Lost gold

From the Labor Act

Section 20. When an employee has not worked continuously because his or her boss had the intention of not permitting the employee to have rights under this Act, regardless of the nature of the employee’s duties and the intervals between the periods of service, all periods of service shall be included for the purpose of calculation of the rights entitlements of that employee.

This section was put in so employers can't use the short term contracts to get out of paying severance pay.

True Terry, so true,

"Fixed period employment contract is not for work of permanent nature. Many companies engage employees in a fixed term contract hoping not to pay severance payment at the end. They were surprised when told by the Labor Inspector, and the Labor Court to pay employees severance payment at the expiry of the contract. Ref section 118, last para.

Ref.Dika Court Decision No.5883/2545

Section 118 of the Labor Protection Act B.E.2541 need to be studied carefully to find out that a fixed term contract is possible only for seasonal work, or work of a temporary nature, not a core business, and the contract period shall not be more than 2 years. There is no provision for extension beyond the set period, no early cancellation."

A 3 months will be extended with your work permit if you have one - no further trip needed you can also change it to multiple entry

Would I be right in assuming, that in the event of an out of Thailand trip, we wouldn't need to apply for a re-entry permit?

I was down in the Thermae, years ago, when a roger asked me for a drink, I declined. She began abusing me and I told her to <deleted> off.

This chick had on a british flag kinda t-shirt. Anyhow she whacked me on the head with the neck end of a short Heinekin bottle and bolted out the door. I had a cut high on my forehead. but didn't need any sewing.

Bloody hoes.

It's tax return time and I plan a visit to the local taxation office. I know where it is, but I'd like to be able to direct the taxi driver there. Can a helpful member please give me the Roman font translation into pasa Thai, as I don't know it.

I'm still looking for a puppy.

I've been to these guys BKK website www.soidogrescue.org and are planning a visit out to their place. They seem to be quite pedantic, in regards to the people that they'll let have an animal.

Shame on you for posting pics of Jacko the Wacko on a man's forum!

Chotiros was in tears during yesterday's press conference at her university. "I am so sorry for what has happened. I would like to apologise," she said.

The two looks of Chotiros

Before... at the awards ceremony wearing her sexy dress:

Hi Guys

We're interested in a give-away puppy. We require a young puppy, which will grow into a small dog and is OK with kids.

Cheers

Where are you in Thailand? Jingle, in the ad above would fit your bill. She's the one in the green jacket. Or Big Boy (bottom middle) will be heavier than Jingle, but still short, as he has stumpy little legs. Both of them love my 5 yr old son.

Hi NR. We're in Don Muang. The pups look great, though it's not really practical for any of our family to get to Hua Hin, until the end of March.

Hi Guys

We're interested in a give-away puppy. We require a young puppy, which will grow into a small dog and is OK with kids.

Cheers

I think Thailand has, superficially, reformed education reform numerous times, with no real change.

That's what we call an oxymoron, isn't it teacher?

Lmaof here tonight, cheers blondie for the cartoon stuff!

I would like to report every single policeman in the country please. I have proof. Check bank accounts vs. paychecks. Or ask the mia noy.

Mate, I'm nearly pooin' me cruds 'ere. I'm laffin' in an envious way of those coppers.

Cheers to the humour mate! You got me to log on...555!

You know the LOS well.

I've a Honda Wave 125, which is just a little over two-and-a-half-years old. When I bought the bike I also bought it with fire and theft insurance, but have since let this policy lapse.

Recently there has been a spate of thefts in our area, so I took my bike back to the Honda dealership and asked for it to be reinsured against fire and theft. The dealership say that no Thai insurance company will insure a bike which is over three-years-old against fire and theft.

Can anybody confirm that this is this case with all Thai insurance companies, please?

It seems a little odd, compared to what I’m used to back home.

Hi guys. I wish one of the forum experts could answer my questions.

If I’ve been in Thailand without going out for even a day, for the past three years and I've continuously had a Non Immigrant B visa and work permit.

My wife is a Thai national.

Would I be eligible to apply for permanent residency in Thailand?

Cheers

I am aware through years of experience in the teaching industry that the majority of teachers and non-teachers, who take a TEFL course, have inspirations of becoming half decent English teachers after completing their course.

These course graduates shouldn't have to be subject to ridicule and goofy sarcasm by more "experienced teachers" in order to platonize or pander to these more "experienced teachers'" teaching shortcomes, lack of competence, and insecurities.

The Thai school industry INCLUDING government and language schools actually does put a high priority on students improving their English skills.

We should be aware of bitter trolls such as IJWT who try to manipulate and lower their fellow teachers self esteem, teaching attitude and abilities through bad advice, cheap propaganda, and rhetoric which borders on defamation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the second line, you set off a clause with commas which should not be- because it is necessary rather than incidental to the noun it modifies. Teachers have aspirations of becoming half-decent [with a dash], not inspirations. I don't know what "platonize" means, but perhaps you were searching for patronize. The single quotation mark in the 6th line after teachers should come *after* the double quotation mark, not before. "Shortcomings" is the word you're looking for. Self-esteem needs a dash. Are you sure you've been in the teaching industry for years?...But let's not quibble over mechanics, spelling, and grammar; let's talk about the content of your so-called message.

What the heck are you on about? This is a thread about what the priorities seem to be in Thai schools for those who want to work there and keep their jobs. Your message seems to be saying that I am ridiculing and being sarcastic towards teachers. I don't know where you are getting that idea, because this entire thread is about the shortcomings of Thai school administrations and their poor and inefficient behavior towards teachers. I'm not talking about the relative competency of teachers themselves at all. You seem to have missed the entire point of this thread, to put it mildly. Are you sure you understand English?

You claim in your second non-paragraph that the Thai educational system *does* put a high priority on students improving their English skills. Fair enough- I don't disagree. I claim that it does a very inefficient job of choosing and keeping teachers in a way which will serve this priority well. That... (typing slowly again here)... is... the... point... of... this... thread.

In your final paragraph, you seem to be in yet another parallel universe where you have somehow seen me belittling teachers on this thread, which I have in no way done- the only person I have perhaps belittled is you, and your bizarre messages certainly seem to deserve it; you also continue to berate my writing while offering no evidence that you have either understood my writing or justification for your negative comments about it. To top things off, you have accused me of being "defamatory," a desperate maneuver which would be funny, if it were not so pathetic [defaming what specific individual, in which post?]

Your closing seems to indicate you have followed what I have written before and are probably a troll; your opening makes you look like an absolute nutter. Which is it?

"Steven"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Firstly, I'll not tell you to “GO AWAY” IJWT as this "Teaching Forum" has very little posters as it is.

I'll be overjoyed if what I have written can improve a TEFL teacher just a little, and ward off any negativity that IJWT tries to persuade them with.

I’ll also be overjoyed if I can ward off any disrepute and shame IJWT tries to bring over the teaching industry in Thailand.

<Come on now! Debate is fair enough, but please don't get nasty! KK>

IJWT I’d appreciate you getting your act together in the way of improving your attitude, teaching skills, and being more concerned with the welfare of the students in your charge.

1.  Do I know you?  Is there any way in which you would have any foundation for judging my competence as a teacher, or whether it had "improved?"  Or are you just a troll, as seems likely?

2.  In case you hadn't noticed, the sarcastic title of this thread is "How To Keep A TEFL Job," not "How To Be A Good Teacher."  You see, sometimes in *sarcasm*, you understate things or overstate them in what seems to be the wrong direction, for the sake of this leetle thing called "humor," which makes the belly shake and funny noises come out of the mouth.  Some people understand and enjoy this, as long as their IQ is generally above 60.  So, since you didn't get it, I'll type reaaaaal slow:  the...things...which...help...one...keep...a...TEFL...job...in... Thailand... are... not... necessarily... the... things... which... make... one... a... good... teacher.  Got it?

"Steven"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am aware through years of experience in the teaching industry that the majority of teachers and non-teachers, who take a TEFL course, have inspirations of becoming half decent English teachers after completing their course.

These course graduates shouldn't have to be subject to ridicule and goofy sarcasm by more "experienced teachers" in order to platonize or pander to these more "experienced teachers'" teaching shortcomes, lack of competence, and insecurities.

The Thai school industry INCLUDING government and language schools actually does put a high priority on students improving their English skills.

We should be aware of bitter trolls such as IJWT who try to manipulate and lower their fellow teachers self esteem, teaching attitude and abilities through bad advice, cheap propaganda, and rhetoric which borders on defamation.

[

We've been discussing on a number of threads how to GET a TEFL job in Thailand, and on those threads the issue of qualifications comes up a lot. I'd like to examine what's required to KEEP a TEFL job in Thailand, and see how those qualifications really seem to help (or not).

VITAL POINTS:

NOT SO IMPORTANT:

2. Improvement in students' English

I was reflecting that maybe your competence as a teacher in Thailand had improved until I read this point.

Have I misunderstood these points of advice?

I thought only ECC offered a young learners course?

I don't know about it being the only one, but I can reccommend the TEYL course at ECC because I've taken it twice. Both times were due to employer trainer, no I'n not rich and stupid. Also I've had friends take the course and they both were sastified with it.

I believe that no native-speaker can properly teach young kids in Thailand without undergoing this course, excluding certified teachers from abroad of course.

But this can also be the tourist mis-understanding the cost of a suit.

Possible, but unlikely. These guys are pretty saavy characters and any misunderstanding is probably INTENTIONAL.

That's right Pudgi! They are sharp people, just like you and I! Most people should have the same intelligence as I and you do; it's their own fault if they don't. Don’t you agree Pudg?

If You Can't Stand the Heat...Don't Blame Global Warming!

when i was a kid, my brother and i conspired to get my parents to quit smoking (nothing is worse than being trapped in the backseat of a car with the windows rolled up while your parents puff away up front, bleh!).

so we bought a few packs of those gag-snaps that you insert into a cigarette. they were easy to find at any novelty or fireworks shop. when someone lights the cigarette, BOOM! the end of the cigarette explodes. it's a great laugh and really gives people a shock.

so what my brother and i did was whenever we found an unattended pack of cigarettes, we'd sneak one of the snaps into ONE of the cigarettes in the pack. that way, my parents never knew which cigarette in their pack was going to explode on them. and so they could never truly relax and have a smoke because there was always the potential of a loud bang interrupting their smoke break.

Shortly after a few embarassing BOOMs while shopping/working, and after a few near traffic accidents, my parents quit smoking. It was just too nerve wracking .

(ps. i really don't know why you English call cigarettes "fags" when you're the ones doing all the puffing and blowing ).

It seems as though everyone has something to say about cigarette smoking- even if what they are saying is based on misunderstanding and misconception. Sometimes we accept ideas as facts and let them rule our behaviors without taking the time to really think about them. Therefore, when we hear people saying this or that about smoking, we may be tempted to just accept it as truth. This is unfortunate, as smoking is something everyone could use a little more in their lives, whether it is at work, with their families or in the sports community.

This leads me to contemplate the question "are accident causing fools born of made?"

Neeranam are you a.k.a the infamous Smythe?

I'm saddened by what has happened in my girlfriends village and my arrival made it happen. I am the only Farang for many miles. I'm relatively young at 33 and quite handsome. My girlfriend was incredibly happy when I first arrived there last year and all the village turned out to meet me. It was a wonderful time and still is. However, there has been an undesired effect. My girlfriends older Sister dissapeared around 2 weeks after she first met me. I asked my girlfriend where she had gone and she replied 'My Sister go work bar in Phuket. She want find boyfriend same you.' I was devastated. Her Sister knew where me and my girlfreind had met and now wanted to try for herself. Furthermore, I often hear the local lasses chatting about me and my girlfriend and many of them are now considering a stint in the bars after meeting me, their attitude being it can't be all that bad if it will enable them to meet guys like me.

I know it is quite a compliment that they should discuss me in this way but I'm deeply upset by this phenomenon. My very presence here has encouraged girls into the sex industry. Does anyone else have experience of this and how do you deal with it?

Maybe my daily depression is caused by the fact that I don’t think like you. All I hear from your ponderings is the song lyrics: "You're so vain

You probably think this song is about you," by Carly Simon

I have a friend in America that has a degree in computer sciences and he would like to have a teaching job here in Thailand,,any Ideas on where to look? Thanks

Does your friend have 5 fingers and a willingness to work into KSR?

It certainly fookin' sounds like it!

If you don't have a work permit and the appropriate visa, then you are living and working in Thailand illegally.  Period.

People can justify and curse and b'tch all they want, but the plain fact of the matter is that working without a permit is illegal.  Period.

Now, of course, like most immigration laws that apply to farang in Thailand, 99% of the time, nobody is really going to care if you break the law.

But it's still illegal.  Even if nothing "bad" will happen to you if the Ministry raids your school (do they ever do this?  I've never heard about an actual case of the Ministry actually caring about something like this), and even if you can "get away with it indefinitely, it's STILL illegal.

Why does it matter then?  Here, let me illustrate my point with an example:

Let's say you were some Mexican janitor and you decided to go to America to find a better job.  You cross the border illegally and start looking for work.  Of course, lots of places will hire you, so finding a job is no problem, but consider this:  What kinds of places would hire an illegal worker?  Would those places provide benefits like health care, pension, and a living wage??  Would those places provide opporunities for professional development??  Would those places treat the worker with respect and provide the worker with a supportive work environment???  Doubtful.

Likewise, schools that willingly hire "illegal" teachers are essentially half-assing their staffing requirements.  Those schools are less likely to provide decent pay, benefits and administrative support to ALL their employees.  After all, why should they pay out the extra money to get qualified teachers when there's a steady stream of unqualified labor who'll do the job on the cheap.

Now let's say you're that Mexican janitor again and you go to American embassy and tell them:  "Hey, I'd like to come to America.  I don't have special skills or certification, and I don't have any experience, but I figured I could just 'wing it' in front of a 6th grade Science classroom during the week and tutor Spanish on the weekends.  Can I come in?"

What do you think their answer would be???

Certainly it is true that there are a good number of credentialled, experienced teachers who can't get a work permit because their school is maxed out.  But it is ALSO true that there are a good number of half-ass backpackers and itinerants who come to Thailand with unreasonable expectations about being handed a job the minute they walk off the plane.

These fly-by-night teachers may not be the majority of non-WP workers, but they are certainly common enough to cause a ###### of a lot of chaos in the Thai educational system.  I bet that almost all kids who are enrolled in an English program experience at least one "lost year" before they graduate.  And by "lost year" I mean that time period where they have to put up with adjusting to a new teacher three or four times in the same year.

If a person expects (or thinks they deserve) a job in a school, but doesn't think they need (or doesn't even see the need for) qualifications and the TRAINING required to get those credentials, then he/she has an unrealistic understanding of what it means to be a teacher.

So, any time I hear someone say they want to teach, but they don't want to put the WORK in that's necessary to LEARN HOW to teach, well..... that sets off my BS Alarm.  It raises a lot of questions, like:  why do they want to teach in the first place?  why do they want to come all the way to Thailand to teach??  if they want to teach so bad, why don't they stay in their home country, get schooling and teach there???

Of course, we all know the answer.  They are coming to Thailand for other reasons, and see teaching as a means to pay for the trip.  And while many of these people turn out to be wonderful teachers, there are enough bad apples mixed in to spoil the whole barrel.

So to sum it all up for those who don't like to read extended rants:

1) Schools who hire illegal workers are often trying to maximize their profits at the expense of ALL teachers and students alike.  They get some poor 3-month-tourist-visa-running border-hopping schmuck to stand in front of a class and pretend like he's got f'king clue, just so they can call it an "international-ish" program and charge the parents five times what it costs to put the kid in a Thai program with real teachers.

What this does on a large scale is depress the wages of every farang teacher in Thailand.  If these schools actually had to compete for the smaller pool of qualified, Work-Permitible teachers, they'd have to actually start paying a REAL wage, with benefits, health care and heck, even administrative support tossed in there.

2) If someone is willing to fly halfway around the world just to be an illegal alien, chances are they don't see TEACHING as a primary priority in their life.  There are plenty of volunteer and part-time opportunities back home (like the Boy Scouts or an urban youth center program) for someone who CARED about teaching young people, but didn't have a degree or certification needed to get a real teaching job.

So I would tend to doubt the motivations of a person who desparately wants to fly 13,000 miles to get a job, but then doesn't want to expend the time and effort necessary to LEARN HOW to do that job properly (and therefore recieve all the documents needed to get a WP).  It's suspect to say the least.

So again, I say, if you can't get a work permit, don't come.

So Pudgie you come to Thailand, and get a fookin teachers job!.... right or wrong?, you've worked at some two bit sex tourist language school and a two bit English program school?.. right or wrong?

Awaiting your reply.