Contract problems

I signed a contract from January 1st 2007 to July 18th 2007. I got told this week my final pay was going in - I went to check and there was no final pay, only my airfare bonus plus extra pay for extra classes worked during the semester.
I contacted the FAO and they apologised profusely for the misunderstanding, however they said there were three reasons why my pay was stopped on July 1st:
1. I stopped teaching on June 30.
2. When they renewed my original contract they did not need to do it from January 1st to July, they should have done it from March 1st when classes started. They only renewed it from Jan 1st because they like me, they knew winter with no wages would be hard and the FAO's daughter and my daughter are friends.
3. Now that classes have finished there is no reason for me to stay here, I can leave.

I am really frustrated with them - I've had a good run of things at this school but now I feel used and abused.

I know it is only 18 days wages but my signing that contract to July 18th meant I had to arrange my whole returning to NZ after that date, and it is a terrible date for a teacher to be returning to NZ. Term 3 of the school year starts on July 9th, most (nearly 99%) of the vacancies for term 3 wanted someone who could start on July 9th...I could not - there were a lot of jobs I missed out on because of this.

My daughter returning to school, she's already returning half-way through a school year, that's difficult enough, but signing that contract meant she has to return one month into the third term.

When I signed the contract I told them that date was really bad for a teacher from the southern hemisphere. They could not change from July 18th. That contract has tied me to China until July 18th, I had to book airfares after that date, I have missed out on jobs - and now I miss out on 18 days pay.

Help! What do I do?

I think that there are more qualified people to answer your question...however, I can sympathize with you.

I signed my contract for one school year from February 2006 until 15 January this year.  With a 12 month bonus to be paid at the end of it.  My pay period was the 25th of each month.

Classes finished around the middle of December, my employer did pay the full month, but when it came time for the bonus - I only got 3/4 of it.  The reason I was told was that I had not been working for the guy for a year and was not entitled to all of it.  My interpretation was that I had worked a full school year and was.  Anyway, I was a little peved but was glad to be going home and I didn't want to argue with him for various reasons.  It's bs I know and inconvient and I really do know how you are feeling because I needed the money for coming home too.

I had you over to Noles, Raoul or some of our other more experienced who can tell you how to handle it better than I did.

I am sorry to say that there is very little you can do. If a school says that's the way it is...that's the way it is. Logic doesn't enter to it.

 We are having a similar (albeit less serious) problem. Our previous contract expired June 4 and we signed on two more months in order to have a better chance of landing good University/public school jobs. We should have been paid our bonus before June 4 but the school clearly had no intention of paying up until the end of our current contract. After much pestering they finally coughed up 10k for me(they owe me two more but won't pay it until we leave) but did not pay the missus. The excuse was that because she is contracted for 12 months and has taken 2 months off she is not eligible for a bonus until the beginning of August. Fair enough...except the first month off was under our 2005-06 contract and should have no bearing on the current situation. The fact that they paid me seems to be a good indication that this is not a premeditated plot to cheat us so my wife has been big enough to drop the issue.

 Sorry I can't be of more help but it seems like you're just going to have take this as a lesson learned.

Vegemite, I know this is difficult and frustrating for you, and I am sorry for that.

What you're encountering isn't unusual, and based on what you're telling me I don't think the school (for once) is intending any deception.

Pay is tied to classes. When classes end, so does pay. However, a lot of schools will extend the contract period a bit beyond the end of classes. This is done to give you a chance to move, travel, transfer your residence permit, or whatever it is you're going to do before you either move on, start a new year, or return home. This post-class grace period, while unpaid, is actually kinda meant as a courtesy to you.

Of course, communication is never very good in most schools. Of course it wouldn't occur to you to ask if that last period was paid. And it would definitely never occur to the school to explain it to you.

Again, based on what you're saying, I genuinely don't think the school is setting out to cheat or deceive you. And I don't think there will be much you can do about it. It's something you're going to have to write off as "cross-cultural education."

Pay is tied to classes. When classes end, so does pay........ It's something you're going to have to write off as "cross-cultural education."

OUCH!!!  A painful lesson!!  But one which those of us who are still outside PRC would be wise to consider in negotiating our own contracts.

So sorry, Vege.  I know that you've really enjoyed your time up North.  Try not to let this leave a sour taste.

Don't worry Amonk, even though I do feel a little used...it won't leave a sour taste - I have enjoyed my sojourn up here too much.

It's definitely made me more aware of contract issues - the next time I return, I'll question every aspect of a contract.

It does irk me that I discussed the date with them, July 18th was just so unsuitable. That's what I'm really frustrated about - why couldn't someone have told me that I could leave earlier than that. In my mind, the contract was signed until July 18th and if I left that would mean breaking it so I booked airline tickets for a week after that date. If I could have walked out of my job on July 1st I would have been on the plane this weekend!

Cross-cultural communication is often a killer! So, my next mission will be to enforce on them that they need to tell a teacher they can leave, once classes are finished, before the date on the contract.

Same happened to me.  I was told I was obligated to stick around until July 28th, and set up my flight home accordingly; then, in the last week of classes, was informed we'd be done on the 9th.

I got my ticket mover forward, but I had made financial plans based on being paid that extra 2 weeks.   

Always leave room for improvising when everything goes wrong at the last minute.

I want to ditto that open-ended plane ticket.   Our contract ended on July 10th and I was done by June 22nd.  We were paid for the ten days of July, a rare event in China from what I can see and then were able to fly out on June 27th for an extra week and a half of holiday in Canada.  I am one of the lucky ones with pay at the beginning of the month and incredible treatment by everyone associated with our university.  As Raoul said, I doubt that it was intended as a negative act though at some uni's I would expect bad treatment.

I had a bad experience: my "open-ended" return ticket had to be used within 365 days of my original flight.  My school let me leave my 12 month contract a little early, but I was denied the chance to travel around before I went home.

Con - Gonna buy a one way ticket back this time???

Because of the mess up with my return ticket, I now am half-way through a return Beijing-Toronto (July), Toronto-Beijing (Aug).  Much better way than the one year way.

one thing,

often the admin won't be open to telling you exactly When your classes will be over, and many Will give you a week or so extra in the contract to `make sure...

the Students Will know dates.
It's not compleatly realiable, but if you ask the kids when they think they will be done with your classes, they will have a fair estamate of the last FT classes...
specially towards the end of terms.

The students might also be more willing to tell you when your classes won't be happening during the term, sports days & other planned reasons the FT classes won't be held.

so.... `ask the kids when you may or may not have classes.

DS: I booked a return ticket while in China.  I know I won't stay in Calgary a solid year before I go back.