Is meeting a new student for 15 minutes prep work, ie unpaid, kosher?

My boss says that I need to meet a new student for 15 minutes and that it is part of perp work and therefore not paid. There is nothing in the contract regarding this

Is that right?

Sounds typical. If that’s the greatest of your worries, I’d think you’re doing pretty well.

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Perp work?

It’s standard to level check a new student. I think you should get compensated for it.

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Ask for compensation , if none and not in the contract then don’t do it, or do it and then expect to do more and more. Give them an arm they will take a leg too. Learn to say no. Are you here for charity work? If so go ahead.

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IIRC when I first started teaching I got paid a bonus if new students signed up. Risk reward kind of deal.

it’s 15 minutes. imo just do it if you like the job. you didn’t say they’re asking you to do this every day, right? if you complain and start demanding to be paid for a one time interview, I don’t think the school will have a good impression.
I’m not advocating everyone do free work. but I think it’s unreasonable to ask for pay if this is the first time it’s happened

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I agree. No one works for free. But a few times a year isn’t much to complain about. If it was something you did weekly and you’re assigned it, I would ask for compensation.

Absolutely not. He should discuss at least some kind of compensation in a polite manner on the very FIRST time or it will be far more tricky lets say on the fifth or sixth time they ask you to do it. Just ask to discuss it and ask if this is a regular duty…

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Dude, it’s 15 minutes, it’s like a few hundred ntd at most.

You will make up for the “lost” income somewhere else, I’m sure it happens often you will be sitting idle(and hence being useless) at other times even though you are being paid.

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Work you do you your employer, including prep work (unless you do it on your own time, for your own benefit, without supervision), is work you should be paid for, period.

Getting it enforced when there’s nothing in the contract about it may be difficult, so the best advice is, don’t do it. If it’s not in the contract, and especially if your employer doesn’t intend to pay you for it, then it’s not your responsibility. Screening students is part of the employer’s cost of doing business anyway.

If it’s not an employment relationship, that’s different.

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Give some better details and a description of what you’re being asked to do.

Are you being asked to give the new student an oral exam to assess his/her/its/their English proficiency and to which level of class to enter?

Are you being asked to do a free 15 minute demonstration class with the new student in order to convince to enroll?

Or is it just a quick 15 minute b.s. getting to know you type session?

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Getting to know bs

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Tell the student to join Forumosa. :upside_down_face:

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That’s how you get nibbled to death. Give in once and they will walk on you more next time. On the other hand try before you buy is ordinary business practice. You know the context, we don’t. Does this nibbling take place regularly in different ways?

That’s why they do it, to nibble away at you bit by bit. It’s a scam where victim of theft is made to look miserly. Making the victim look like the perpetrator is a very common Chinese scam

I feel like we’re reading a lot into the OP’s situation.

Does OP love his job? I know several teachers who will spend a significant fraction of their paycheck buying gifts for their students. If this is a dream job, consider an extra 15 minutes of volunteer work the price to pay to remain in paradise.

Does the OP hate his job? Definitely ask for more money. I feel that all the “ask for the moneys” replies are all assuming that OP is in this boat. Not that it’s as bad assumption… but still.

There are only two reasons to work: you do it because you love it, and you do it because you get paid.

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You know the kind of spouse who says things like you’ll buy it for me if you love me?
:kissing_heart: :money_mouth_face:

If I had a boss who let me leave 15 minutes early without penalty now and then, I might be willing to work an extra 15 minutes without compensation now and then. Who doesn’t love a two-way street? :yin_yang:

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15 minutes is never 15 minutes. It’s either waiting for Godot for double that or talking an extra 15 due to social pressure. Either way, you are out 30 unpaid…but that said, how important is your time really? I like the idea of your boss letting you off a little early, though. That’s respect. :slight_smile:

Well…if it’s just a 15 minute bs “getting to know you” type session, then I don’t think it’s really a big deal and “cooperating” by donating 15 minutes of your time might buy you some brownie points.

However

You shouldn’t have to come in early, stay late or have regular office hours in order to do this. It should be a simple, you happened to be around when the new student showed up and are available to help out, kind of thing.

Be acutely aware that Taiwanese are extremely adept at nickel and diming you to death and turning a simple “help out tasks” into arduous and regular additional job requirements without proper compensation.

Another thing to remember is that as far as your boss is concerned, they provided you with a work-permit, therefore THEY OWN YOU and you have to do whatever they demand. I had an acquaintance who was in this situation while on a company sponsored work-permit and ARC. The demands to do additional unpaid work and threats to cancel the ARC happened on a monthly basis. He stuck it out until he got his APRC and then refused to do any further unpaid work. When they continued to make unfair demands, he threatened to quit and the demanding attitude immediately stopped because they no longer could control him through threatening his ARC.

I can see this turning into a regular “new student assessment” part of your responsibilities with oral exam and paperwork to document a new student’s level very quickly. If so, then proper compensation is warranted.

In fact, if this was in important part of your job duties, then it would have been stipulated very clearly in your employment contract. The fact that it is being relayed to you orally after the fact is troubling.

Some schools pay $600/hour for a designated teacher to have office hours and be on standby for new student oral and written placement exams. Other schools will pay a teacher a flat fee for every placement exam which they conduct, like $100/test.

So, I recommend not allowing yourself to be too available during times that you are not actively teaching or prepping for class. Sitting around the office gives the boss too much opportunity to give you additional unpaid duties.

Anyway. Enjoy your time teaching English in Taiwan.

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15 minutes once in a while, I wouldn’t care about it at all.

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