Potential school closing advice
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Openmindedman
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2021 1:26 am
Potential school closing advice
I would appreciate some advice here. My school hasn’t paid us properly in the last three months, late each month, wrong currency, different amounts to contracts etc. which is causing a lot of stress, lots of teachers are losing out on exchange rates etc. The rumour is that the school is close to having no money left. We haven’t had internet for example for a month, possibly due to bills not being paid. So where do we stand as teachers, do we just sit and wait to see if it closes? Can we start applying for jobs available based on the fact that the school has broken the contract by not paying us. Or should we wait until it does potentially close, I’m guessing there won’t be any severance pay if there’s no money. It’s a conundrum.
Response
How substantial are these rumors? What data is there to support the degree of direness you describe? Your primary complaint is salary errors and being late the last few months. Has something happened or changed in the HR/payroll department? Are the problems because the IS is close to insolvency or is there a new HR person, a new software program for book keeping, a change in financial institutions? Im not trying to be pro leader here, my general position in regards to IS leaders is pack them into a bus and drive it off a cliff into a massively deep body of water is a good start to most leadership problems. You describe internet issues, but this has only been for a month, it could be the IS is having financial difficulties but it could be a number of other problems as well. You described the issues though as rumors, so how credible are these rumors?
You should have two leaving strategies; one escape strategy you can execute if you see the heat coming around the corner and an exit strategy you can implement when time and planning are not at crises levels.
I wouldnt advise waiting until the IS closes unless you have really good leaving strategies. Things dont go very well when it gets to the point the ISs doors are locked and barred.
Typically when an IS closes it happens in one of three broad categories:
1) Ordered: This typically starts with an email or other communication to staff that the IS will cease operations at the end of a fixed period of time, often coinciding with the end of a term on the AY calendar. It will indicate a date by which ITs must have collected all personal items and belongings and indicate the final procedures for ITs to collect their final pay disbursement and what the final terms of severance will be. Typically ITs will get 30 days and usually more in such an announcement.
2) Unordered: This has a lot more in common with the ordered process above but on a much shorter time period. Less than 30 days and usually only a few, the typical scenario is getting notice on Monday that the final day of operation will be Friday of the same week. It usually gives you time to get your personal items and pack your apartment/flat. Severance is usually left hanging in the air, and the reason you got any notice at all is so that ITs can finish up closing grades/marks. Youre severance might be limited to remaining in whatever housing is paid up for through the end of the month and whatever the minimum coin the IS would legally be required to pay you based on financial exigency in the region youre in, and which is likely to be a lot less than the contractual obligation.
3) Chaotic: This is the showing up on a day to find the doors locked and barred with a notice who to contact to arrange to pick up your belongings, and thats a good day. The IS doesnt do anything else and may have requested that immigration cancel all visas. You may also find out youre locked out of your apartment/flat or given a very short notice to vacate youre housing.
You should always be looking for the next better job. This is work, not a crusade and not a mission. You wouldnt see a computer programmer forgoing an opportunity at Google or Apple while working at Acme.
You can absolutely be looking for a new job. The issue and problem is going to be what do you do when you find one? Nary is the appointment where an IS will wait until some indefinite point for their new IT to onboard. This means when steel meets stone can you pull the trigger on your exit strategy while the IS is still in a state of general operation?
From an academic perspective its very unlikely the events you have described would meet the threshold for breach of contract. Ill save you the discussion on substantial performance within regards to IE and its application in employment law. Im assuming this means that you did get paid your salary disbursement regardless of when you actually received it and that whatever amount you consider the IS to be short has some reasonable business explanation attached to it. For example you mention missing out on advantageous exchange rates, but I doubt whatever the ISs promises and assurances were or are that they are not codified as some form of guarantee and even if they were your remedy is likely restricted to collecting the monetary discrepancy as damages and not cause for voiding or breach of the contract.
You state that internet has been out but its also very unlikely you have any sort of claim to internet access as a actual or de-facto benefit. Even if you do have some contractual right that can not be modified by some other process, its very unlikely that benefit alone is not significant enough to constitute a breach of contract for which you can void the contract or execute your breach remedies provided by any contract.
You should have two leaving strategies; one escape strategy you can execute if you see the heat coming around the corner and an exit strategy you can implement when time and planning are not at crises levels.
I wouldnt advise waiting until the IS closes unless you have really good leaving strategies. Things dont go very well when it gets to the point the ISs doors are locked and barred.
Typically when an IS closes it happens in one of three broad categories:
1) Ordered: This typically starts with an email or other communication to staff that the IS will cease operations at the end of a fixed period of time, often coinciding with the end of a term on the AY calendar. It will indicate a date by which ITs must have collected all personal items and belongings and indicate the final procedures for ITs to collect their final pay disbursement and what the final terms of severance will be. Typically ITs will get 30 days and usually more in such an announcement.
2) Unordered: This has a lot more in common with the ordered process above but on a much shorter time period. Less than 30 days and usually only a few, the typical scenario is getting notice on Monday that the final day of operation will be Friday of the same week. It usually gives you time to get your personal items and pack your apartment/flat. Severance is usually left hanging in the air, and the reason you got any notice at all is so that ITs can finish up closing grades/marks. Youre severance might be limited to remaining in whatever housing is paid up for through the end of the month and whatever the minimum coin the IS would legally be required to pay you based on financial exigency in the region youre in, and which is likely to be a lot less than the contractual obligation.
3) Chaotic: This is the showing up on a day to find the doors locked and barred with a notice who to contact to arrange to pick up your belongings, and thats a good day. The IS doesnt do anything else and may have requested that immigration cancel all visas. You may also find out youre locked out of your apartment/flat or given a very short notice to vacate youre housing.
You should always be looking for the next better job. This is work, not a crusade and not a mission. You wouldnt see a computer programmer forgoing an opportunity at Google or Apple while working at Acme.
You can absolutely be looking for a new job. The issue and problem is going to be what do you do when you find one? Nary is the appointment where an IS will wait until some indefinite point for their new IT to onboard. This means when steel meets stone can you pull the trigger on your exit strategy while the IS is still in a state of general operation?
From an academic perspective its very unlikely the events you have described would meet the threshold for breach of contract. Ill save you the discussion on substantial performance within regards to IE and its application in employment law. Im assuming this means that you did get paid your salary disbursement regardless of when you actually received it and that whatever amount you consider the IS to be short has some reasonable business explanation attached to it. For example you mention missing out on advantageous exchange rates, but I doubt whatever the ISs promises and assurances were or are that they are not codified as some form of guarantee and even if they were your remedy is likely restricted to collecting the monetary discrepancy as damages and not cause for voiding or breach of the contract.
You state that internet has been out but its also very unlikely you have any sort of claim to internet access as a actual or de-facto benefit. Even if you do have some contractual right that can not be modified by some other process, its very unlikely that benefit alone is not significant enough to constitute a breach of contract for which you can void the contract or execute your breach remedies provided by any contract.
Re: Potential school closing advice
I will be more direct with you. Get your ducks in a row and start applying to jobs that are open for January. and make sure that you explain what is going on in your school...honesty is the best policy. This is obviously a school that has recently been reviewed on this site and considering what has been said, you will have no problem explaining the issues to a potential employee. Sadly, they continue to advertise for people with search firms and the firms continue to work with them...even though they don't even list the Head of School on the website anymore...did he leave?
If you want to stay in your current country, I am sure that other schools are looking for teachers and I would even just send in a resume...the other schools know what is going on with this school...if they don't then they aren't paying attention.
If you want to stay in your current country, I am sure that other schools are looking for teachers and I would even just send in a resume...the other schools know what is going on with this school...if they don't then they aren't paying attention.