My Friend Needs a Lawyer to Sue in Suzhou; Opinions?

Hello Everyone,

My American friend was just terminated from a job I started at.  He seems like a very competent teacher, with a track record of good teaching, etc.  Yet, he was terminated for things I do not understand.

I do not know what are the details, but the school wants to charge him a $3000 USD termination fee.

I am advising him to speak to a lawyer to see what his employment rights are.  He simply wants to leave without the termination fee.

Any advice?

What does his contract say? Read the contract.

You don't sue over employment matters, you go to the PSB. He may need an interpreter/translator much more than a lawyer.

What does the contract say?

I'll ask.

He was terminated, but he was given no official reason, no way for infraction, etc.  They just wanted to get rid of him and did.  But, now they want their $3000 USD.

Did they give him his release letter? Hopefully he did not surrender his passport to them.

If he has his release letter, I would tell them to fuck off. Okay, just do not respond to their inquiries.

If not, get that release letter and dodge the $3k question. They are required to give him a release letter, but they are not required to write beautiful, elegant, and complimentary prose about his teaching.

No way I would shell out money unless I threw someone out of a window or threw up on the principal during a late morning class, due to drinking all night. You get my drift.

IMHO, if they won't tell him why he was terminated, they know they have a shit reason. I would keep my $3k.

See the contract.

I'll ask.

He was terminated, but he was given no official reason, no way for infraction, etc.  They just wanted to get rid of him and did.  But, now they want their $3000 USD.

There's a reason buried in there why they wanted to get rid of him. Could be legit, could be nefarious. As usual with many of your questions here, you're light on details, or just clueless. More details would be way more useful in soliciting our advice. I wouldn't pull the legal trigger just yet (or recommend a lawyer in Suzhou) until I knew more details. I'm sure any Suzhou lawyer would feel the same.

>..no way for infraction...{/quote] your judgement.


But their insistence on the 3K penalty AND terminating him in the middle of the contract leads me to surmise otherwise.

Did they give him his release letter? Hopefully he did not surrender his passport to them.

If he has his release letter, I would tell them to fuck off. Okay, just do not respond to their inquiries.

If not, get that release letter and dodge the $3k question. They are required to give him a release letter, but they are not required to write beautiful, elegant, and complimentary prose about his teaching.

No way I would shell out money unless I threw someone out of a window or threw up on the principal during a late morning class, due to drinking all night. You get my drift.

IMHO, if they won't tell him why he was terminated, they know they have a shit reason. I would keep my $3k.

See the contract.

I'll second everything Keyser said above.  Hell, even if he did puke on the principal, they still have to state a specific reason for applying a breach penalty.

Thanks, everyone.

Again, this is for my friend, not for me. 

1.  I've advised him to talk to a lawyer, as he can tell that person in confidence what really happened, especially if there are embarrassing parts.

2.  I also advised him to look at the labor laws.  A fellow teacher said that labor laws rule supreme, and these breach penalty contracts, even if they are in the contract, are not enforceable, as the labor laws will always prevail.  Do you guys have an opinion about that?

3.  For my own sake, what are the legal technicalities of leaving a job early?  In our contracts, it says they can withhold the last month's salary and keep $3000 USD in case of termination, resignation, etc.  But, of course, I think that's an unfair term of employment.  What is the legal rule of dealing with this?

Thanks!

Chinalawblog.com

I'll second old34 on the need for more details. Hopefully your friend will tell an attorney more than he's telling you.
 

The relative enforce-ability of laws and contracts can often depend on who has relatives.

Your friend can just pack and leave without paying the $3000, but that makes getting a new res permit difficult.  If the friend wants to stay in China or come back to China in the future, a legal consultation would be highly advisable.