Somehow, I am doing a very poor job at finding this exact topic within this forum or elsewhere! I’d greatly appreciate your tips and advice in this situation. Here’s a full outline of what’s going on, and the reason why I am considering backing out of my signed work contract before starting in September -
First a little background:
Licensed teacher from the USA with 5 years of classroom experience. Master’s degree.
Placed in a private school through a recruiter.
- I applied through a recruiter and was placed in a position that pays incredibly well, but it turns out I’d be teaching almost exclusively kindergarten-aged children. The position was advertised as “primary school,” and I feel it was misrepresented to me. I understand that it’s illegal to teach kindy; this topic has been addressed at least 1 bajillion times. At first, I was under the impression that it was pretty much impossible for the teacher to get in trouble; however, after doing TONS of research into this, there is a non-zero risk of deportation, etc etc. I want to avoid this, as I hope to fully immigrate/live in Taiwan for many years.
- I believe they may even be applying for my work permit as a caregiver, not a teacher, which requires persistent health checks (like every 6 months to a year) and truly misrepresents me as an employee.
- I had signed the contract, but have not yet received a countersigned contract (or heard anything from the school since I initially sent my contract nearly two weeks ago).
- I have opportunities to work in public schools given my experience and education, and have one other offer that was just extended for a proper high school environment - no kindy - with equally great pay.
Since I have not yet started work under the signed contract for the first school, can I back out of it now without legal repercussions? I understand that they can be petty and hold up canceling my work permit, causing my new school to have to wait to apply… but other than that, can I get into trouble? I feel the first position was sold as something totally different than it truly is, and after learning a huge amount about teaching in Taiwan, I want to pursue the public school route relevant to my degree and education. I’ve learned that I do not need to go through a recruiter, and that I can pretty much get hired at ANY public school with my credentials.
Does it make a difference that I do not possess a countersigned agreement?
tl;dr another tragic tale of “I signed something I wish I didn’t sign… what do?”
Thank you so much for any help; I really appreciate it!
The school could sue you for breach of contract. However, seeing as they had you sign a contract as a primary teacher but that is not what they are offering it would be pretty stupid for them to sue.
Also it’s too troublesome and costly for employers to bother with suing for breach of contract. If you want to cancel the contract, I wouldn’t lose sleep if the potential consequences.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if they mention being able to sue you but it would more than likely to be a lot of talk that won’t amount to anything
If you are licensed why not go with the TFETP?
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Thank you so much for your response. It definitely helps.
TFETP is indeed the route toward which I’m super inclined to go (or the offer that I’ve received from a high school). I’m just very anxious that canceling my contract with the first school will lead to complications/legal repercussions. I feel I could simply say, “I do not wish to teach kindergarten,” and that would pretty much stop being sued in its tracks, but the whole situation is filled with uncertainty.
I totally want to pivot and go with TFETP, but I’m anxious about potential repercussions with canceling the first contract, and it’s making me waver in my choice to pursue TFETP and public school opportunities.
I understand there are notices that you can give after you’ve been employed - like, 10 days notice prior to resignation if you’ve been working for more than 3 months but less than a year, etc. I’m wondering if there are any notices or rules or guidelines for exactly how to proceed prior to your start date.
Do you suppose, given all of the info, if I were to send some super face-saving resignation letter to the first school, they’d release my work permit and I could pivot to TFETP?
Thanks again for your time and help
It’s expected that foreigners will flake. It’s true that working in a kindy is illegal most of the time but loopholes abound and enforcement is virtually non-existent. If you want to take the other job just go for it and make up an excuse (death in the family) why you can’t move to Taiwan. Totally acceptable excuse. Calling a teacher’s salary in Taiwan incredible is only true in that they are probably lying to you. Good luck 
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lolol thank you, I really appreciate your comment. The responses have helped me stop worrying so much that I’ll spend years and years in prison due to breach of contract 
In seriousness though, I’ll most likely pivot to TFETP and head down that route. It’s so much more stable compared to working with private schools.
Thanks again!
Yeah, I second this statement. Remember that lying, cheating, stealing are fairly common (especially in the private teaching sector) so always make sure you “do your research” and ask lots of question. Then double check those answers by asking others the same questions. You have to be street smart in Taiwan and learn how the locals play games. Once you’ve figured that out, then you can do fairly well. Learn to pick your battles carefully because you won’t always come out on top. There will be times when you have to go along with things even when they’re not fair or legal. You ain’t in Kansas anymore so buckle up and get ready to play the game. Even locals have to play the game.
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I get it. I’ve pretty much grasped the situation at hand at this point, and am both ready and willing to play the game as I need to in order to succeed and actually flourish in this environment.
I think I’ll probably go the white lie route that saves face for the private school and helps push forward work permit cancellation (due to a death in the family, I cannot fulfill the contractual obligations at your wonderful beautiful establishment etc etc). That leaves the main part about which I’m wary now - they could hold up my work permit and prevent my new school from applying for it.
Thanks for your insight. It helps a lot. Despite the lying, cheating, stealing environment surrounding working in Taiwan, I’m still excited and feel I can succeed. Just need to make it past this first hurdle and jump in, you know?