Hi guys.
So when I told my previous buxiban I wanted to quit and gave them my notice they were pretty unhappy about it. Communication broke down and now I can’t get into contact with them.
I have been trying to get hold of the manager to get a contract termination form. Thing is she’s trying her best to avoid me, she won’t reply to any messages or emails, won’t take my calls, is always conveniently not there the several times I’ve been to the school. I’m pretty sure that should I manage to track her down she will refuse to sign. But what I want to ask is, can she do this?
I understand that she’s pissed. But is she within her rights to refuse to free me from the contract despite me no longer working there?
If they avoid giving it to you, I think the labor people will help you out. I know in your other post you said
But if you have tried and the school is not cooperating, I think they will help you out. Probably mentioning to the school that you’ll have to visit the cla will be enough.
You can try calling corporate or some higher up. That worked for me.
I went to get the 6 month extension on my ARC a few years ago and my old boss refused to give me the termination paper because I had quit. He just said he was busy and couldn’t help me. I didn’t realize you needed that and was on the last day of my ARC. Luckily I gave the immigration worker an office number and they managed to get it faxed to me. Otherwise I would have had to have left the country and my APRC years would have restarted.
Withholding that paper really screws you over and I think some bosses know that.
Hope it works out for you
If the answer to all three questions is no, you cannot terminate the contract without the employer’s consent.
If the answer to one of the questions is yes (and you can prove the situation giving rise to your use of LSA Art. 14 or CC Art. 489 if necessary), a simple email stating that you are terminating the contract and the basis of your action should suffice, but you should consider using a legal deposit letter at the post office. It should be addressed to wherever the buxiban is officially registered.
The labor department can advise you. It can also arrange mediation, but that takes a while.
Thank-you for the replies! My situation is still ongoing but I now have a different issue.
I ended up tracking the boss down. She basically told me there is no way she will sign, it’s not her responsibility etc and refused to have any kind of two way conversation with me.
I then called the labour department who in turn called the school and told them that they need to cooperate with me in order to avoid any penalties. Within 24 hours the boss messaged me to say that I can end the contract and pay a penalty.
The contract does state that I need to pay a penalty (and that they can deduct money from my salary) if I want to end the contract, but no amount is specified.
I will speak with the labour department first thing on Monday, and before I agree to any penalty because I’m not sure what’s legal or not. But I enquired as to the amount she was asking me to pay, which she hasn’t been able to give me an acceptable answer to yet.
I understand that I signed a contract agreeing to this clause which was probably not smart, so I’m not expecting that I can get out of this without paying anything at all. But I’m wondering does anyone have any insight into what is considered a reasonable penalty?
Just go in and tell whoever you talk to that unless you get what you want by tomorrow you will be going to the CLA/ MOL/whatever and the FAP/whatever they are called now. She’ll cave.
There’s no need to actually go to the MOL. The threat should be enough.
Two weeks witheld pay? You don’t need to pay this, but if it is in the contract you could theoretically get sued. Is the school you were working in operating anything borderline legal - kindy etc?
They’re not operating as a kindergarten but they do have kindy classes if that means anything? They definitely have teachers work before they’ve obtained a work permit (which I guess is common amongst buxibans). Aside from that I’m not sure, I didn’t stay at the school for very long so I don’t know of anything else.
So you’re saying I can get them to sign the contract termination without paying anything and then they can sue me (which I wouldn’t be surprised about) afterwards?
AFAIK, yes, depending on what you signed in the contract. However, do they owe you pay now? Are they trying to withold pay you are owed? This is not allowed.
Correct. However, if you have an LSA Art. 14/15 or CC Art. 489 situation and use it as the basis for your termination of the contract (and can prove it), they will lose the lawsuit. Even if they win, they may not win enough to pay their legal bills. (The losing party can be charged for the court fee – not expensive in most cases – but not for the winning party’s lawyer’s fee etc.)
If you don’t have a legally valid reason for contract termination, they don’t need to agree to let you go, but it sounds like they are afraid of the authorities because they are doing dodgy things right, left and center – like hiring foreigners without work permits – so they probably just need a little more persuasion.
Correct. If they do withhold it, the labor department can impose an administrative penalty as stipulated in the LSA.
Hey @Hisc, I’m a new user so I’m not able to PM you. Basically, I’ve found myself in a similar situation - really unhappy after signing a new contract and looking to change jobs. What would you recommend doing? I’ve seen conflicting advice - some people say you should sign with a new job, get a new work permit added onto the existing ARC, then cancel the old job in the required notice period, while other people recommend cancelling the old job within the notice period, applying for a 6 month ARC extension, then finding a new job.
as stipulated in the LSA.