Job Discussion Forums

[stephenbranigan]

Hi all,

I know this question has been answered before but I'll ask it again.

I'm an experienced teacher (3yrs in Poland) with a business degree, working in the South West of Poland but not in one of the main cities (Wroclaw, Krakow etc.) It's coming round to contract negotiating time again and I'd like to hit my boss with some realistic expectations this year. I have a feeling that I'm being underpaid, earning about 3000zl per month on a 24hr per wk contract. My feeling is that she needs me more than I need her but I'm not the kind of person who likes changing job every year.

Thanks.

[biffinbridge]

I would ask for accommodation on top of that and then see what happens.
You could say that you want to decrease the number of hours that you want to do with them to allow you to do more privates. It's no fun living on 100ZL a day if you are paying housing and bills too.

You could also ask for a promotion and related pay increase...ie Senior Teacher, Materials' Co-ordinator, ADOS.

Problem is there are too many people waiting in the wings to replace you and Poles are very frugal/tight with money...even when the language school is raking it in.

Try and get into some proof reading work with a translation agency...it's easy work and you can do it while you are on the crapper.

[Richfilth]

If you're on 3000zl a month (I presume before tax), doing a 96 hour month, you're on a little over 30zl an hour. If that's a 60min hour, you're getting HALF the going rate for a qualified, experienced business-level teacher.

Even if it's the other end - After tax at 19% percent, and 24 x 45minutes sessions a week, you're getting 46zl an hour - still lower than the going rate.

I know smaller towns can't afford HUGE rates, but she really is milking you there. I can't, however, advise on the approach of how to ask for more, as the school's entire business plan might depend on paying you peanuts.

[simon_porter00]

You are employable, the school wants you. Lots of other schools want you with your skills. I assume your students are happy and you've got good rapport with them and the school. Tell them in Warsaw you'd be getting a minimum of a zlot a minute net also tell them they're taking the p155 with your wages.

Play hard ball.

[stephenbranigan]

Thanks for that advice.

I'm not exactly living in the middle of nowhere either - It's a city of 100k people. The thing is that I don't know what the going rate is. Does anyone know the going rate per 45min hr outside the main cities? That 60zl in Warsaw, is it gross or net? Thanks again for the ammunition.

[YakTamer]

As Simon said, it's 1PLN/m net (for T with qualification + experience)

So 45/45 should be regarded as a baseline. You may not get much more than that without some kind of specialisation, but you shouldn't really drop below it either. There are always native speakers who come to poland for a few months without any plan or clue and accept garbage rates because they're just drifting through and have no intention of staying. A school owner I know says that "there's always another monkey who'll fall from the tree" (I don't work for that school) so you need to separate yourself from the monkeys.

Try to avoid getting split rates so that a 60 minute lesson is calculated the same pro-rata as a 45m one. One of my schools decided to drop the rate on my 60m lessons by 1PLN. I only had one 60m lesson a week so I didn't bother raising hell. They then tried to screw me when it came to payment time by pricing all my lessons as if they were 60m ones rather than 45m (ie 2x45m lessons).

It tells you a lot that a school is willing to risk losing a native speaker just to save a few zlots with a scam like that.

Now I always insist that I don't get split rates.

[stephenbranigan]

Thanks YakTamer. Is that figure nett?

[Harry from NWE]

I think I�ve worked out why your school are unwilling to pay you very much: You can�t read very well.

[stephenbranigan]

There's no need to be rude! I was referring to Yaktamer's 45zl figure. But anyway I think I have enough information now. Thanks.

[scot47]

The question says it all. You have turned yourself into a commodity ! Charlie Marx was right !

[Harry from NWE]

[Will.]

The best advice I can give you is to ask a Polish friend to telephone several 'language schools' seeking to employ a teacher, with a similar basis of skills and abilities as yourself for a year-long contract on secondment to an offsite situation/company and see what price your school and the other schools quote your friend.

I bet you it wont be a shekel under 100 zlots an hour!!!!

Your school sells you...and your skills. You are their product.
What better way to find your value..ask them how much it would cost to hire you.
Then wave the big stick

[gicor]