Job Discussion Forums

[Mezzogiorno]

Hi all,

Are contracts legally binding in anyway? For example, if a school asks me to sign a contract stating that I will work for them the following academic year, and for whatever reason, I don't, could they take me to court or add me to a teacher blacklist or something? Because while I don't want to mess any schools about, on the other hand, I do want to apply to as many as possible to see what I can get, best place to my liking, best wage etc, conditions etc.

Sorry if this is really naive but I thought it best to check!

[stillnosheep]

In theory such a cntract is binding. In practice there is nothing a school can do about someone noy honouring such a promise. In reality only a selfish and thoughtless individual would make such a promise to multiple schools. Why bother? Consider your options and say "Yes" to the one you prefer. If you say "Yes" and then change your mind let them know as soon as possible so that they can hire someone else.

Simple courtesy.

[Teacher in Rome]

Or you could pick a town or city you like, and work for a number of schools as a freelancer. That way you could start making comparisons between schools regarding pay, conditions, management and so on, before deciding which school you'd most like to work for on a contract.

[ilaria]

This is why I will only hire after a face-to-face interview and why I won't hire someone months before I need them... It would be very convenient, both for me and the teachers, if I could hire in advance. It would enlarge my pool of suitable applicants if I could hire from abroad. Unfortunately, I've been burned too many times (okay, only twice, but that was still twice too often) by teachers who happily accept a good job offer in June, who stay in touch through the summer, who sign the contract... and then don't show up in September. Fortunately I'm in a nice, well-touristed city, lots of my staff stay on from one year to the next, and my school gets just about enough suitable candidates walking in with a CV each September. But I wish I didn't have to do it this way.

And now looking at it from the teacher's point of view...

- Schools that offer you a job during your phone interview and then pressure you for an instant yes or no decision are usually the very worst schools to work for. The better schools will happily give you some time to make up your mind about a job offer. There's no need to sign a contract if you're not sure about a school or if you think there might be a better job out there.

- Ask a lot of questions during your job interview and keep emailing the school with more questions afterwards. Most DoSes like teachers who ask questions and stay in touch. It shows you're serious. If a school can't or won't answer your queries, again, this is a danger sign.

[Mezzogiorno]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to reply with your useful answers.

Yes my intention isn't to mess about schools, but from the few I've experiennced in the job hunt so far they have all wanted me to sign contracts right away before they've told me exactly what wage they'll offer and how many hours I'll be doing and so on. One school said it's waiting to hear back from a potential client about a teaching contract etc, and will let me know later...which may be perfectly true. But I think it's better as Ilaria said, for the school to interview the teacher and for the teacher to be able to ask alot of questions before any contract is provided.

I have actually been teaching for a year already, but last time round I only got one job offer from Italy so I just took that one. It tunred out ok and that school did give me alot of information in advance. Just seems this time around I'm not having much luck. I've begun to contact schools directly by sending out my cv via e-mail, perhaps I should try calling first instead?

So I think I'll avoid the potentially dodgy schools who want me to sign contracts immediately without telling me much about the job. Hopefully after a year's experience with the same employer, having had some good comments from the dos during lesson observations, I should be a bit more in demand now? Though this is Italy and it's a popular place.

Final question, would it better for me to apply now or to wait until september? Some people have told me only the disorganised schools leave it that late, but others have said that it's only in september that schools have a true picture of who's coming and who isn't and so it's only then they can properly look for how ever many extra teachers they need.

Thanks again

[SueH]

Probably a bit of truth in most stories. If a school has contracts with firms/local government to supply services then they may have fixed these in advance. If a school relies on individual students to enroll, then they are dependent on lots of individual decisions and may not be so willing to commit until nearer the time. Many seem to get students to pay up front and once they have their sweaty hands on the money they then sweat on getting the teachers. Better schools probably have more confidence in themselves and their local market, and will probably commit sooner. It's a swings and roundabouts situation.

[ilaria]

Mezzogiorno wrote:

[Mezzogiorno]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement guys! Much appreciated