Job Discussion Forums

[curtmonster]

I started a post a while back reporting that Bell still owed me money and took it took several months of calling Ludka to finally get it. I have a colleague that, unfortunately, couldn't find another offer from a school and had to take what Bell could offer him(knowing damn well that they were having problems). I had to catch up with him to find out if they were still having problems and I felt obliged to report that they are STILL not paying on time, in fact, the DOS in Bydgoszcz told my friend that they still owe her 7 months of pay! He said that she was practically in tears when he was talking with her about not being paid on time and that he was thinking about leaving the school.

For those that are looking to teach in Poland, please do yourself a favour, stay away from BELL!

[Master Shake]

Jeeze, 7 months??? You'd think after the 5th or 6th month, she'd start to figure out what's going on...

[ecocks]

Something just doesn't seem quite right in this whole saga.....

[Master Shake]

[ecocks]

[Master Shake]

The late payments seem to only be happening in some centers. For example, Bell Warsaw is or has been definitely paying late, while I haven't heard there is a payment problem at Bell Gdansk.

I don't think not getting paid has anything to do with job performance. It's because of 'cash flow problems' as Bell once put it.

[scottie1113]

[sparks]

Just out of curiosity, do you still work for them Scottie? You've been around for a while now and should have figured out how to make the most of your time up there i.e. you shouldn't have to be working for such operations. If you do, why?

[scottie1113]

Good questions sparks, Yes, I still work for Bell Gdansk, as I've been doing for the last 6 1/2 years. It's a great school to work for apart from the late payments, but they're only one month late in my case. No big deal. There's no other school here I'd rather work for, although I've been approached by several.

It's an efficient, highly professional school, and I love the staff there.

As I've mentioned before, I supplement my income by renting out the second room in my flat which I prefer to do rather than living alone, and with the few private lessons my schedule allows, This year I'm teaching 34 hours a week including Saturday mornings.

I've also recently started receiving monthly US Social Security benefits-I'm an old fart-so if Bell is a month late in paying me-and it's never been more than that-it's not a big deal to me. Money isn't an issue to me.

The school is a five minute walk from my flat in the Old Town. Convenience, good people to work with and lots of students who come back for years and request me by name. Call it job satisfaction or anything you want to, I'm very happy at Bell.

I did the sales and sales management thing for 25 years after serving as an officer in the US Marine Corps for 12 years so at this point in my life I feel no need to "better myself" as Delph would say. Been there, done that. I don't want to be a DOS. I prefer to be in the classroom where the rubber hits the road.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it, at least for the time being.

[gardenbotanical1]

Teachers continue to be their own worst enemies. Why after 7 months would the teacher mentioned in the first post continue working for Bell?

Having said that, Ludka's behavior is reprehensible. Having enriched herself as owner of BELL in the good old days of tesol in Poland, she won't take responsibility for those she now employees. No integrity, just exploit and turn a profit.

I don't know if forum readers are aware, but she is also the chairman of the executive committee of EAQUALS! This organisation promotes 'Excellence in Language Education." http://eaquals.org/pages/5994 Yes, you couldn't make this stuff up!

Oh well, until teachers stand up for themselves, make these sorts of hypocrisies common knowledge, these absolutely horrible situations will repeat themselves again, and again and again...

[ecocks]

If your company can't meet payrolls it's time to be looking for another job.

While some folks work for motivations other than short-term money (entrepreneurs for instance), most need their income. In six years I've had one time when my employer told me they would be a week late on pay. They warned us a week ahead of time and also stated that if we had rent to pay or a critical need for groceries to let them know and they would get partial pay to us. I appreciated the warning and told them no problem, pay me the full amount a week late.

That is a far cry from regularly failing to meet payroll and falling further and further behind though. If a company cannot communicate honestly with their staff, consistently fails to pay and the balance owed is growing each month, I can't believe anyone would waste time crying here about it. It would be time to get off your but and look for a new job.

[gardenbotanical1]

@ecocks: Too true! Still think it's important to name and shame these employers - especially ones that are industry (i use 'industry' v loosely) leaders! Maybe we'll help spare some folk some unfortunate encounters in the future, maybe even make these employers think twice before trying it on the next one! Honestly, don't know how Ludka sleeps at night.

[ecocks]

Well, again, some people have different motivations for working.

For me, it's more about controlling my schedule and being responsible for my own affairs. For others it can be as varied as a particular city, staff attitudes, student groups, anticipated payoffs (non-$) in the future or the apartment they provide.

It all boils down to everyone being responsible for their own actions.

While there is some benefit to to hoisting a warning flag there's little to be gained by beating a dead horse.

[Post Mortem]

[Post Mortem]