When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

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scoobysue
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Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:03 am

When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by scoobysue »

Would resigning within the terms of a fixed term contract (as opposed to a permanent one), but before the contract's expiration be considered breaking contract? Why or why not?
Thames Pirate
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Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by Thames Pirate »

It's always technically "breaking contract," but sometimes the school will "release you from your contract" due to things like visa issues they don't want to bother fighting (it's easier just to hire a new person), or new leadership wanting to bring their own people on board. When they release you, it might even be without blackballing, paying for your flight home, and even a letter of rec. It really depends on how and why you are wanting to leave and how nice the admin feels toward you.
sid
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Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by sid »

Agreed. If you sign up for 2 years, but leave earlier, you have broken contract. The only real question is how the school will respond, and those responses vary considerably. If you have a sympathetic reason (mother's health unexpectedly requires you to take care of her personally, etc) you are more likely to get a sympathetic response from the school, whereas if you just change your mind or even aggressively slag off the school, you're likely to get naught.
National
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Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by National »

I have to disagree slightly. I was at a school which had a clause in the contract that said either the teacher or the school could end the contract early with X month's notice. I asked HR if this would be breaking contract. They assured me that it wasn't and there were people who took advantage of this clause with no negative repercussions by the school. I think it is a very unique situation, but it does exist.
Thames Pirate
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Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by Thames Pirate »

Fair enough, but most schools do not have this clause.
MartElla
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Location: A long way from home

Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by MartElla »

I had a 3 month clause in one contract which enabled either the school or employee to leave. It was never made use of, however. The school said they had to include due to labour laws in that country.

I'm sure if an employee did make use of it, the school would have called it breaking contract!
sid
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Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by sid »

I disagree slightly with the disagreeing. Some schools do have such a clause, but even if you use one, you're still not completing the contract. You're walking away from the original intent. Schools may differ in what they call it, and how they treat it. There is no blanket agreement on this point. My personal opinion is that it is breaking. Others see it as something else. But our personal opinions are not germane to the OP's situation. What matters there is how his school sees it, plus the exact wording in the contract. It's quite possible that the school can treat it as breaking contract and therefore decline to pay summer salary, flights home, shipping, etc. They could decline to provide letters of reference. There may even be a penalty fee in some contracts for leaving early. On the other hand, it's also possible that the school may be inclined or legally obligated to accept the early resignation and still provide full salary and benefits.
So the OP needs to talk to his school and possibly a lawyer. We can't help beyond explaining the different possibilities in different schools, countries and circumstances.
Good luck.
PsyGuy
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Post by PsyGuy »

It is not "always breaking contract". The iss ue is even if you have a right, will souring of the relationship cause problems?

By "within the terms of the contract" my assumption is that your contract provides some form of exit clause prior to contract expiration? If so its not breaking contract from a purely technical aspect. However I concur with the @Sids intent, in so forth as it doesnt matter what the technical position is, it matters what the ISs (leadership and ownership) wish to interpret it as. Even if the contract states X, if leadership/ownership understood your commitment to mean Y than any all of the consequential outcomes that @sid described are not only reasonable but likely. There is no clearinghouse to adjudicate IE disputes within the IE field and community.

Contracts mean very little, they are written for, and to the benefit of the IS, and in so much as the IS controls the majority of power in the relationship, the obligations and ramifications are what leadership/ownership want them to mean.

The issue is going to be two fold 1) What is the disposition of the ISs leadership and ownership. 2) Is there a regulatory duty of the IS to provide you X benefits or limit Y consequences. (these typically are relevant when working within a municipal IS).

Where I strongly disagree with @Thames Pirate is the statement that these clauses are not in contracts and while that is largely true they are typically located in various regulations, statutes and union ruoles that while not explicitly in the contract are incorporated as an excess of law. Of course many ITs are unaware of such regulations and do not pursue their due recourse

I also strongly disagree with @Sid claim that penalties for breach of contract may be due, as these have been found in the vast majority of a contracts to be unenforceable. An IS that exercises those options is depending on your lack or inability to dispute them through the appropriate channels of dispute resolution.
Helen Back
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Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by Helen Back »

My current school requires staff to re-sign by end of January. However, there is also a clause that says you can resign without penalty if you give 60 working days's notice. So, technically (and it does happen) a teacher can sign a contract at the end of January, then quit at the end of March without penalty.
National
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2013 3:00 am

Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by National »

My point was not that the OP wouldn't be breaking contract. My point was that not all resignations are breaking contract. If the contract allows it explicitly, you are abiding by the contract and not breaking it. I looked back at the contract I had that included this clause as part of the contract and stated that all benefits of the contract would be given as long as all resignations happened in accordance with this clause. It was not breaking contract to resign within the stipulated period, regardless of the length left on your contract.

Obviously, the OP needs to check their contract, but not ALL cases of resigning are breaking contract and that statement is still true.
MartElla
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Location: A long way from home

Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by MartElla »

sid wrote:
> I disagree slightly with the disagreeing. Some schools do have such a
> clause, but even if you use one, you're still not completing the contract.
> You're walking away from the original intent. Schools may differ in what
> they call it, and how they treat it.

In reality, the teacher isn't really doing wrong here in a technical, legal sense. They are exercising their rights under the labour laws of that country. The school doesn't have a leg to stand on, and they know it. The "original intent" part means nothing, and in reality should not have a bearing. A school based in such a country has no right to expect such an intent to be able to override the laws of the country they operate in. The very contract the teacher signs allows for that provision.

However, I think we all know that this would count for nothing in IE. The candidate would most likely be dropped by their Agency, the school would consider it breach of contract even if their hands were tied to make it stick under the laws of that country, and we could all most likely understand that unless the school was not fulfilling their side of the bargain then quite frankly you should not expect potential schools to consider hiring you.

So, they wouldn't be breaking contract. Personal opinion is irrelevant here as that can be determined through the legal system, but I think we would all agree that they would be acting in bad faith.
sid
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Re: When is a resignation 'breaking contract'?

Post by sid »

I think we agree in principle, ME. For me, I don't worry too much about the term "breaking contract" and whether it literally applies in a legal sense. I think about it vaguely in terms of how it will be received by schools, and how I personally interpret it.
The case will first be handled between the school and the OP, so it matters very much how the school perceives it. If the two parties can reach agreement, that's the end of the matter. If they can't, the OP has the option of talking with a lawyer and trying that route, but in many cases the departing teacher doesn't have the inclination/contacts/time to go that route, so it hardly ever happens. What would happen if he did? Impossible to say unless we know a lot more specifics about the country, the contract and the resignation.
What the OP is really after, as I interpret it, is knowledge about how his resignation might be interpreted, and how the school might handle it. We've given him a pretty exhaustive description of those things. The rest is up to the OP and the school.
PsyGuy
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Post by PsyGuy »

I would generally concur with @Sid, legal principals and avenues of dispute resolution generally matter little in a practical sense. What is going to matter is what the IS perceives and their position. If they want to think you are breaking contract even if they rationalize it as breaking the spirit of the contract, thats what they are going to say if and when another IS contacts them.
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