Job Discussion Forums

[Vsaxo27]

Hello.

I would like to warn teachers looking to work in Russia to stay away from FLC Reward Volgograd.

Some have posted about this school and MANY native speaking teachers in the past have resigned from this school due to the poor organization and treatment.

I have been lied to directly in person. Been lied to in my interview. Been told the interview and information present in it didn't matter. I have had staff members tell me information only to be contradicted by another member. I have brought up numerous contract violations and this has been diregarded or defended immensly. I have been told the contract is archaic and needs changing--then told that it is perfect as it is. Staff members will not follow up with requests that you make--even after being asked months previous. There are a mass of other problems that I will post on in the future.

If able, send me a message and I will tell you more.

I recommend teachers looking to work in Russia to look towards St. Petersburg or Moscow. Stay away from this school--it will be a terrible experience.

[Brunouno]

I take it you've read my post about this mob. Are they still making the NES teachers share their groups with the Russian teachers? Did the initial training involve an old lady passing out a handout and having each teacher read out a couple of sentences of the do's and don'ts? Do they still have the website where teachers need to spend forever typing in the grammar, lexis, listening, speaking and all the exercises that were done during each lesson?

How long did you last there? I think I managed four months. I really should send Anna an email to say thank you, because my rotten experience there back in 2013 made me get my arse into gear and complete an MA in TESOL and a DELTA module to help prevent me from working at such a hellhole ever again.

[Vsaxo27]

Brunouno.

I am very glad you replied. This ads legitimacy to my post--so that other users of daves esl cafe don't take my post as an anomaly (I actually read your post). After six posts (I think after that I can do private messages), I will send you a message (I will also post more details later...).

All I can say now is that it is vastly unpleasent and just as you described it in your posts a few years ago. I recommend anyone who wants more information to look at your post. There is a reason why many teachers from abroad leave the position.

[Vsaxo27]

Over the weekend I will make a reddit account and post. I really think it is unfair that they can use, lie, mess up the pay of native speaking teachers. I even wrote daves esl cafe saying that they should be forbidden to post on this website.

Over the weekend (or tonight) I will post a detailed list of my complaints and why everyone should not work for this school.

[Stirlitz17]

[Vsaxo27]

OK.

So... This is actually very important and scary. Please do not work here and if you have a reddit account (since I don't have one and will try to make one) please spread the word.

I went into a meeting to discuss my resignation with the head of the school. This meeting was cancelled three times! We ended up having the meeting at 9:45 in the evening. I was only there to get a signature so I could resign.

Again, I came in simply looking for a signature to resign--I was told that I couldn't resign without this signature. I was not looking for a conversation, debate or anything.

This meeting was immensly surreal and actually very frightening.

At first I was insulted and my personality was also questioned.
I defended myself strongly.
She then proceeded to offer me a higher paying job.
I criticized the odd use of stick and carrot.
She then started to tell me that my co-workers have bad things to say (which they don't, the students and co-workers praise me all the time).
Then I was told that I could be at the school to sabotage it Really, like I came here to wreck the school--like I was some sort of spy. She said that other "foreigners" came to the school simply to destory it (kind of scary, because no person who go through the whole visa process to knock down a language school). I even used the word "Sabateur" to confirm whether she believed this to be true or not.
Then she returned to offering me a good job.
Then back to insulting me.
Then complementing me on my resume and achievements.
The illogic and surreal conversation continued on and on like this.

I really thought she was on drugs.

This was very scary. She then started to further heavily insult me when I stated I would leave in a month.

Please, don't let anyone apply to this school. This was absolutely scary and bordering on abusive.

I will report more in the future.

[Stirlitz17]

[Sashadroogie]

Dunno what signature to resign is being spoken of here. Simply not true, as far as I know. You hand in your letter of resignation, and that is that. A Russian lawyer will clarify that point better than anyone here, though.

In any case, sign NOTHING yourself. You have workers' rights, even as a non-Russian. You are entitled to your last salary etc. without any signed documents. Don't be blindsided by any nonsense. Check with a lawyer...

[Brunouno]

After the way I got treated, I felt that I had no moral obligation to give them any notice of resignation. I just waited for my salary and then flew back to Moscow. There would have been no benefit for me whatsoever if I had given them notice.

Yeah, they were desperate for my signature after I left. I got many emails and text messages saying that they will call the police and immigration authorities if I don't scan and email them my signature. To be honest, I don't think there was anything too sinister behind it. If I had to guess, I would say they wanted me to sign something to say that I'm no longer working for them and that I will leave the country ASAP. I still never signed anything, though.

[Sashadroogie]

Just the usual scare tactics. They are still responsible for teachers while they have a visa. The signature probably is to show the immigration authorities, to state that both parties agreed to terminate the working agreement. But their not having a signed statement to that effect is their problem, not the teachers'. The worst they can do is notify the authorities that a teacher has stopped coming to work, for whatever reason. I have rarely heard of this having any effect on teachers thereafter. Could be wrong about that, though. Check with a lawyer, as ever.

[Vsaxo27]

More news: I have resigned from the position. They have withheld my salary. They wrote me e-mails and I responded, they then failed to respond to three of my e-mails.

Avoid this school. The administration is horrible and unfair. From problems in the beginning that cost me additional money, terrible scheduling--incorrect students on schedule, incorrect text books, incorrect times, incorrect groups. There are so many problems--from bureaucracy to administration to taking responsibilites for their errors and faults.

I will continue to post until they provide me with my salary.

[Phillip Schofield]