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Teach Abroad – Employment Contract 101

Teaching abroad can be challenging due to all the uncertainties of moving overseas and unfamiliarities ahead of you, especially that you are taking a leap of faith in the company or recruiting agency that hired you to do the right thing and take care of you.

Here is the teaching abroad employment contract 101 and checklist to understand what to watch while signing up a contract. Sign up for a great adventure instead of signing your soul away.

Common personal info will be requested for an employment contract, working permit, and VISA application

  • Legal full name
  • Nationality
  • Passport photocopy
  • Photo
  • Home address
  • Email
  • Phone number
  • Photocopy of Teaching certificate (often required) – TEFL, TESOL, CELTA, etc.
  • Background check – No criminal record
  • Basic health check – some countries require additional health check once entered the country for VISA and working permit
  • Photocopy of the diploma
  • Provide a valid work history – Essentially your resume

Learn more about the VISA process in China.

Common company info will be provided on an employment contract for your information

  • Company’s legal entity name
  • Full company address
  • The full name of the company’s legal responsible personnel
  • The contract is usually written in both the local official language and English

Common Clauses in an Employment Contract

Contract period

  • The duration of the working contract. Typically 12 months.

Probation period

  • Range from one to three months.

Job duties

  • ex. Assist local teachers with their English classes or lead the English classes.
  • ex. Prepare teaching materials and assist with lesson planning.

Job title

Location(s) of designated work

Hours of work per week

  • Legally 40 hours per week. Some countries require to pay overtime if working exceeding 40 hours per week.
  • Depending on the type of school/company you work for, public/private schools tend to be on regular Mon-Fri 40 hours week, but private language school with after school/work classes then you might end up working from 5 pm-10 pm on weekdays and various hours on weekends.

Compensation and Salary

  • Base salary
  • Over time – the additional pay if exceeding legal 40 hour week.
  • Bonus
  • Allowance
    • Housing expense – Housing is NOT always provided and some offer a partial rent subsidy, but the company or recruiting agency usually offers assistance to locate one for you before or after your arrival.
    • Flight tickets – Some offer a one-way ticket to the designated country.
  • Tax withholding – different countries have different policies in terms of taxable salary.
    • Taxable income policy for home and the foreign country
      • ex. if you’re a US citizen, you will subject to taxation from both the US and foreign government if you earn over 100K USD per year.
      • ex. Employees, with the exception of Canadians and Irish, shall be eligible for exemption from paying Korean income tax during the period of the first two years of employment in Korea if they provide the following documents to the Employer before the first payment of salary: 1) “Residence Certificate” issued by the relevant authority of the Employee’s resident country 2) “an Application for Tax Exemption” on non-resident’s Korean source income provided under the Korean Tax Treaty. If the Employee has already worked for more than two years in Korea, he/she shall not be eligible for tax exemption.
    • Common income tax in a foreign country – the employee shall pay income tax, which will be deducted from the employee’s income before it is paid.
    • All monetary value and salary numbers listed on the contract are before tax. You can request a tax detail breakdown and net income after tax from the HR of the company that hired you.
    • Tax often consists of income tax, healthcare insurance, national pension contribution (even you unlikely able to benefit from it), etc.
  • Payday – Typical once or twice a month or bi-weekly.
  • Health insurance – The majority of the countries require the company to include healthcare. However, it’s better to double confirm with the company HR than to realize you’re injured without coverage. Depending on the country and companies, you might need to pay a partial medical insurance premium out of pocket.

Paid time off

  • Different countries have a different number of a legal national holiday. Here are some examples.
    • Shared national holiday In China and Taiwan
      • 1/1 – New Year (1 day)
      • 2/4 – 2/8 – Chinese New Year or Spring festival.
      • 4/5 – Qing Ming Jie or tomb-sweeping day (1 day),
      • 5/1 – labor day (1 day)
      • 6/7 – Dragon boat festival (1 day)
      • 9/13 – Mid-Autumn Festival (1 day)
      • Oct – National day
      • Note that Saturdays or Sundays are often shifted as a workday to make the holiday consecutive, which is a common practice in China and Taiwan.
      • All holidays in China
      • All holidays in Taiwan
    • Holiday in South Korea 
  • 5 workdays per week
  • The company might or might not offer additional paid time off.
  • Sick days – typically limited to 10 working days per year
  • Special leave – if you get married, congrats! paternity leave, congrats again! and the death of parents or spouse, RIP.

Employee Training & Orientation

  • Company employee training – this is often mandatory to ensure you’re on the same page with the company and policies
  • Optional foreign language lesson – this is typically optional, but why would you want to live in a foreign country for a long period of time without the ability to order a meal from the menu without a picture?

Confidentiality and Intellectual property

  • This is common for essentially all type of employment contract to protect both you and the company

Dissolution and Termination

  • Common reasons for job termination are the employee is unable to fulfill the job responsibility or serious violation of the company’s policies, unable to satisfy the legal requirement for VISA, violation of country’s criminal law, the employee voluntarily leaves the job, the contract period is due without renewal, etc.
  • If you decided that the position is not suitable for you and decide to leave the job.
    • Within the probation period – generally, an employee needs to provide a written notice around 3-7 business days ahead of the time.
    • After the probation period – generally, an employee needs to provide written notice 30-60 days ahead of the time.
    • Early contract termination penalty – due to the additional recruiting work and Immigration expense incurred, similar to an apartment rental lease. Some companies will place an early termination penalty if you leave the company for less than 6 months.

Codes of Conduct

  • Just behave. You’re in a foreign country and being a guest, just behave and respect the local laws.Observe and comply with any codes of conduct and dress applicable to Korean teachers.

More Legal and Tax Stuff

China

  • Housing in China is particularly strict. You will be required to report to the local police station within 24 hours (72 hours in rural areas) after your arrival in the country or if you moving into a new accommodation (except for the hotel). Ask the HR, they will typically take care of this complex and confusing business for you.
  • Report your valid full address to the company within 5 days after start working.

South Korea

  • Employees, with the exception of Canadians and Irish, shall be eligible for exemption from paying Korean income tax during the period of the first two years of employment in Korea if they provide the following documents to the Employer before the first payment of salary:
    • 1) “Residence Certificate” issued by the relevant authority of the Employee’s resident country
    • 2) “an Application for Tax Exemption” on non-resident’s Korean source income provided under the Korean Tax Treaty. If the Employee has already worked for more than two years in Korea, he/she shall not be eligible for tax exemption.
  • The Employer, on behalf of the Employee, shall provide half of the national pension plan deduction (approximately 4.5% of salary) pursuant to the National Pension Corporation Act of Korea. American, Australian, or Canadian Employees are eligible for a pension distribution refund if they submit the required documents to the Korean National Pension Corporation when they leave Korea after the completion of their Contract. ※Citizens of South Africa are not able to participate in the Korean National Pension Plan.
  • In the case of a female Employee, ninety (90) continuous calendar days shall be granted for maternity leave.  In the case of maternity leave, only the first 60 days shall be paid leave; the last 30 days shall be unpaid leave. Female Employee with a child aged less than one year shall be entitled to thirty (30)-minute-nursing time twice a day.

For more assistance in finding teaching abroad jobs, you can apply via Oakary. Or you can contact us if you have general questions about teaching English abroad or check out the guide 10 Things To Know About Teaching English Abroad.