The following conditions of employment have been summarized and encompass CURRENT conditions of employment. Our standard contract is usually revised annually in June of every year.
Typical working hours:
K-Class (8:30 am to on average 5:00 pm. Two hour lunch break from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.) Average of six, thirty minute periods taught per day, with twenty minute intervals.
P-Class (1:00 pm to 7:45pm) Average of, 40 minute periods taught per day, with 10 minute intervals.
SK/P-Class combination (1:00 pm to 7:45 pm) Four, forty minute periods taught per day, with 20 minute intervals and additional preparation time from 3:30 pm to 4:20 pm.
Performance Bonus:
Performance evaluations are carried out mid-semester and end-semester. This bonus is based on a sliding scale linked to performance. A typical semester consists of five months. Therefore the performance bonus is paid twice per semester, each payment being in respect of a 2.5 month period. Your performance evaluation scores also determine your semester salary increase.
Student Return Rate Bonus:
This bonus is paid to teachers whose full, paid-up student compliment return from one semester to another.
Appreciation Bonus:
On completing your contract, you may eligible for a NT$12 000 bonus. This bonus increases in increments of NT10 000 per completed year of service.
Annual Leave:
Six to eight weeks per year (2 to 3 weeks after the first semester depending on the commencement of Chinese New Year, AND 4 to 5 weeks in August, depending on the first day of the new semester.)
Annual leave is paid at half your basic salary in respect of actual leave days taken.
What do you think?
What kinds of questions should i be asking this company?
How does this contract compare to what you may be working under currently?
A lot of the bonuses look like they could be interpreted arbitrarily. I would therefore not count on them. A cooperation bonus? Who defines cooperative? What if a teacher performs all of his/her duties, but refuses to perform duties not included in his contract? WOuld that be uncooperative? Attendance bonus - should be clear, but often isn’t. Appreciation bonus? Gimme a break.Performance bonus? How clear are the criteria?
60000NT ofr 8:30AM-7:45PM. No that’s not a good idea.
Also, this contract is basically saying. Here’s the contract, but we can change it anytime we like. (At least this school is upfornt about it).
I hate contracts in Taiwan. Luckily, I’ve somehow managed to get away with never signing one in the 5 years I’ve been here with 10 or more jobs that have lasted over 6 months.
[quote=“Bu Lai En”]60000NT ofr 8:30AM-7:45PM. No that’s not a good idea.
Also, this contract is basically saying. Here’s the contract, but we can change it anytime we like. (At least this school is upfornt about it).
I hate contracts in Taiwan. Luckily, I’ve somehow managed to get away with never signing one in the 5 years I’ve been here with 10 or more jobs that have lasted over 6 months.
Brian[/quote]
Wait a minute, I saw what I think are three different contract options there. 8:30am - 5pm for K class.
Yup, three different contracts, one is a combo. So, it’s not that bad.
No, I “like” sheep. I am from New Zealand you know. I can’t speak for DB though. BTW, it’s not fish, it’s a Bass guitar Bassman. :fume:
Listen, the tables have turned on things over the last few months since all work permits started going through the CLA. Too many schools can no longer obtain a work permit for teachers. So, there are plenty of teachers and plenty of positions but not plenty of work places that can offer a work permit for teaching. The odds have swung in the favor of those employers who can offer a work permit and ARC asap.
A few schools will take advantage of teachers because of this. I am not one of them.
8:30 am - 5pm $60,000 plus bonuses sounds like a reasonable deal to me. It may not be all it’s cracked up to be but it’s worth a look.
If you accept this contract you’ll be creating a lot of work for yourself. Too much.
As Bobo mentioned above, keep it simple.
Why don’t you go in there with some ideas of your own on paper re hours, pay and any ideas you have on how you’d like to teach your classes and what kind of materials you’d like to use. I’m not gonna tell you what you should seek in terms of a contract but anything around 25 hours a week sounds reasonable.
Most things are negotiable in Taiwan - remember that when you go in to talk about your contract.
If you accept this contract you’ll be creating a lot of work for yourself. Too much.
As Bobo mentioned above, keep it simple.
Why don’t you go in there with some ideas of your own on paper re hours, pay and any ideas you have on how you’d like to teach your classes and what kind of materials you’d like to use. I’m not gonna tell you what you should seek in terms of a contract but anything around 25 hours a week sounds reasonable.
Most things are negotiable in Taiwan - remember that when you go in to talk about your contract.[/quote]
Ahhhhhhh ha ha ha ha … that is a side splitter. I can just see the managers face now.
Yes, that’s right, I don’t like your contract. Here take a look at the one I wrote. Now, if you’d just sign here.
Oh, still hurts… thanks for my first laugh of the day.
I think that’s a good deal for a newbie. Especially for just 6.5 working hours a day (i.e. not including the 2-hour lunch). Do they promise raises if you return for a second year? You could ask them to define the meanings of the bonuses if you really didn’t understand what they entailed.
[quote]Typical working hours:
K-Class (8:30 am to on average 5:00 pm. Two hour lunch break from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.) Average of six, thirty minute periods taught per day, with twenty minute intervals. [/quote]
The way I read this you would be teaching 3 hours a day not 6.5 as Imani wrote. 6X30 minutes = 3 hours. It says 20 minute intervals between classes which means you are taking a break.
3X5 days a week X 4 weeks in a month = 60 hours a month
This can’t be true. The contract is offering NT1000/hour. What am I are you all missing here?
Thank you for all the feedback. The more i look at this contract the more questions it raises so i think im going to steer clear from it. These look like long days and since ill be new to the island i think ill be needing some time to adjust (i grew up in new york and have been living in boston the past 5 years, so i expect to experience some kind of culture shock). My guess is that Mod is correct in assuming this “down time” isnt really “break time” because they do give you a two-hour lunch.
I know there are some out there that may think this could be a sell-out move but im really thinking about working for Hess. They seem to offer training and it looks as if you don’t work as much. One contract i viewed on their website averaged 22-24 hours per week. This might be a nice way to start out on the island to enable me to explore and gain comfort in my new surroundings.
I’m more interested in culture than teaching. Although, i plan to try my best at teaching to see if it might be a possible career path when i return to the states. What do i want from Taiwan? A trial run at teaching, a view of the people, and the opportunity to travel outside of Taiwan (China, Phillipines, Hong Kong…ect). Maybe 20 hours a week wont be enough to travel but once im trained and comfortable with teaching i plan to acquire some more hours throught Hess or find a bushiban somewhere.
Does this plan sound feasible to the experienced out there?
Would you advise me to not go with Hess (assuming they will accept me)?
Once again, your thoughts are appreciated…
Well you could search the newpapers and see about other English teaching opportunities besides Hess. Private Tutoring, Conversation Partner for executives, Day Care, etc. etc.
It would make your schedule more flexiable to explore the island.
Cool another New Yorker. You’ll fit right in.
Sounds like your soul searching. Well best of luck in Taiwan.
If there really are 20 min breaks between classes, so only 3 contact hours, that’s actually a pretty good deal for a beginner. I’d take it (but visit the school first to get a vibe from them).
I can’t speak for DB though. BTW, it’s not fish, it’s a Bass guitar Bassman. :fume:
. o O (I wish I had a two-hour lunch break…) 