Contracts not worth the paper they're written on

I’ve always known that contracts don’t mean much in Taiwan and everything is perpetually re-negotiable; but my latest experience really takes the cake:

I have been teaching for the past month and a half at a prestigious local elementary school where no-less than the grandson of the bloody Gismo himself is the chairman of the school. They decided that they would like to hire me to teach for the following year, beginning on September 1st and so we signed a contract stating such. ( I have a copy signed by the principle) So far so good.

The next day is pay day. We had a previous verbal agreement that I would be paid in cash on the 5th of every month, as I was the previous month. But, to my suprise, I recieve a check! So, I approach my manager and tell her there’s a problem. I have rent and a nanny both expecting to get paid that day and a check with a 5 day hold is no good to me. What can we do about it? She proceed to give me a lecture about how a check is the same as cash and thus everything is as agreed. I protest, (very politely all the while of course) but to no avail.

Then, an hour later I’m called into the manager’s office where I’m told that due to my “attitude problem” and “upsetting of workplace harmony” the school has now withdrawn the contract!

Only that morning I had given my final answer of “no” to the other school I was considering for the Fall.
Does anyone have any advice as to where I stand legally in this matter?

One party cannot unilaterally withdraw a contract after the other party has already accepted.

It is standard contract law in the US, Taiwan, and most other nations that an offer to enter into a contract may be withdrawn at any time before it has been accepted, unless the offer states that it will remain open for a certain period. But after one party makes an offer and the other party accepts, you have a contract and in general it may only be modified or terminated by mutual consent of both parties, unless the contract contains express language to the contrary.

You mentioned a verbal agreement in this case. I’m not sure what that means, as verbal can mean oral or written, but a contract may be either of those – oral or written – and both can be equally valid, binding and enforceable. The huge difference, of course, is that it is much easier to prove the existence and terms of a written contract. One can sue for breach of an oral contract, take it to trial, and if one has good witnesses or is more credible than the other party, a judge may find in your favor – deciding such oral contract existed and was breached by the other party, causing damages for which you should be compensated. But, as noted, it’s a lot easier to prove all that if the contract is in writing.

As for acceptance, the best way to prove that is by signing the written offer at commencement of the agreement, but that’s not the only way to accept an agreement. One can also accept orally (but you’ve got the same problem of proof) or by performance or reliance to your detriment.

Finally, when you say a contract’s not worth the paper it’s written on, that’s a completely unfair statement if you haven’t yet hired a lawyer and/or sued. A contract is just a binding agreement. They are broken all the time. The purpose of a contract is to give you the right to a legal remedy in the event it is breached. In other words, if you just bitch about it you haven’t availed yourself of your legal rights. If you want to enforce the contract, it’s necessary to threaten them with a legal action or actually file a legal action.

Of course, doing so is time consuming, expensive, a pain in the ass, and the results are not guaranteed, especially in Taiwan’s lame justice system. So, it’s only worthwhile pursuing a legal action if (a) you’ve got a very strong case and (b) your monetary damages are great and provable. If you’ve only been screwed out of a few thousand NT it’s clearly not worth the effort to hire an attorney and/or sue.

Angry people who feel they have had their legal rights violated often want to sue “out of principle,” to “teach them a lesson.” Any smart attorney will tell you, those are the cases/clients to be avoided, as no good will come out of them, the client will only be angry in the end, and he/she will blame the attorney.

One of the great lessons people should learn about the legal systems all over the world, is that often life sucks, often you will get screwed over, and often the best recourse is to recognize that “dammit, I got screwed by that evil bastard,” and to move on with one’s life rather than dwelling in the past and seeking revenge/retribution/remuneration.

Not saying that is or isn’t the case in your situation, but just something to think about. Good luck. :slight_smile:

Thank you for your very thoughtful reply Mother Theresa.

I don’t think it is worth my time to sue them as it would be quite difficult to establish “damages for which I should be compensated.”
My only real loss at this point is an opportunity cost of having turned down another job, based on thinking I had already secured word for next year. Given that the new job we signed a contract for doesn’t start until September, most judges would consider 3 months as a reasonable amount of time in which to secure other employment; Therefore, what have I lost?

They have now contacted me saying they overreacted and still want to hire me for September. I’m tempted to say sure and then just never show up on September 1st and leave them hanging, but my darn professional principles get in the way. I’ll probably just threaten them with a lawsuit at the end of June and let them sweat a little over the summer for the inconvenience they’ve caused me.

I wish I’d asked you for advice when I was negotiating my book contract and the publisher did the same thing; gave me a written offer and then withdrew it after I signed because the chairman of the company didn’t agree with one of the clauses the president had put in the offer.

Are you intending to still take the job, even you are going to threaten them?

Basically you may not like being paid by check but checks clear quickly.

So you left yourself short of cash to pay your other bills. Well that’s why we have financial planners and allow reservfes for that sort of thing.

When we run short of dough we borrow from our friends ( if we have any ).

I think you need to accept the apology and go kiss and make up. Maybe they will pay you by wire transfer in the future. But check are legal so I’d say you are standing on thin ground unless the check bounced.

Also everybody knows that signing a contract is just the beginning of your negotiations.

Bloody furriners thinks that a piece of paper has some signed sealed and delivered attachment to it.

Take that job if it’s a good place to be.

Ktownboy,

That’s going to be the norm at your school. They are going to switch the rules based on what suits them. I had it happen to me(the headache of the whole incident is tooo long to even bother to repeat here). The whole thing had to do with a contract agreement, written and oral. :fume:

Like STV said, if it’s a good school think about it. The time over the summer will give you and them breathing room and it could be a good year. But if you, in the back of your mind, think that without that they are inclined to make more trouble than it’s worth, then find another job. And let them know in the proper time. Make sure your ARC is transfered and all those details are taken care of before you give them notice.

Best of luck.

Did you try to explain your situation to the people expecting money (thus meaning you were told you could not wait 5 days to give them the money) before you blew up at your school?

Just curious.

I blow up more often than I’d like at work over little things, like a student not receiving make-up work that I hand in person to the TA who demanded it and then failed to give it to the student, but I wait at least a few weeks after I get a new job before I do so. I’m a little weird that way.

It’s a bad school; I’m gone. Even if Mr. youtube did grade 1 there.
They didn’t trust any of the foreign teachers to meet him today of course. We were told specifically that we were not allowed to attend. Who knows what embarassing question we might have asked that would have shamed the school. Just to be safe, they made all the students chosen to meet him hand in their questions to the censor for approval.

Called back the other school I had said no to and they were more than happy to hear that I’d changed my mind.
Just have to tough it out for 3 more weeks at the sweatshop. Should have gone with my gut feeling and never signed with them in the first place.
Was just so close to home that I thought I could take it. Too bad though, as the actual teaching was very rewarding; grades were divided into 5 levels and I teach the highest level grade 1 to 3s. But 14 hours of paperwork a week for 6 classes is just crazy.