Breaking contract early advantages

Work Teaching English in Taiwan
1

let me start by saying I have been in taiwan since january 2009, with the same cram school the entire time… I plan on breaking my contract on december 7 2013, one month before my contract finishes (january 14 2014 is the day my contract finishes) I plan on flying out of taiwan on December 9 2013

the reason I am leaving is for a better opportunity outside of Taiwan… I have to start my new job on February 1 2014…

my school pays us on the 7th for the previous month. (so I will get november 2013 pay on December 7 2013).

my plan to break my contract is … to tell the school at lunch time ( we get our pay at lunch time) after they pay me . I want to quit… then leave… I know it is sudden and mean to do this but i feel the advantages of doing this far out ways the negatives… the 1 and only negative is that I have been at the school for almost 5 years and would feel bad for my students… now here are the advantages of doing it…

  1. I will be able to go home for the holidays… and spend more time with family and friends.
  2. I will be able to relax and have more time to settle into my new apartment and location…
  3. If I tell my employer I want to quit and leave early then he will take half my pay (35,000 NT) from my pay as a breaking a contract penalty fee, which we all know is illegal. If I don’t tell them (which is my plan) I can keep 100% of my November 2013 pay and just loose 3 and a half days of work (in december ) without pay which is a lot lower than losing 35,000 NT…
  4. taxes… If I work for 2 weeks in January, my employer will take out 20% of my pay for taxes, which is like 7,000 NT based on 2 weeks pay of 35,000 NT. (instead of only 1,000 NT per month… which is how my boss does our taxes for teachers who have been in taiwan for more than 183 days so we can save tax money)

those are my reasons … what do u think? give me feed back

thanks in advance

Kramer

2

you could take 2 weeks back home over Christmas, finish your contract, work through to July 10th, apply for an APRC in January, then start your new job elsewhere after the summer. Having an APRC just gives you more working freedom if you need to come back to TW.

3

Are you completely sure that your employer will get 35,000 if you give advance notice of a month so they can adequately replace you. The strange thing is that you are concerned about the 35,000 but you will work for a week for free. I know that it’s less money but are you certain that your employer wouldn’t compromise. This is after all a place that was good enough to stay at for 5 years.

4

yes I am sure, the owner is very very greedy … He will never compromise… there have been situations in the past with other teachers, that is why i know… the reason why I stayed at the school so long is because I enjoyed teaching there and my co workers…

5

You have bizarre logic on this thread:

Work till January 14th and get:
December pay 74k net
January pay net 28k
be able to appy APRC
Be able to submit tax statement for friend to reclaim in August=5-10k estimated back to you
total = +90k after living costs
plus kids are not hurt, and you get a reference from a happy boss

or you do a runner and boss and students are disappointed and you add to the bad reputation of foreigners teaching here.

You even need to think about this? You lack the common sense to figure it out and have to get it explained to you?

besides which, if the owner even dared hold your money you could hit him hard at the labor affairs, if you plan it out (photocopy all of your time cards, give him a registered letter and email and call him from the labour affairs when giving 1 month notice).

Use your brain. This is easy.

6

[quote=“Kea”]You have bizarre logic on this thread:

Work till January 14th and get:
December pay 74k net
January pay net 28k
be able to appy APRC
Be able to submit tax statement for friend to reclaim in August=5-10k estimated back to you
total = +90k after living costs
plus kids are not hurt, and you get a reference from a happy boss

or you do a runner and boss and students are disappointed and you add to the bad reputation of foreigners teaching here.

You even need to think about this? You lack the common sense to figure it out and have to get it explained to you?

besides which, if the owner even dared hold your money you could hit him hard at the labor affairs, if you plan it out (photocopy all of your time cards, give him a registered letter and email and call him from the labour affairs when giving 1 month notice).

Use your brain. This is easy.[/quote]

first off about the APRC… I plan on never coming back to Taiwan, I am planing to leave by December 2013. before my 5 years in Taiwan… plus how can I keep an APRC if I won’t even be in the country? even if my plan is off. and for some reason I come back to Taiwan, I would be away for at least a couple of years… how long can u keep an APRC? plus it takes months to get an APRC and I will leave before 5 years in taiwan…

about your “bad reputation of foreigners” Taiwan’s silly rules is part of our bad reputation plus I believe cram school owners have a much worse reputation

for tax… the school takes off 1,000 NT off of our paychecks every month for tax, so when we submit our tax to the government we don’t get a refund, because the school calculates our
tax so we pay 12,000 NT a year (1,000 a month times 12)

the reason I don’t wanna finish my contract (january 14 2014) is because my new job starts on february 1 2014 I will have to much stress moving and organizing my self. so I quit 1 month early and have more time to sort my stuff out before february 1, and i can go home for the holidays and see family and friends…

I do feel bad about the kids, but teachers leave the school all the time and the kids just play with the next white guy…
I don’t care if my boss is happy or not… he will just get into one of his many expensive sports cars and drive home.

the point u made about threatening the school if they try and deduct 35,000 NT from my pay for leaving early is a good point but other teachers have quit and try the same thing but the school does it anyway plus I don’t have time to fight with them…

7

Just do it. Obviously I think one needs to give notice where possible and we “should” play fair, but the simple truth is that bosses at most of these cram schools don’t value their teachers too much. This doesn’t mean they’ll stab you in the back, at least not all of them, but it just means they have no problem getting rid of you as fast as possible. I’ve had fairly big name schools in the past technically break their own contract repeatedly, but they obviously didn’t care too much about it and it was only AFTER I left did I realize that if I had done what they did then they would have been extremely upset (similar situation to yours with not giving notice etc, but they did it to me). Leave, burn the bridge and don’t look back.

8

[quote=“kramer”][quote=“Kea”]You have bizarre logic on this thread:

Work till January 14th and get:
December pay 74k net
January pay net 28k
be able to appy APRC
Be able to submit tax statement for friend to reclaim in August=5-10k estimated back to you
total = +90k after living costs
plus kids are not hurt, and you get a reference from a happy boss

or you do a runner and boss and students are disappointed and you add to the bad reputation of foreigners teaching here.

You even need to think about this? You lack the common sense to figure it out and have to get it explained to you?

besides which, if the owner even dared hold your money you could hit him hard at the labor affairs, if you plan it out (photocopy all of your time cards, give him a registered letter and email and call him from the labour affairs when giving 1 month notice).

Use your brain. This is easy.[/quote]

I plan on never coming back to Taiwan,.[/quote]

That’s a good thing since we don’t need selfish people here.
Maybe you could pm me your school’s info, so I can step in the day after your departure.
I am looking for a place with a 5 years record.

9

Why don’t you just tell your boss now that you don’t plan to take another contract and would like to finish your current one a month early? That gives plenty of time to look for a suitable replacement and won’t leave them stuck for a teacher.

10

Exactly!
You can always tell them that your granny died and that your mother needs you.
They won’t even think of touching your money.

11

And what is stopping the boss from finding a replacement early? The guy has made it clear that his boss isn’t the most understanding of people, so telling him half a year in advance would probably end up with no job after a month or so and then you are up shit creek without a paddle.

12

The contract is stopping him.

13

If you are referring to the boss, then nothing is stopping him. There is usually a notice period in the contract. If he tells his boss now, what will happen? Come May or June they will find a replacement.

14

I think creztor is the only person here with a true understanding of the crap that happens here in taiwan…

Yes i understand that I am a guest in taiwan and should play by the rules, and be nice… but

Taiwanese cram school owners have NO problem screwing u over some how for there own personal gains, so why can’t I screw them over myself, if it benefits me… If I tell them this far in advance I am afraid that the school will just kick me out if they find someone new… Also it has happened before at the school where some teachers give notice and the school has time to find a replacement but the owner still takes the 35,000 NT, why well because he is a greedy bastard…

15

[quote=“kramer”]I think creztor is the only person here with a true understanding of the crap that happens here in Taiwan…

Yes i understand that I am a guest in taiwan and should play by the rules, and be nice… but

Taiwanese cram school owners have NO problem screwing u over some how for there own personal gains, so why can’t I screw them over myself, if it benefits me… If I tell them this far in advance I am afraid that the school will just kick me out if they find someone new… Also it has happened before at the school where some teachers give notice and the school has time to find a replacement but the owner still takes the 35,000 NT, why well because he is a greedy bastard…[/quote]
So why didn’t you stand up for your colleague then?
If it came to my attention that my boss was ripping off my coworkers there would be some trouble in heaven.

16

Hamelintaiwan, and then you lose your job. All of the colleagues where I worked last sat quietly in our weekly meetings and said nothing, even if they knew if they stuck together they could make the place better to work at. The boss told one of my co-workers that she was going to take my hours away and give them to him the following week. He was told this one week before I knew I was going to lose these hours. Did he tell me? No, of course not. No-one wants to lose their job. There’s no loyalty at your average cram school. Sure, there are some very good ones, but they are the exception and few and far between.

17

[quote=“kramer”]I think creztor is the only person here with a true understanding of the crap that happens here in Taiwan…

Yes i understand that I am a guest in taiwan and should play by the rules, and be nice… but

Taiwanese cram school owners have NO problem screwing u over some how for there own personal gains, so why can’t I screw them over myself, if it benefits me… If I tell them this far in advance I am afraid that the school will just kick me out if they find someone new… Also it has happened before at the school where some teachers give notice and the school has time to find a replacement but the owner still takes the 35,000 NT, why well because he is a greedy bastard…[/quote]
oh spare me, you really like to moan. I’m sure I know more than creztor, whoever he is, and gave you a way to ensure you wouldn’t be played.
Why in heavens would you give notice 6 months out to an untrustworthy boss? Crazy idea. Follow the law, ensure you are observed following the law, and get the law on your side, and you do not need to worry about the 35k. Giving notice in November is also much to your advantage if you are seeking to give him a little trouble, as there are fewer teachers available at that time.
I still think my advice of changing your plans is pertinent, however whatever you do is fine. Just, try to be smarter about this. If you are unable to solve this to your advantage then just split as you initially said. It’s a weak cop out when you have several more constructive alternatives, but in the end you must look after yourself. Doing a runner is not the end of the world for anyone, and many Taiwanese also do it. However, if you have a better solution, try to do that.

18

Yes, whoever he is :slight_smile: And you definitely know more than him! That goes without saying. Sheesh :wink:

19

I would still float the idea of leaving early in September and see if he is agreeable. If he’s not then agree to finish the contract and do a runner.

20

good idea… will try that