One of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever done was pack up my life at 23 and get on a plane with a one-way ticket to China.

Through all my excitement, the terms of my ESL contract was of little concern. I was doing what I wanted to do and I didn’t care about the rest.

That sort of thinking reckless and cost me thousands of dollars in savings.

Don’t make the same mistake I did and fall prey to schools who will feed on your optimism for teaching English abroad.

As I’ve mentioned before, being vigilant about what’s in your contract is a must and any school that doesn’t want to explain contractual obligations doesn’t deserve you as their teacher.

I was careless with my contract and far too trustworthy with the people I thought had my back.

In the end, I learned a very hard lesson through visa fights, illegally withheld salaries, and lots and lots of financial hardship.

Here are 4 things you need to know that could undermine your ESL contract.

Muddy Visa terms

I highly recommend you research the visa requirements for the country your contract is in to make sure that you not only meet the requirements but that your school is getting you the right visa.

When I signed my contract for Beijing, the visa terms were so muddy they might as well not have put them in.

I ended up making several trips to Hong Kong to change my tourist visa to a work visa. Things were even more complicated because it was the year of the Olympics and the rules were extra strict.

Here’s what to look for if you don’t want to end up like me.

Does your ESL contract clearly state when you’ll have your visa?

It should indicate if you’ll have all your documents before you land in the country, or if you’ll have to do paperwork when you arrive in order to get your work visa.

Does it specify who will take care of visa costs?

This can be a big problem if you’re expected to pay your visa costs and those costs include leaving the country!

It’s not unusual that schools will expect you to pay for your visa because it helps cut down on flakey teachers.

But be sure to do your own research. Ask the school to provide you with a step-by-step process for getting a work visa and make an itemized list of all the costs that will be involved.

Here in Dubai, my husband and I got stitched by some rogue bureaucrats trying to make an extra buck. Before you start paying for things, know how much they should cost.

Vague salary terms and schedule

You can get yourself in a lot of bother if you don’t have a clear idea of how you’ll be paid and when.

It might sound very obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people move across the ocean banking on the idea that people will just do what’s right.

They don’t.

Does your ESL contract state exactly how much you will be paid over an exact timeframe?

For example, you might get a contract that says you get $30,000 per year. But how many payments will your company make to pay you that $30,000?

Make sure you know how much money you’ll make every pay period.

It’s imperative that your contract states exactly when you’ll be paid with nothing vague like the end of the month or the middle of the month.

Make sure there is a day or date attached to it (e.g. the last Thursday of every month, the 15th of every month). This is to help you hold your company accountable for paying you on time.

Does your salary include bonus, tax deductions, or housing allowance?

If you know that your school offers end-of-contract bonuses or housing allowance, make sure there is an itemized list that shows the amount of each. Also be sure to ask if your salary is before or after taxes.

I’ve seen contracts where companies sneakily add in bonuses with a before-tax salary. This kind of manipulation can mean hundreds of dollars less per month than you were expecting.

Does your contract have any probationary terms?

I had a contract that said I would be on probation the first month. I wasn’t told this meant financially as well and when I received my first paycheck, 80% of it was missing.

When I questioned the school, they said they took a “deposit” and they would pay it back once I finished my contract.

Yep. That happened. And no, I didn’t finish my contract.

Non-specific timetable

Does your contract say which days you’ll have off?

In my first Beijing contract, I was told that I’d have two days off per week. However, these were not consecutive. They were on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it sucked.

I had no social life outside of the people I knew from work because I would have to be at work so early in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays and they were the longest work days of the week.

In Kyrgyzstan, I was suddenly told that I had to show up for several hours on Saturday mornings to help the struggling students. It was not in my contract, so I never showed up :)

Does your contract say how many classes you’re expected to teach per week?

You should be aware that classes you teach do not mean hours you’re obligated to be at school. They are two different things.

You can be obligated to teach 25 classes per week, at 45 minutes per class, which is only 19 hours of teaching time.

What will you do for the other 20 hours if you’re a full-time teacher? Are you obligated to do demo classes, help with marketing, or any other duties? If so, they should be outlined in your contract.

Missing or vague PTO, holiday, sick leave

Does your ESL contract indicate whether you get paid time off?

PTO is different from sick leave. PTO is usually a certain number of days a teacher gets each contract year to take at his or her discretion. If you’re signing a contract with a small training school, chances are you won’t get PTO.

It’s very important to know what kind of sick leave you’re entitled to and that it’s spelled out in your contract. Most schools will offer five days of sick pay before they start to dock your salary.

Be aware of how sick leave is granted. Do you have to show a medical receipt or some other proof that you were ill?

Don’t forget to research country labor laws and what national holidays should be included in each contract.

If you’re working for a training center, chances are you’ll have to work through some holidays and be given them off at a different time. This is because training centers are their busiest when everyone else has time off.

One of the most complicated aspects of ESL contracts is when you have to sign two-year agreements, which I would only do if you’re going to be working at an international school.

You need to iron out how or if you’ll be paid over the summer. I’ve gotten into some hairy situations in the past assuming that a two-year contract meant 24 months of pay when it was actually only 20 months. Yikes!

This post isn’t an exhaustive list of all the things your contract should have. It’s a cautionary list of items that have gotten myself and many others in trouble in the past.

Make sure you’re getting the best deal before you go abroad by knowing what to look out for in an ESL contract.

What other things should you look out for when signing an ESL contract? Comment below.

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