Job Discussion Forums

[ecocks]

Curiously I noticed a couple of months ago that many schools have teachers sign a contract which is illegal. In Ukraine many schools do not provide visa or work permit support on the grounds that it saves you taxes and makes it easier for you to work. In fact, it saves THEM money on payroll taxes, allows them to work you without benefits such as vacation, insurance or pension, and then they wonder why you have no loyalty or let your pursuit of private students get in the way of their schedules. If they have pulled a work permit for you as a full-time employee they are obligated to provide you with maternity leave, 24 days of vacation (24 calendar days per year), paid holidays, etc. AND you cannot be required to give more than two weeks notice. These rights cannot be signed away by any form of contract and fully cover foreign workers.

[Mike_2007]

Hi ecocks,

Although I work in Romania certain issues are the same in both countries.

Another reason why an employer may prefer to keep native speakers off-contract is because of economics. A native speaker expects a certain level of salary. If you employ him on the books you'll end up paying about double his salary by the time you've paid his health, pension, unemployment, income tax, insurance and so on. This means the employer would have to increase the fees to compensate. This might price them out of the market. Alternatively they could lower the salary, which would mean losing staff.

Mike

[ecocks]

I understand that is what they want you to believe. I simply don't buy it. Using contractors gives a business flexibility to meet short-term demand or fulfill projects which require specialized skills. While a limited number of contractors are justified, the near-total reliance on PE's and under-the-table cash payoffs by some schools result in a false economy which keeps the teachers and students in on-going confusion. It also denies TEFL teachers the stability that many of us expect to allow us to build lives and sustain families.

My point is that over-reliance on PE's or illegal workers is part of the problem, not the solution to TEFL being regarded as a profession rather than a vacation subsidy.