Should I Quit

[deejah]

thinking of leaving a teaching position

not the easiest people to work for

not on great terms

don't want to make things worse for me

don't want to make trouble or have any nasty back stabbing

(which i don't put past some people there)

i could give notice and quit

they might not let me finish my contract

who knows?

i could try to get fired

and possible get severance pay

but i don't know how likely that is to happen

and i don't want to fight for it

or have people angry at me for doing that

they may be planning not to renew contract anyway but not sure

thought i would post

and get some new/good/better ideas

dont have any helpful input?

then please move on without posting here

Edited March 25, 2010 by deejah

[Mario2008]

Seems you are not happy there, if it is not the work but the employer start looking for a new employer today.

[kiwiinasia]

Get a new job 1st and then resign giving the required notice.

Dont see how you can fail if you follow the rules and be nice about it.

[tonywebster]

Just show them your opening post in this thread. If you are teaching English I am sure they will fire you.

[Soutpeel]

"dont have any helpful input?

then please move on without posting here"

Was going to give some helpful input, then seen this comment...so guess I shall just move on....

[britmaveric]

Never burn bridges.

[kiwiinasia]

Never burn bridges.

Yep.. because they dont burn that well... bombing makes more sense.

[Traxster]

Just walk away ........Renee....

[PattayaParent]

i could give notice and quit

they might not let me finish my contract

who knows?

Sorry, I'm confused. You're worried that they might not let you finish your contract if you quit?

If you quit the contract is terminated.

If you want to finish your contract then carry on and 1 month before it's up (or whatever the notice period is in the contract) tell them you don't want to renew.

[Soutpeel]

OP is an "English" teacher, and a native English speaker is confused by his post......pity his students....LOL

[CWMcMurray]

U\I have heard lots of horro stories from folks who are wroking as teachers here in Thailand, so I do not think the OPs concerns are completely unwarrented.

I have heard cases where schools will not give year end bonuses and final months salary in they know the teacher will not return the following year...

If this is the case... then in may make sense to wait until you get your final check and then tell the school you will not be coming back next yr after the "summer break".

This should not cause them any problems as you should get your last check the end of the Month and school will not start to May, so you will still be giving them a one months notice to find a replacement.

[PeaceBlondie]

The OP is making a post on the net. No perfection is needed.

Take last month's pay. Give notice. What about the extended visa?

[lensta]

Get your money first, then don't renew your contract. The owner of one school

that I know of in Nonthaburi always tried to get teachers that broke contract

black listed at the education department so they couldn't teach in Thailand again.

[deejah]

the primary point is

i can give notice

maybe they will give me all of my pay

and maybe leave with no problems

the major disadvantage is no severance

psychologically advantageous to quit than get fired

or

see if they want to fire me and

maybe get severance pay

maybe not

maybe have other problems or issues

how can i be sure to get severance?

[OOB]

The OP is making a post on the net. No perfection is needed.

Agreed, kind of, but basic grammar is appreciated. It is hardly surprising that the terms of employment (as a teacher lest we forget) are not favorable when the individual is barely able to string a sentence together.

OP - you are choosing to leave their employment, you do not deserve severance pay, you deserve to be paid for the time you have put in. Don't be greedy and don't give yourself a bad name - leave based on the terms you agreed to in your contract.

[NBD]

Do you have any reason to think you will get severence pay? If they fire you for misconduct then certainly not. If you are on a yearly/term by term contract then they will just not renew it. I don't see why you would get severence pay either way.

[deejah]

nbd i think there is MUCH more to it than that

i did a little research on severance

that is one reason for the post

how about this:

what if they offer you a different position teaching a totally different subject and you refuse

you get fired and are entitled to severance?

[NBD]

nbd i think there is MUCH more to it than that

i did a little research on severance

that is one reason for the post

how about this:

what if they offer you a different position teaching a totally different subject and you refuse

you get fired and are entitled to severance?

With the caveat that I know nothing of Thai employment law specifically, it would probably depend on the wording and duration of your contract. Most contracts include a clause saying you agree to undertake duties reasonably requested by your employer. This would probably include teaching another subject or age group within reason, though if you are employed as a primary school TEFL teacher and they are demanding you teach degree level Nuclear Physics in Thai then you might have grounds for a complaint.

Secondly it depends on the duration of your contract. If you have a permanent employment c,ontract then you might be on to something if they make you redundant. Usually to be entitled to redundancy it has to be in your contract but sometimes there is a statutory requirement for redundancy payments depending on how long you have been with the company. I think in the UK it's 2 years minimum. New Zealand has no statutory requirement for redundancy payments, and I would imagine Thailand doesn't either, but could well be wrong.

Most teaching contracts however are one term or one year. If yours is one of these then more than likely they will simply not renew it when it expires, and find something for you to do in the mean time. As you said in your original post that you don't want to fight for it, then I would say no severence because the only way you would get that would be proving to a tribunal that their requests were unreasonable based on your contract.

Under either contract, if they fire you for misconduct you are not entitled to severence. You might be entitled to compensation if you can argue that it was unfair dismissal, but this is a fight in any country, and unless you are very fluent in Thai and have a sound knowledge of Thai law or hire a good lawyer, then this will be hard work too.

If you know something more or specific to Thai law as to why you might be entitled to severence then I would be interested to hear it.

[phetaroi]

I'll approach this from a non-Thai perspective BECAUSE you don't describe your career qualifications and where you may be going from here. The value of what I suggest may have little relevance to Thailand...but if you are a qualified teacher and may eventually seek teaching employment outside of Thailand, this may have relevance.

In examining a resume when hiring teachers one of the first red flag issues I would look for was a break in service or ending a job not at the end of a school term. If I saw either of those situations, I usually wouldn't bother interviewing the person, unless we were desperate.

In the few cases where I went on and interviewed the person anyway, I never heard an explanation that erased the red flag. "We just didn't see eye to eye" -- nope, I don't want to have to manage a situation with an employee who doesn't see eye-to-eye with the employer. Maybe that's not fair, but as an employer, I have many other responsibilities that require my attention, rather than taking on another potential problem.

Will you need a recommendation from them? Will a future employer be able to call them via telephone or contact them via email?

If you're in a living hel_l, that's one thing. If you're in an unpleasant situation, ride it out and move on at the end of the term/contract.