Is this normal?

This is China. It's definitely not a pro labor state as supply of workers far exceed the demands. It's night and day compare to HK where they have automatic debit to your checking account and sms will send to you once the payment is processed.

'Welcome to China' please collect your sanity at the door on the way out!

可怕的不是进步速度慢，而是止步不前
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still

Unis are normally ok..but others pay at their whim !

Zurdo,

No; It is most definitely NOT normal, and should not be tollerated. You need to start looking for a new gig NOW!
PM me.

------------------------------------------------------
"I can't get no respect.............. no respect at all!"

Orrin,
Yeah, but remember the visa problem Zurdo was having? Anyhow, it sounds like his school is being VERY dodgy. Caveat emptor!

For as long as I have been in China I do not think I have had one company, who has not at one time or another, been a bit shoddy with their payments! It does tend to cause headaches for those involved. The hypocrisy is that if you're even late on more then one occasion it is the "end of the world as you know it!"

try this one next time they pay late!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw

In all of the time I’ve been here, I’ve seen only two occasions with my employers where some teachers were paid late. The first time was about five years ago. At that time the school’s payroll had grown so large that the school could not withdraw the required amount of cash from the bank in a single day. Because of this, one teacher (the last one to see the cashier that day) could not be paid in full. They offered to give him partial pay (about 1000RMB short of what was due him) with the promise to pay him the balance the next day. He declined the offer, and came back two days later when they paid him his full salary for the previous months work. As a result of that incident, the schooled opened accounts for all of the teachers with a local bank, and set up a quasi “direct deposit” scheme for the teachers’ pay.

The second incident happened some years later at a branch school in Zhongshan when, on the night before payday, the cashier had to be rushed to hospital with an acute illness. The only problem was that she had locked all the teachers’ pay vouchers in her desk, and she had the key with her. That delayed payment by less than 24 hours.

Any reputable school will attempt to “move mountains” to get their teachers paid on time and in full, because they know that screwing around with the teachers’ money is the single biggest reason, next to visa and housing issues, that teachers quit before their contracts finish.

When a school starts offering lame excuses for late payment, such as those stated in Zurdo’s original post; that’s an indication that the school is in financial difficulty. They simply can’t make the payroll! It is also a very strong signal to the teacher(s) that he/she/they need to EMEDIATELY begin looking for another job. In Zurdo’s case, where they have not only been screwing with his pay, but giving him a lot of bovine fecal matter about his visa, that’s a very strong indication that he should be in “emergency job search mode”.

------------------------------------------------------
"I can't get no respect.............. no respect at all!"

I never, ever, ever had any problems at all. Perhaps damn lucky. This is the exception--not the rule.

Same here canrun .. no problem with pays on time .. infact if its a holiday on the payday .. we get paid early .. good management will always take care of their teachers ... i guess i am Just lucky to find one :) .

-Anu.

Did you sign an employment contract with yoru school? Is the due day for payment not indicated inside?
It's not normal. Unless they can give reasonable excuses and it is agreed by you, they shouldn't pay you late.

Nouvavita is correct. Arbitrary late payment is a definite breach of contract. This breach gives the teacher an open door out of the contract. No "release" letters are required.

------------------------------------------------------
"I can't get no respect.............. no respect at all!"

Not being a teacher and not being on a payroll here I can't answer, but I have seen factories here pay late, underpay and not pay at all. Then wonder why there is no loyalty.

One the other hand, every factory here hates pay day - for sure the next day some of the "workers" will fail to show up.