This is on behalf of a friend of mine who (unwisely?) signed a bad teaching contract before coming over and is now overworked, underpaid, and fed up with her company (it's a consulting company, not a school).

What are the legalities of breaking a contract in China? My hunch is that their recourse is the same as yours if you get ripped off, i.e. nothing. The company has written in a breach penalty of 5000$ US, which is egregious, but smart of them I guess. It also shows how unscrupulous they are.

The other thing I found strange is that she has been provided with a Residence Permit as opposed to a working Visa. Does that mean the company can't revoke her status if she should choose to leave?

Another relevant point is that the company has already breached the letter of the contract, by failing to pay her salary on time once. Should she choose to quit, and the authorities actually bother to involve themselves, would a point like that actually matter? Or would local authorities automatically side with the Chinese party?

rellio 1

The way you paint the picture it seems that her company has already broken the contract!

Firstly you state that she’s overworked so does that mean she’s working more hours than the contract stated?
Secondly you write that she’s underpaid so again I ask the question is she being paid less than the initial contract agreement?
If the answer to either or both of those questions is yes then I would suggest that the roles should be reversed and her argument should be that: due to the company breaking the contract she feels the need to move on.
If on the other hand she’s working the hours stipulated at the rate of pay agreed but she’s just fed up then maybe it’s worth sticking it out! Or is it so bad?

Your point about the contract breach penalty perhaps tells you a lot about the company; perhaps they’ve had more than one person break a contract in the past hence the penalty. If others have broken their contract one would want to ask why, do they have issues etc.

The residence permit is your work permit! Anyone coming to China to teach legally is issued with the Residence Permit for Foreigners which allows them to live and work here. That, it’s a sticker in the passport, permit is valid during your period under contract and can certainly be revoked as and when a contract terminates.

If, as you wrote, her only defence for breaking the contract would be late payment of salary one time then I would suggest few people would be swayed by such an argument.

Personally I feel that the best solution is always dialogue. If I were in her shoes I would convey my concerns to the company; tell them what I’m unhappy with and cite whatever breaches of contract they’ve perpetrated. If I were in the situation where I just didn’t like it anymore then I would stick it out and leave with a clean slate or ask them to find a replacement within a month. Of course I’m aware that many people would just run away from such a situation with the thought that it’s “not a real job anyway”, a thought prevalent amongst many so called ‘teachers’.

If a person ran away then I honestly don’t think they would be pursued but it is wrong, in my opinion.

I hope that there might be something of use in the words I’ve written and that your friend finds the best way forward for her.