The International Schools Review Forum

If you change schools within the same country do you generally get an overseas hire package?

This would be on the assumption your initial position was an OS package.

Cheers

It depends, mostly on the tier of the IS, as upper tier ISs will generally respect your origination/domicile, if you were an OSH for Acme AS a tier 2 IS and your moving to IS Genovia a tier 1 IS in the same region than IS Genovia is very likely to provide you an OSH package. Where this becomes less likely is in lower tier ISs that are more concerned with saving coin, and thats where you find yourself being considered a LH with an LH package. There has also been an informal understanding that if you are hired at a RE or through an RE that you are considered an OSH even if you are in the same region/location, but its not a hard rule, and the agencies have no way to really enforce this.

Ok, cheers, thanks for the info :)

This is something I would be very concerned about as you could lose housing, flights, etc. I wouldn't take any verbal promises on behind hired as a foreign hire. I would only accept an agreement in writing or by email. You could always suggest meeting to sign a contract in your embassy!

It's generally same for same, but check carefully.
Once upon a time some inexperienced friends of mine fell for "if you're considered an overseas hire, you'll get this, that and the other ", only to find out too late that they weren't considered overseas hires. It's very naughty of recruiters to pull this crap, so protect yourself by assuming nothing.
I'd like to add that the leaders I know DON'T pull this crap, but there are probably still some wieners out there.

@TeacherGal

While I would be very cautious about nothing more than a verbal agreement, what is really best is if you can locate OSH benefits and their requirements in a policy somewhere. Having an email means nothing and a written contract means little more, an IS usually has some term in the contract that references these benefits can be changed, altered, or modified. Even then the IS even if not changing the OSH benefits can change the criteria for who gets them very easily.

Signing the contract in an embassy means nothing. Contracts typically have language in them that indicates the jurisdiction where they are enforceable, even if they didnt and you signed a contract in an embassy and thus that nations laws were controlling, you would never satisfy jurisdiction of process, assuming the court you filed in recognized jurisdiction absent some residential connection. The foreign IS would simply ignore you and the courts orders, knowing that a foreign court has no means of enforcing any judgement or order. You have to be able to turn the order/judgment into coin, and no foreign bank or other financial institution is going to pay you out because you have some order from a court in another country.

@Sid

I cant concur on an issue so general and broad, if it was a general truth no one would be asking, and its common enough for ITs to lose OSH benefits once they are local. What we agree with is you have to inquire directly and not make assumptions about comp.

Basically if the school really wants you there is nothing to stop them from giving you the overseas package, even if their official policy is to offer local hire contracts to those already in country. I was at a school years back in a location that some would deem "hardship". The school found themselves needing a teacher just before the beginning of the school year and offered a local hire package to a teacher at a school across town who was interested. That teacher refused to a sign a local hire contract and the school couldn't get anyone else, so they eventually gave in and gave the teacher the overseas package.

@buffalofan

That was the rare scenario and a special case where the IS had no other tenable options for a hire.

I switched schools within the same country (China) and continued to receive an overseas hire at my new school. I would ask about that right upfront.

Eion