Questions to Ask Before Accepting a Teaching Contract

A teaching offer becomes useful when its important terms can be understood in writing. Enthusiasm, a friendly interview and an attractive location are not substitutes for a contract you can evaluate. Before accepting, collect the documents, identify the employer and make a short list of unanswered questions. Allow yourself time to read the full agreement rather than only the salary and start date.

Who is employing you, and for what work?

Check the legal employer's name, workplace address, role title and the person authorized to sign. If a recruiter introduced the job, clarify which responsibilities belong to the recruiter and which belong to the school. Ask whether you may be assigned to partner schools or additional campuses and how those locations are specified.

Request a description of the learners, curriculum and duties. Teaching hours may not include preparation, meetings, marking, training or family communication. Ask what a normal week looks like and whether the employer can change it. A sample timetable is useful, but establish which parts are examples and which are contractual commitments.

How does pay work in practice?

Clarify the currency, payment date and whether quoted amounts are gross or after deductions. Ask how paid hours are recorded and approved. Find out how cancellations, public holidays, school closures, training and travel between campuses affect pay. If a minimum number of hours is mentioned, check the wording rather than assuming every quiet week is covered.

Separate ordinary pay from conditional bonuses and reimbursements. Ask what evidence is required for an expense claim and when reimbursement happens. Do not build a monthly budget around an incentive that depends on conditions you have not read. If a deduction or penalty is unclear, request an explanation and obtain qualified advice about its validity before accepting it.

What must happen before teaching starts?

Ask who is responsible for the applicable work-authorization process, which documents you must provide, and how you receive confirmation of the result. Entry permission and permission to work are separate matters. A recruiter cannot establish your eligibility by citing someone else's successful application or making a general statement about your nationality.

Clarify the consequences of a delayed approval: the start date, accommodation commitments and any money already paid. Do not agree to begin paid teaching merely because someone promises to resolve authorization later. Our entry and work-authorization guide explains the distinction without replacing advice from competent authorities.

What support and protections are documented?

Ask about induction, mentoring, observations, safeguarding and the procedure for raising a concern. Identify the person responsible for student welfare and the channel for reporting an emergency. Clarify leave, illness reporting, insurance arrangements and what happens if the school changes your assignment. Request the policies referenced by the contract before signing it.

Keep control of your passport and original documents. If an official process requires inspection or submission, understand who receives them, for what purpose and how they are returned. Do not hand over a passport as general security for a job or debt. Keep dated records of communications and copies of the agreement in a private location you control.

How can the relationship end?

Read probation, notice, termination and final-payment clauses carefully. Ask what happens to housing, reimbursements, outstanding pay and authorization arrangements when employment ends. Check which language version governs if the agreement is bilingual, and seek an independent translation if needed. Do not sign a version you cannot understand simply because another version has been summarized verbally.

There is no universal checklist that can declare a contract fair or lawful. Material uncertainty is a reason to pause and obtain advice, not a reason to guess. A teaching enquiry can help identify questions, but it cannot guarantee a particular employer, legal outcome or income.

Keep a written comparison

Record the employer's answer beside each question, the document that supports it and any point still awaiting confirmation. Compare salary alongside the workload and costs in our teaching-role guide. This is a decision aid, not a legal assessment of the agreement.

The UK government's employment guidance for British nationals in Vietnam advises checking the agency and the true nature of a job before signing or travelling, and warns against handing over a passport for safekeeping. Readers of other nationalities should also consult their own consular guidance and the relevant Vietnamese authorities.

For separate paid market and career-direction guidance, see the Premium consultation package. It is not legal contract review and does not include job referrals, placement or a guarantee of employment.