancy is also noticed by customs in Guangzhou where our freight is (clothes, furniture, school related books and materials etc) They wont let our stuff through. Will Santana help? No. They could cancel our existing Z Visa and issue new ones BUT they are afraid that the local Education Board may not accept this as they are not ratifying the status of some newly employed teachers at Santana. The Education Board and Customs clearly smell a rat. As should all of you reading this!

Our freight is still held up in Guangzhou.

For some reason we havent been required to obtain a Health Certificate which again makes a mockery of the contract.

f) The school is responsible for providing the proper travel allowance when the teacher is assigned to teach at other locations within the city of Zhuhai, Guangdong, P.R. China.

This allowance is meant to be 20 RMB a day. But times are hard and the School was last attempting to reduce this amount to the cost of bus fares (2 RMB a journey) As already mentioned though there are other ways of cost cutting like a) not paying teachers the monthly salary specified in the contract or b) deciding to suspend the contract altogether. What genius!!

g) The school will provide thirty hours of free Chinese classes each year to the teacher.

No such lessons were offered us. Last week two new teachers asked Santana about this as learning Mandarin would be useful. Santana tells them that no such lessons are provided. Oh dear!

h) The school is responsible for obtaining accident insurance for the teacher.

I dont trust Santana enough to have an accident!!

2. SCHOOL OBLIGATIONS
The school shall:
2.1 Introduce to the teacher the laws, decrees and relevant regulations enacted by the Chinese Government, the schools work system, and regulations concerning the administration of foreign teachers.

No such help given. Santana also appears to break the The Law on a daily basis. They have no permit to employ Foreign Experts but two of their staff hold or held the FEC. Santana also appears to employ illegally 5 teaching staff on part-time contracts.

2.2 Provide direction, supervision, and evaluation of the teachers work.

None given in any meaningful way at all.

2.3 Provide the teacher with all necessary conditions for working.

This I take to mean legal status, proper visas, access to resources and teaching materials etc. So Santana fails on that score. It is also a legal requirement that Schools should provide a canteen for its staff and kids, as well as a playground. Santana had to build a playground on one of its premises recently. It costs money hence the staff pick up the tab in the form of deducted wages. Other Santana premises dont meet these new requirements at all. The School is breaking The Law.

2.4 Provide Chinese co-workers to assist the teacher in teaching.

None given.

2.5 Pay the teachers salary regularly and on time each month.

See above as to how this has been flouted.

2.6 Provide the necessary teaching reference books and materials.

Staff have had to buy resources (of poor quality in my opinion) out of their own pockets from Hong Kong as Santana dont have any. They send High School Qualified Teachers to kindergartens with no resources or TAs and a typical High School Lesson is for some teacher to teach a class of 60 kids with no resources from Santana or the host school on topics like life in America For complaining about this and asking to be sent to schools where I could actually teach effectively my contract was suspended unilaterally. This according to Santanas way of thinking saves face and saves them having to pay me any money.

2.7 Maintain the teachers working permit.

See above as to how this has been flouted and how Santana are illegally employing staff.

3. TEACHERS OBLIGATION

Nothing contentious here as long as you accept that all of Article 3 favours Santana at the expense of the Teacher.

The teacher shall:
3.1 Observe all laws, decrees, and relevant regulations enacted by the Chinese Government. Refrain from interfering in Chinas internal affairs. The teacher shall respect Chinas religious policy, and shall not conduct religious activities incompatible with the status of a teacher.

Fair enough. A shame that Santana flouts Chinese Government Regulations.

3.2 Observe the schools work system and regulations concerning the administration of foreign teachers, and accept the schools arrangements, directions, supervision, and evaluations in regards to his/her work.

As stated Santanas arrangements leave almost everything to be desired.

3.3 Teach all scheduled classes, English Corner, and English Club when reasonably assigned to him/her to host.

The key word here is reasonably. Santana also tends to be fond of split shifts. That is for example a gap of three or four hours between lessons. Unprofessional, incompetent and inefficient. One must remember though that this is China and Santana is not at all concerned with the letter of the law or teaching. If you stand up for your rights or common sense this may very easily be construed as being "unreasonable" - and that can spell trouble!

3.4 Participate in the schools promotion arrangements by providing demonstration classes and English Corner voluntarily.

The key word here is "voluntarily". In other words they can get you to do work without you receiving any money for it. "Demonstration " classes are notorious in this regard as employers and schools in this part of the world expect you to do it for free. It is a bit like attending an interview and not receiving any travelling expenses for it. Also, teachers were regularly expected to do administrative chores that the office staff were meant to be doing.

3.5 Be on duty one day a week to prepare teaching plans, and conduct student placement interviews. Attend the school meeting once a week.

Meetings are in fact infrequent and amount to the Principal ( Mr Jiao a non teacher) opining in Mandarin whilst his streams of consciousness are badly translated by his Deputy Johnson or Johnsons friend who is called QS Johnson. Placement interviews are conducted by Chinese staff who have poor English and the professional input and opinions of qualified and experienced Western teachers are simply ignored. Indeed, teacher input is discouraged.

3.6 No smoking or consumption of alcohol during work time. The teacher should arrive sober and prepared to teach class.

Staff do smoke on the premises and there are obvious Health and Safety ramifications involved. Potential Fire Hazards etc.

3.7 Dress neatly and properly, with no obvious tattoos visible.

Santana arent interested in the way you dress. They are interested in how you can make money for them. Hence they employ as a teacher of English someone who is Bulgarian. They employ staff with no prior teaching experience or teaching qualifications.

3.8 Submit quality lesson plans as required by the school.

The Management would not be able to read such lesson plans as their English is poor.

3.9 Full-time teachers are not permitted to take full-time, or part-time teaching jobs in other school or companies.

And yet Santana flout regulations by employing part-timers.

3.10 The teacher should not ask for leave more than 3 times or more than 3 days off during a semester. Except for reasons dealing with emergencies, the teacher is required to apply for vacations in writing 10 days in advance and obtain approval from the school before taking leave. If the teacher asks for sick leave, the teacher should apply at least one day in advance to allow the school time to arrange another teacher to substitute. .If no one is available, the school will deduct from the teachers salary 160.00 RMB per hour to obtain a teacher from outside Santana, or 100.00 RMB per hour for a teacher teaching in Santana. If someone is available the school will deduct 50.00 RMB per hour.

Note the financial penalties - even if you are sick!

Santana generously allow you a day off at Christmas. There is so much of China for you to explore in the space of 24 hours isnt there?

3.11 The teacher who takes over other teachers class will get an allowance of 10/hour.
If the substitute teacher has 24 hours per week already, the teacher will receive 100 per hour.
3.12 Teachers are required to pay the cost of any medical treatment fee, except the premium.

This seems to contradict the clause above about Health Insurance.

4. REVISION CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT
4.1 The school has the right to cancel the contract when the teacher is unable to meet their teaching requirements and obligations.

The Devil is in the lack of detail here. One for the local PSB I think! Note though that the clause of the contract is weighted against the teacher. What happens if the employer fails in its obligations?

4.2 Whenever a teacher disobeys the rules of the school, or violates the laws of China, the school can cancel the contract immediately.

Obviously an insistence on accepted Western professional standards can cause problems. But hey China is a developing country !!

4.3 The school has the right to cancel the contract when the teacher asks for excessive leave during one term.

I dont think Santana keep staff long enough for them to ask for leave! What though does "excessive" mean in this case? Woe betide if you ask for a week off at Christmas. "Bah. Humbug!!!"

4.4 The teacher has the right to cancel the contract, if the school does not comply with the stipulated terms, and conditions of this contract. A one (1) month advanced notice to the school in writing is required.

Guess which clause Im going to cite!

4.5 If the teacher disobeys school regulations, and cause a loss of money, the school has right to fine the teacher and recover lost revenue.

Another scam clause in my opinion designed by Santana to fleece its staff and excuse fraudulent behaviour. Again - what happens if the School is at fault?

4.6 This contract takes effect on the date signed by both parties. The contract will automatically expire on the date specified in this contract. If either of the two parties asks for new contract, they should forward their requests to the other party at least 60 days prior to the expiration date specified in the contract.

This contract was unilaterally suspended without proper consultation or agreement by Santana when I requested to be reassigned from a School.

5. This contract in English or Chinese form is both valid and legal.

Pigs fly! Santana have not provided their staff with a Chinese version/translation of this Contract.

The Moral of this posting? If you find yourself in a situation where you are exploited by an Employer - don't simply complain or do a runner. Use the contract and their breach of it as a weapon against them. Hold your ground. Don't let them scare or bully you. Post the contract and your comments about it on sites like this; email your local PSB; email your local Consulate and Embassy. In China, they talk about face. Santana has more faces than the town hall clock. Soon, I hope, Santana will lose all of them - and I'll still be in Zhuhai to see it happen!

Santana English School, Zhuhai Teacher: __________________________

Date: _________________________ Date: ____________________________

Signature: _____________________ Signature: ________________________