Contract renewal time is here!

Dear Faculty,

Once again, as I do each year, I am writing you regarding the contract renewal process here at SSIS. We are almost at the end of the first quarter with Fall Break less than two weeks away and parent-teacher conferences almost immediately after our return. I know you are all busy with daily lesson preparations and planning, but this is important information as you consider the more distant future.

If you are in your first year of teaching at SSIS and on our initial two-year contract, this letter provides useful information but does not apply to you this year.

As September draws to a close, we are already making plans for this year’s recruitment season. We have registered for search fairs and we are writing letters of recommendation for those of you who are already exploring options. I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of some important dates associated with the process.

1. Monday, 02 October 2017 (The contractual date is 01 October, but this falls on a Sunday this year.) – If you have made up your mind that you are ready for a change and are not intending to return to SSIS next year, and if you wish to receive a gratuity payment of USD $500 from the school and up to five days “recruitment leave,” you have until this date (on or before) to inform your principal and the Head of School, in writing via email, of your decision to resign. This money is a token of our appreciation for informing us early in the hiring season of your intentions and for allowing us to get a jump on recruiting an equally qualified replacement. The letter constitutes a resignation at the end of your current contract. Anyone who communicates their decision to leave after this date is not eligible for this payment.
2. Wednesday, 15 November 2017 – This is the date by which you need to inform us, again via email, if you are interested in a new contract for the 2018-2019 school year. If, after 04 October 2017 but before 15 November 2017, you inform us that you are not intending to return for one more year, although you are not eligible for the gratuity payment mentioned above, you may still be eligible to take recruitment leave as defined in our terms and conditions:For All Full-Time Contracts: In the teacher’s final year (second year and thereafter) of employment at SSIS, the teacher may use one or both of that year’s two personal leave days (NB: these are used first), plus up to three additional “recruitment leave” days, in order to attend job interviews outside of Ho Chi Minh City. This is a one-time benefit available only after the teacher has declared by 15 November that he or she will not continue employment at SSIS beyond that school year. Use of this leave depends upon approval by the appropriate Principal and the Head of School. The teacher should apply for this leave by submitting a written request to the appropriate Principal that details the specific days of absence which are needed to travel to and attend interviews. The school and the teacher recognize that: (a) this as an important and necessary activity for persons seeking international school teaching positions, (b) less than five workdays may be required and (c) only necessary days will be requested or approved. As a one-time leave, recruitment leave does not accumulate from year to year. There is no payment for unused recruitment leave.To clarify some points which come up every year: (a) recruitment leave must be for attendance at a recruitment fair or an interview at a school, (b) it is a one-time use benefit (that is, it cannot be split into two or three shorter leaves), (c) it is only for recruitment and cannot be taken for packing or shipping at the end of the year.
3. Friday, 01 December 2017 – On or before this day we will distribute the contract renewal offers from the school. You must sign and return them by Tuesday, 05 December 2017 after which time offers are no longer valid and a new offer would have to be issued by the Head of School.

Every year we field questions of the “what if” variety, so this next section is meant to answer some of those questions that may be on your mind.

Q: Has SSIS finalized the budget for next year? Do we know what adjustment will be made to staff salaries or any changes to benefits such as housing?
A: This is a particular difficult year for financial planning. As you all know, we are moving all salaries to VND for next year. The Vietnamese government is also instituting changes to the social insurance law (covering things such as health care, retirement, insurance, unemployment benefits) and we have been told that these will now affect foreign hires as well as local Vietnamese. These regulations have yet to be published and so we are trying hard to find out the details before we say anything concrete about next year. What I think you can all count on is that the contractual one-step raise that we have been able to offer each year in the past is the minimum we will offer for next year. If we can do more to adjust the overall base salaries we will, but nothing is guaranteed at this point.

Q: Can I tell the school I am looking before Monday, 02 October 2017, without resigning, and, if I later take another job, get the USD $500 gratuity bonus.
A: No. The gratuity bonus is for resignations on, or before, 04 October 2016. The resignations indicate that your position is open for the next year and, if you change your mind, you would need to reapply.

Q: What if I am hired through a Skype interview? Can I use my recruitment leave for other things involved in transition to a new school?
A: No, there would be no recruitment leave necessary in this case. You also cannot split recruitment leave to use some for interviewing and later take school time for packing or shipping.

Q: What if I’m still not sure on November 15? What happens to my job, since the recruitment fairs are often after Christmas?
A: We understand this. If you cannot commit on 15 November, we will immediately list your job as open and begin interviewing candidates. If we identify a great match for the school, though, you should still be reachable before you or the HoS leaves for winter break (around 15 December 2017) and we’ll try to contact you to get your immediate decision to stay or leave. We will do our best, of course, but we cannot make a promise that we will be able to speak with you before making an offer. Since most people are at school during this period of time, though, this has not been an issue in the past.

Q: What about after 15 December 2017?
A: This is more difficult. The search process and fairs run at a frenetic pace. If we identify a great candidate for an open position, after 16 December 2017 there may be no time to contact you before we make an offer. Once an offer is on the table to another candidate, it cannot be rescinded even if you change your mind and want to stay. Search fair offers are generally good for 2-7 days.

Q: Does the school have leave days for business associated with changing jobs (moving, visas, etc.)?
A: No. Other than the recruitment leave offered for those who declare by 15 November that they are not returning, there is no relief time granted to take care of visas for your next locale, moving, or other things associated with your departure. That time, if you need to be away from school during an academic day, will be counted as unpaid leave.

If you have any questions about this process, or the details within this letter, please feel free to discuss these with your principal or drop by my office.

Sincerely,

Mark Iver Sylte, Head of School