Beijing School Denies Teachers’ Pay Due to Coronavirus

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It’s safe to say that none of us were ready when the coronavirus saga took a serious turn. Temple fairs were canceled. Tourist attractions were closed. Entire cities essentially shut down overnight. 

Over the past two days, we’ve received information from various schools announcing that they’ll be delaying the return date for students due to health concerns of their staff and students. While Beijing’s international schools have been dealing with the crisis in a professional manner that’s in the best interest of their students and teachers, not every education organization is the same. 

A teacher at Dreamaker Drama Academy, a school that teaches children’s drama classes with eight locations in Beijing, brought to our attention that the school has suspended their pay for an entire month along with housing allowances due to the virus outbreak, leaving some teachers out in the cold with no money to pay for rent. 

According to the official notice as translated by China Law Blog, “If a Beijing employee is unable to return to work due to the outbreak, the employer may consider first having the employee use his/her accrued vacation days. If an employee is unable to return to work for an ‘extended period of time’ (whatever that means), the employer may consult with the employee and if the employee agrees, place the employee on standby. During this standby period, the employee shall be provided basic living expenses at a rate of no less than 70% of Beijing’s minimum wage. Though the Beijing Notice does not require this, the employer should enter into a written agreement (in Chinese) with the employee regarding such a standby period so as to avoid potential confusion and disputes. It is not clear what the employer can do if the employee refuses to agree to go on standby. Some possible options include paying the employee his or her normal wages to work remotely (if the employee’s job duties can be performed remotely), or just treating the employee’s absence as additionally provided 100 percent paid leave. Regardless of what you as an employer choose to do with such an employee, it would be best to have your China HR people or your China employment lawyer seek verbal assent from your local employment bureau regarding legality and then obtain the employee’s clear written consent to the plan.”

The full China Law Blog article can be found at the QR.

“Many teachers here care very much about their work and put in so much time and energy. Sad to see them go unsupported for a month,” a Dreamaker Drama Academy teacher who wishes to remain anonymous tells beijingkids. Currently (January 25) Dreamaker Drama Academy still stands by their decision to withhold teacher's pay. Beijingkids has attempted to contact school manager Heather for comments but officials at the school have yet to reply

It’s important for teachers to remember that before any argument breaks out, they should consult a professional to know their rights. Global outbreaks are not in any standard HR manual, and at this time official government notifications need to be properly translated. Don’t rely on translation programs or messages from any unverified source. Consult a professional.

For those who need to get in touch with someone who specializes in labor arbitration claims, Reliant Consulting’s Managing Partner Josh Gordon can be reached via email ([e-mail]) or WeChat (Reliant-CN).

Source: China Law Blog, Dreamaker Drama Academy teacher

Photos: Dreamaker Drama Academy Facebook, Al Jazeera

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