Hey, I recently signed a contract for Hess from the UK. However it states that my contract starts from August 15th and is valid for 12 months… it also states that if I leave employment during the first month I must give 7 days notice and if not I must pay NT$20,000 for my training that would have been completed.
Basically, I have been offered a much better job with better pay and conditios which I want to take. I am not due to arrive in Taiwan until July so therefore, Can I get out of the signed contract or can Hess prevent me from entring Taiwan or getting an ARC and work permit?
[quote=“Elliot_spencer”]Hey, I recently signed a contract for Hess from the UK. However it states that my contract starts from August 15th and is valid for 12 months… it also states that if I leave employment during the first month I must give 7 days notice and if not I must pay NT$20,000 for my training that would have been completed.
Basically, I have been offered a much better job with better pay and conditios which I want to take. I am not due to arrive in Taiwan until July so therefore, Can I get out of the signed contract or can Hess prevent me from entring Taiwan or getting an ARC and work permit?
Please help[/quote]
Have you spoken to anyone there yet and made your case? Remember to put yourself in their shoes and imagine what you would say.
I don’t know what Hess is like today, but once upon a time a long time ago (ok, only about 14 years) I broke my Hess contract. Back then, you were supposedly going to be banished for good - unable to work at Hess again. But breaking my contract did not prevent me to take a special position at the Head Office (then at Po Ai) 2 years later.
Hess (like most well run businesses anywhere) is pragmatic. August seems to be around the height of recruiting season, so they might not miss you. But I expect recruiting anyone overseas is hard and time consuming - expect them to be unimpressed with your decision making
The sooner you tell them the easier it is for them to replace you in time.
No need for details. Just let them know that for personal reasons you won’t be able to take the job. I’m 99% sure they will simply forget about you. They’re not going to pursue you for payment of training you haven’t had. I worked for them a few years ago, and when something better came along it was all perfectly amicable. Nobody wants to have a reputation for bullying people.
Hess hires many teachers from overseas every year (more than 100?). They ask you to sign the contract earlier since it makes it that much easier to file your paperwork with the government.
You are allowed to break contracts in Taiwan, as long as you give enough notice that you’re doing so. Legally speaking, you can break a contract like that as long as you give sufficient notice. Since you haven’t even had the training yet, then you could tell them today that you’re breaking the contract, and as Hess suffered no financial damages they wouldn’t try to recover anything. That does means you need to give them notice that you’re breaking your contract like the other posters said.
I broke my contract with Hess a few years ago. They tried to scare me and tell me that I couldn’t get another job in Taiwan with a broken contract. I went and got another job anyway with no problems. Nothing bad that they said would happen to me actually happened. :s
There is a “grace period” of like a month or something. So get out while you can, Elliot! Hess is a nice little barnyard, but there are much greener pastures on the island.