Thai Efl Scams

[Dangerrm0use]

Hi! Hiring season is in full swing. Here are some naughty scams and wheezes to watch out for. If you know any more let's hear them!

#1 Non-payment for casual work.

You approach and agency. They hook you up with some part-time temp work. They promise payment at month's end. Month's end comes and excuses are made. They keep putting you off, until you give up. Staff pockets the pay. Illegal workers have no legal recourse.

#2 Start now and we'll get you a WP soon!

Bona fide employers do not employ foreigners without WPs. It is in the employer's interests to drag this out as long as possible. One month turns into two, then three, then never. The employer will use the lure of a WP as a carrot/stick to abuse you. Illegal workers can't complain!

#3 Don't worry! You're registered with the Labour Office.

Employment law requires you to have a WP - end of story. It is you, not the employer that will have to face the BiB.

#4 Parasitic Agents

The contract with the schools is worth 45K per month. You get 30K per month. They are taking a whopping 20% EVERY MONTH. For diddly squat. They are not your employers, the school is! Your school hirer may be getting kickbacks.

#5 School Profiteering

School charges the parents extra for Foreign Teachers. This is a lot more than the cost of your salary. Where does the money go?

#6 Contracting Middleman

OK, this is not a scam, but the agent pays you 350 Baht per hour and charges the client 500 Baht. You are working illegally. The middlemand is not providing any of the services that would justify his take. Might as well get your own contracts and split the difference with the client.

#7 Over-statement of monthly earnings.

Let's say your employed to work in a school at 350 Baht per hour. The agent might tell you that works out to 30K per month. What they don't tell you is the sheer number of cancelled lessons and holidays that will severely lower your monthly income.

#8 Pocketing Social Security contributions.

They deduct this from your pay, but you never get a SS card. Staff pockets the money.

#9 Tax fiddling

Employer may deduct tax and keep it, leaving you in deep doo-doo with the taxman. Other variations are over-deducting tax and keeping the difference. Or keeping the tax until the end of the tax year until deciding whether to pay. You miss out on the tax rebate.

#10 Working off the books

Agency staff calls you and directs you to a schools for some temp work. Then comes to school and pays you cash. Oh well! At least it's not the teacher getting ripped off.

[Loaded]

#1 It does happen but is relatively rare. Often if you look a bit deeper and listen to the agency, they will have a contradictory story to the teacher such as "he missed 2 days this week" "the school complained he smelled of alcohol". I.E. there's often a reason why the teacher wasn't paid.

#2 The wp process takes at least a month or two. If you are a new hire, you will always start work without a wp.

#3 Never heard this before but schools could say it if the wp is in process.

#4 Diddly squat? You mean recruiting, managing and paying the teacher should be a free service, just like an employment agency in the US (sarcasm!). The schools use agents because they usually can't find teachers themselves. It is a service nearly always paid for by the school. The salary is quoted at the interview stage so if you don't want the job, get on your bike and visit the schools - a no brainer I would have thought.

#5 Private schools are errr... private! they are businesses and they have discovered that employing foreign teachers produces a good margin. Why is this wrong? Are you saying that when McDonalds sell coca-cola (sugar, syrup, water and sugar) with a margin of 1000% they should give this to the employees? A business tells its employees how much they will earn; if the business produces a great margin, what's wrong with that?

# 6 The 'middleman' finds the work. That requires costs. If you believe customers come to you through telepathy, close your eyes now and wait for the money to roll in. Nearly all part-time work in Thailand is 'illegal' and so is prostitution and bars opening after midnight. TIT.

#7 I agree this is a pain but if you are full-time with a contract your salary is fixed. many teachers with fixed salaries often have their classes cancelled but still get paid. Do the schools or teachers view this as

a scam?

#8 and #9 Does happen.

# 10 Why not go to the social security or tax office yourself and tell them how much you have earned and that you would like them to deduct the appropriate stoppages. That would be the honest and ethical thing to do if your agency pays you tax-free, don't you think?