TEFL Locations in Thailand - Jobs & Contracts
Basic Contract, Deduction from Salary, Job Prospect
Featured Listing
TEFL Course in Thailand
International Online
TEFL and 12 months ESL jobs in Thailand. Salary USD 1500 onwards per month /
Accommodation / Visa / Work permit
www.teflcoursethailand.com
Basic contract
A typical contract furnished by schools to the native-speaking teachers should
contain:
• Date of employment
• Date of termination of employment
• Place of employment
• Teacher’s designation
• Duties defined
• Rate of remuneration, emoluments and accommodation
The normal hours of work and other terms and conditions relating to hours of
work service and holiday entitlement.
Additional information regarding disciplinary measures
Employee’s probation period and process of confirmation and further entitlement
to remuneration if service continued beyond probation
However, the contracts are not legally mandated for English teachers in
Thailand, and those that are entered into are often broken by either the
teachers or the schools because of policy changes or unrealistic expectations.
The teacher should always translate a Thai contract into English to read
thoroughly before signing the same.
Whether you sign a formal contract, be sure to ascertain the terms of your employment and negotiate for a fair deal before you agree to anything. Ask other teachers in your Thai community about features of teaching agreements, and use the following questions as guidelines in your search:
How many hours of teaching will you be guaranteed each week, and what will your rate of pay be?
Will the school provide assistance with a visa and work permit?
Is a flight stipend provided, either for air fare home when your commitment has ended or for you to renew or obtain your visa?
Does the school provide a housing allowance or a house on campus? Many of the more established schools in Thailand will provide one or the other. If your school is not willing to offer financial assistance, find out if they're willing to provide assistance in other ways, such as helping you to locate suitable housing at a fare price.
How many hours will you be expected to teach each day? Each week? And will you have to work on Saturdays? Try to structure your schedule so that you will have enough time for yourself and for taking on private students if you should choose to do so.
Which classes will you be teaching, and will teaching materials be provided? Fly-by-night teaching operations rarely provide instructional materials as their chief interest is in making money, not in education.
Will you be allowed to take on private students in the hours that you are not working at the school? Relying on private tutoring as your sole means of income could be risky, but many teachers supplement their incomes this way as the rates for one-on-one tutoring are high.
Will you be allowed vacation time? If yes, find out if it is paid time off (not likely) and if you can take it at-will or only at particular scheduled times during the year.
Person Income Tax (PIT) is directly levied on the income of a person in Thailand. In general, a person liable to PIT has to compute his tax liability, file tax return and pay tax, if any, accordingly on a calendar year basis.
Taxpayers are classified into "resident" and "non-resident". "Resident" means any person residing in Thailand for a period or periods aggregating more than 180 days in any tax (calendar) year. A resident of Thailand is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand on a cash basis, regardless where the money is paid, as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand. A non-resident is, however, subject to tax only on income from sources in Thailand.
Income chargeable to the PIT is called "assessable income". The term covers income both in cash and in kind. Therefore, any benefits provided by an employer or other persons, such as a rent-free house or the amount of tax paid by the employer on behalf of the employee, are also treated as assessable income of the employee for the purpose of PIT.
Certain deductions and allowances are allowed in the calculation of the taxable income. Taxpayers shall make deductions from assessable income before the allowances are granted. The simple formula for calculation would be –
(TAXABLE INCOME = assessable income - deductions - allowances)
Income from employment enjoys a deduction of 40%, not exceeding 60,000 THB. For a single tax payer Personal Allowance is permissible up to 30,000 THB. Other allowances would include Spouse allowance, Child allowance, Parents allowance, Old age allowance, Education allowance, Life Insurance Premium, Approved Provident Fund contribution, Home Mortgage interest and charitable contribution.
From the year 2004 onwards, monthly income up to 100,000 THB has been exempted from taxation. However, from 100,001 upwards with every slab of 50,000 the tax rate multiplies as 10, 20 & 30 per cent.
In spite of all the well-laid dictates, tax in Thailand continues to be a very cloudy issue. While schools should tax you according to the tax regulations, more than a few in fact do not.
It seems that most schools have a bit of a fiddle going so that both the teacher and the school benefits. Basically, they do not declare exactly how much they are making and how much they are paying which reduces both their and your tax burden. This whole situation is complicated by the fact that there are many teachers work illegally without a legal permit. However, supposedly nobody has been heard to be adversely affected by their school diddling tax.
You can get a tax number from the Tax Department by going filling out a form in Thai with no English. Therefore, it’s recommended to seek for some local assistance. You necessarily need a passport and your work permit. While it is nice to think that one is paying less tax than they should be, you never know when this may come back to haunt you. In this case, it is probably in your best interests to put pressure on the school to make sure everything with your pay is above board.
Thailand's public education system is expanding very rapidly. Just a few years ago, there was compulsory (and free) public education till the 6th grade. Thereafter, students used to drop out because they could not afford the tuition fees being charged. Each year, schools around the country are adding at least one or two more compulsory years, and the demand for teachers is soaring. Also, English is now being taught at lower and lower grade levels.
ESL teachers serious about wanting a career in teaching can find work in Thailand, as some schools around Thailand are strict about teachers' qualifications. Opportunities are abound for TEFL teachers, with the constant need for both newly qualified and experienced teachers. There is a wide range of positions available, from private kindergartens to government secondary schools to universities. There are many positions available in private after-school language academies as well. While a large proportion of teaching jobs can be found in Bangkok and Chang Mai, jobs outside of these two cities can be found in rural government primary and secondary schools and universities. As a native English-speaker and a TEFL trained teacher, you will find it easy to pick up private tutoring or other teaching jobs in Thailand. One positive aspect of private lessons or teaching in private schools is that the pay per hour is often significantly higher than at other schools although working hours are longer.
On the other hand, those working in government schools work fewer hours and receive lesser pay. For a newly-qualified teacher at private academies can expect to earn between 30,000 to 35,000 baht a month before tax while a newly-qualified teacher in a government school can expect around 20,000 to 25,000. Most schools start at the bottom end of the scale unless you have special qualifications like the TEFL certificate. To encourage teachers to stay longer, many schools base raises on the length of time teachers work at the school. Government regulations require that, for a school to be registered, it must employ suitably qualified teachers. Basically, to teach, you need a degree and a teaching certificate such as TEFL. Due to the difficulty of finding suitable people, however, some schools will hire people without these qualifications if they are self-confident, well-dressed, and speak good English.