Teaching Jobs/Foreign Minimum Wage

[CWA14]

Hello all. I have a question about working in education in Thailand.

 

I have been working for a private school/Thai teaching agency for nearly one year. I work as a curriculum editor and writer (and my original contract says as much). Recently, I saw a "Foreign Minimum Wages" post on Facebook stating minimum wages for various nationalities working in Thailand (which is considerably higher than what I'm making now). I understand the foreign minimum wage requirements do not apply to normal teachers. However, does this exemption for teachers also apply to other educational jobs/positions (curriculum developers/editors, principals, librarians etc.)?

 

In the event that I would be subject to the minimum wage requirements, how feasible would it be to file a complaint with the labor board and get back-pay from my employer? I also recently found out my work permit says I am a teacher which I find odd/unusual. I am under the assumption that Thai labor law would trump any illegal provisions in my contract. 

 

Would it be advisable to discuss this with company management beforehand? Or just head straight to the labor office and complain (if indeed the foreign minimum wages requirements do apply to me/my job)? I understand Thais do not like confrontation and figure that maybe heading straight to the labor board would be more advisable in this situation. 

 

Any and all constructive advise is greatly appreciated!  

[SlyAnimal]

So.... just to confirm the details:

You're working as a teacher in a school.

But don't have a degree/teacher's license, so can't legally teach.

 

So to help you get a work permit, your school exploited a grey area of the system by employing you as a curriculum editor

 

Now, you're thinking about trying to force the school to pay you a higher salary, because you're technically not employed as a teacher.

[Just Weird]

5 minutes ago, SlyAnimal said:

So.... just to confirm the details:

You're working as a teacher in a school.

But don't have a degree/teacher's license, so can't legally teach.

 

So to help you get a work permit, your school exploited a grey area of the system by employing you as a curriculum editor

 

Now, you're thinking about trying to force the school to pay you a higher salary, because you're technically not employed as a teacher.

Where did you get all that from?    The OP certainly didn't say any of it.

[SlyAnimal]

7 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Where did you get all that from?    The OP certainly didn't say any of it.

I have been working for a private school/Thai teaching agency for nearly one year. I work as a curriculum editor and writer (and my original contract says as much)

 

This is what schools put on teacher's contracts to get a work permit when a teacher doesn't have a teacher's licence (Or degree to get a provisional teacher's licence)

 

Of course, he could actually be working as a curriculum editor and writer, but if so that'd be highly unusual.  As of the hundreds, or maybe thousands of contracts that list this (Or librarian etc) as a foreigner's position, you could probably count on your fingers how many aren't actually just teachers getting around the teacher's licence requirement.

But on the very slim chance that that is the case, that's why I've asked him to confirm the details.

Edited April 19, 2018 by SlyAnimal

[CWA14]

I should've probably been more clear in my initial post. 

 

I am working as a curriculum developer/editor for a Thai teaching agency (one of the bigger, more prominent ones). However, the agency also owns 2-3 office/"campus" language schools around Thailand.

 

Myself and the other foreign staff that aren't teachers (teacher assessors, recruiting/HR, curriculum developers/editors), have our work-permits tied to the language school as teachers (not to the agency itself). We were hired to do the aforementioned jobs and our contracts specifically say our job title. I have heard rumors/speculation from longer-tenured staff that other teaching agencies like ours have a similar set-up by employing their foreign, non-teaching staff as "teachers" under a subsidiary language school. We have asked management several times for an explanation as to why things are set up like this. No official explanation has ever been provided (and they haven't been happy when we have asked). Something doesn't pass the smell test.

 

I have taught for the agency for multiple semesters in the past and am quite sure I have a teacher's license waiver for this language school. I can't see how the company would've been able to legally get my visa and work-permit issued and extended otherwise. I do meet all of the other requirements to be able to legally teach in Thailand (Bachelors degree, TEFL + CELTA, clean criminal record check etc.). 

 

I know teachers are exempt from the foreigner minimum wage. However, seeing as I am not working as a teacher, I have a bad feeling that the agency may be trying to hire me (and others) as teachers in order to not have to pay foreigner minimum wage (which would be considerably higher than what I am making now) and Thai social security. I also have no idea if this exemption applies to other jobs in education (librarians, principals, teacher assessors etc.) or only teachers. I was also just made aware of this "Foreign Minimum Wage" requirement several days ago from a friend's Facebook post.

 

Again, any and all information and constructive advice on how to look into this would be greatly appreciated!

Edited April 19, 2018 by CWA14
Clarification of contract/actual job vs. work permit for my situation

[Preacher]

Sweet dreams. There is no minimum wage for foreigners., there is only one minimum wage that applies to all (Thai and foreigners alike) and that is around 300 baht per day, the exact amount depending on the province.

The minimum wages for foreigners people often refer to are minimum income requirements for certain jobs (as you say teachers not included) in order to obtain an extension of stay from immigration. If you don't have that income, you can still get a work permit but no extension of stay, Hence such people do visa runs.

 

 

 

[CWA14]

2 hours ago, Preacher said:

The minimum wages for foreigners people often refer to are minimum income requirements for certain jobs (as you say teachers not included) in order to obtain an extension of stay from immigration. If you don't have that income, you can still get a work permit but no extension of stay, Hence such people do visa runs.

I see. I was under the assumption that it was a labor office requirement to have a work-permit issued/extended. After looking through Thai Labor Law in English (see attachment) and not seeing anything regards foreign minimum wages, I was confused. This makes sense now. Thanks for the information/heads up! 

Thai Labor Law Protection.pdf

[Loaded]

If employed through a company, rather than a school license,  there are minimum wage levels for different nationalities but I think these are for paying taxes rather than being an enforceable minimum salary.

 

OP,  it sounds as though you are employed through a language school. These minimum wage levels wouldn't apply to you.