So you want to come to China: China and Contracts

To be upfront - this will probably be the most frustrating part of your stay in China. I've already planned a post where I talk about laws and the general Chinese state of mind when it comes to laws, but for now I will say this - it's not anything like the way you think of a contract. The intended name for this future post is "In China laws are more like guidelines really," and anyone who's been to China for an extended period of time will tell you the same thing. Chinese companies and companies in China in general are completely fine with blatantly lying to you to get you to the country and get you working for them. When you bring up these blatant lies the Chines people will mostly just give you a confused look, which my friends in China and I just refer to as a Chinese person's face - aka they don't care.

Warning! This kind of behavior is not just common with Chinese companies! Don't get fooled by western companies claiming to be better, they're just as bad. If you've considered working in China as all you have already read about/ heard about "horror" stories about people thinking they're going to work in a major city and getting shipped out to the rural country-side where they take your passport and don't pay you. The truth? This happens, you need to be savvy and you can't be too trusting - ever. Things to make sure of before you leave: look-up information about the place you're going to move to - do not trust the info the company gives you, find information about the job from another source than the one you're going through, make sure they show you a sample contract, and lastly make sure your sample contract says you will be holding onto your passport! Moving to a new country is a lot about trust. You will have to hand over your passport eventually to get a visa, and yes this is scary. To make you feel better about this make sure you have a copy of your passport and register with your local embassy when you get to the country before handing over your passport.

Sometimes foreign companies are the worst with taking advantage of foreigners. Why is this? They look more trustworthy to us, it's easier for them to replace you, and it's easier for your actions to follow you back home. The worst working conditions for foreigners in my city are at the school I work at and at a British owned company. And my school sources foreign teachers through an American company.

I'm not saying this to scare anyone and I'm definitely not saying it to stop you from coming to China! I just wish I had been less trusting and done more leg work before I came here and I want to pass that on.

My experience? I will get into it after I get home, but I will say it included a lot days when I felt frustrated, angry, and taken advantage of. Even talking to other people who came to China through the same program as I did were horrified when they heard some of the stuff I (and other people from my program) went through. I had people frequently ask me why I stayed with my company, and why I didn't get my company and local press involved with my situation. My answer? I did try to get my company involved and they told me I was SOL and there isn't local bi-lingual press here. Know where you're going and if it's your first time - make sure there's a strong foreign community.

Contracts and China:

Laws and contracts are really more like guidelines in China. They aren't followed accept sometimes they spring up to bite you on the ass. Visa laws aren't generally followed, your Chinese company/ employer will not understand the laws. This isn't their fault. Laws are rarely followed in China and can change in an instant. For example, during the first few months I was in China thousands of foreigners were kicked out of Beijing alone due to having improper visas. These visas had always been okay before even though they weren't legal, but the government wanted to get rid of foreigners during their transition of power so they took advantage of the law to suit them. Then they changed the visa laws in states close to Beijing. Many people who thought they could simply leave the country to renew their visa (aka go to Hong Kong, Russia, Mongolia, South Korea or any other place close by) had to go back to their own country to get a new visa.

I had a Z visa and they are amazing. If you can go through a company who can get you one then do it, especially if you want to stay for a few years. It's a visa and a living permit and can be renewed for up to five years. You do not have to leave the country to get it renewed. You can get it renewed through a new company. You can leave and re-enter the country as many times as you want with it. And it's valid for a year at a time.

Many companies will give you a three or six month visa. Then you have to leave the country to get it renewed. Your company will pay for the flight or give you money equivalent to the cheapest flight you could get out of the country that you can spend towards a vacation location of your choosing (sometimes). So, if you bought that round trip ticket and are staying for more than a year, this could be your trip home! You might get paid for one ticket twice.

Try and make sure you know what you're getting into, especially if you're new to coming to China. The contract should talk about housing, salary, overtime, stipends, hours, and holidays/time off/ sick leave. You should get free housing and/or a living stipend option. This money is in addition to your salary. With the free housing option you often still have to pay for electricity, water, gas  internet, and heating. Unless you have an on campus residence, then those things are covered. Which can be nice but if they have on campus housing still ask if there is a stipend option. I got stuck living on campus in an active class building in an old classroom with active classrooms next to me. When schools start at 7 am, don't end till 10 and run 6 to 7 days a week living on campus can be a nightmare There are also curfews, and it's not unheard of for schools to lock you out of your building after 10 at night. Though it might be nice to live on campus for long enough to find an apartment and a roommate and save up some money, it's not the best long term plan. Stipends are often just your salary but they're given as a stipend so they're tax free, I'm pretty sure it's anything above 6,000 (about $1,000) a month is taxed, so you'll often see a salary of that then a stipend for the rest. If your salary is high ask what it is after taxes. Make sure teaching hours and office hours are clear. Most jobs have between 16-18 teaching hours a week with 30-40 hours total. Some will say a number of classes, honestly about 10 a week is common though this depends. You should get Chinese holidays and at least vacation time equivalent for western holidays. So, you might have to work Christmas, but they'll let you pick another day off. It's more common to get the holidays, but some jobs will give you a different day off in the same week so you get a three day weekend instead. Some places are stickt about sick leave, I don't recommend accepting a company that is! When you're really sick you don't want to be thinking about who's covering your shift or how you're not getting paid for that day. Companies should also pay for at least half your medical expenses and bring you to the hospital. The hospitals here are completely different, and you don't want to have to navigate them on your own especially not when you're sick!