Job Discussion Forums

[rslrunner]

I went to the old ELS website at elsmea.com, and there is a weird message that the site had been hacked. Does the company still exist?

[madrileno]

I can suggest you visit the Oman forum. There are numerous threads there regarding ELS, with many posts from both present and former employees.

The information on ELS in Oman should give you an idea of how they operate throughout the Middle East.

[rslrunner]

Thanks, madrileno. I will follow your suggestion.

[rslrunner]

I read through many of the posts about ELS and it seems that a lot of teachers affiliated with ELS in Oman have had trouble getting paid on time and in the manner laid out in their contracts. Which is disgraceful.

I do know that late payments were a problem in Qatar as well, which is affiliated with ELS in the UAE. In fact, when a teacher in Doha pointed out that their contracts stated that they needed to be paid by a certain date, an individual from the office in Abu Dhabi named Sudarshan replied, "Then we'll just change your contracts." This is disgraceful as well.

The thing is, I believe the owners of ELS in Oman are different from the owners of ELS in the UAE, Qatar and Riyadh.

In addition, ELS in the UAE is actually no longer affiliated with the actual ELS company located in the United States. I think the owner is the same. But I don't know.

ELS in the UAE now has a new website. The site shows the schools affiliated with that company:

http://www.elsmea.com

These language centers are not affiliated with the actual ELS company in the United States. Those branches are here:

http://www.els.edu/en/ELSCenters/International

The fact that broken contracts, late payments, and various kinds of chicanery occurred at all of these places at different times means that ELS headquarters in Princeton, NJ are failed in their oversight role, or they never had the ability to enforce certain standards in the first place. Which means that they are selling their names.

Bottom line: some ELS franchises in the Middle East are affiliated with the original ELS company. Some are not. The franchises in the UAE are not affiliated with the parent ELS company.

I don't expect to change the bad behavior that has gone on for too long at too many ELS franchises over the years.

I do think it's important for people to know who controls what franchises, and who is affiliated with who. That way, there is a smaller chance that someone will join a company under false pretenses.

This forum is a very important tool to let teachers know what is going on at certain places, so they can protect themselves. This forum also makes it harder for unscrupulous actors to swindle people and get away with it.

Air and sunlight are the best disinfectants.