Job Discussion Forums

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

I would like to find out if W5 Staff Service is a reputable company! Please don't thread jack this thread! I was taken advantage of once by a very corrupt company. Right now I am working for an honest company but I want to change. I have an offer from W5 Staff Service but I want to make sure, I will be paid.

Does W5 owe anyone out there money?
Do they pay on time?
Or yea, any extreme negative comments please PM me directly.

Zzonkmiles · Joined: 05 Apr 2003 Posts: 309

Before I got my current job, I too was considering working for W5 because I saw several of their advertisements. I also have some other friends who are currently working the eikaiwa circuit, so I would like to know if I could recommend W5 to them as a way out of NOVA/AEON/etc.

I'm very concerned about how long this thread will remain visible and open to comments.

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

Well I guess W5 Staff Service is not so bad or someone would of posted a nagetive post! I remember the thread on Interac went on and on!

lajzar · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 647 Location: Saitama-ken, Japan

I applied for a job with them once. They told me they had a definite job for me, then 2 weeks later (late March) they told me that it was still uncertain. They finally gave me a 'definite' offer in mid-April, by which time I had had to accept a nother job offer.

For a while at least, expect there to be a lack of negative comments on any school, no matter how deserving. It is closely related to why a moderator was removed from his position.

yamanote senbei · Joined: 28 Jun 2005 Posts: 435

W5 has a dispatch licence, but it seems to only legally dispatch Japanese citizens. Foreign English teachers are illegally dispatched because dispatching them legally would cost them too much and most foreign English teachers are not aware of their rights. So to answer your question, no they are not a reputable company. In fact, because W5 is illegally dispatching teachers it could lead to the company losing their dispatch licence. Their constant illegal dispatch of ALTs in the face of the law and against orders from the Ministry of Education puts their legal dispatch business in jeopardy.

Any teacher that is being illegally dispatched is being ripped off. The dispatch company illegally pockets one third or more of your salary.

If you want to ignore the illegal dispatch issue, I doubt that you would be that interested in working for what W5 pays. They win a lot of BOE contracts because they generally are the lowest bidder. Low bids equal low salaries.

Big John Stud · Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 513

yamanote senbei wrote:

If you want to ignore the illegal dispatch issue, I doubt that you would be that interested in working for what W5 pays. They win a lot of BOE contracts because they generally are the lowest bidder. Low bids equal low salaries.

They offer a little more than the average English teacher salary!

Are all companies that provide English teachers to public schools opperate illegally? Interac, W5 Staff Service, ALTRIA, and so on?

If so how does one get a job teaching in the public school system?

expatangler · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 1

W5 is like any of the ALT outfits. They don't do anything but connect you with the BOE. No type of training or support. They'll give you a packet that supposedly has some activites in it, but nothing of any real value. I did a semifull time contract with them for about half a school year. Compared to my previous position working at a crappy eikaiwa I was happy because I didnt have anyone telling me what to do. I just showed up and smiled at the kids, played games, etc. If you're comfortable in that type of environ (lots of kids) its better than an eikaiwa.

The owner is a former JAL flight attendant. She hired some Hungarian dude to be the teacher admin geek. Hes not useful from what I hear.

they do pay on time and have friendly staff. The pay is not all that high because of them bidding so low for contracts, but the peace of mind I got from not actually having to speak to my employers for any reason was great. If you work for one of the crappy outfits (W5, Interac, RCS, etc) for say one contract, then you can move on to a better company that gets contracts with private schools. I'm doing that now and am extremely happy.

my 2 cents