Job Discussion Forums

[manbitesdog]

Hello!

I have been in Moscow since October, and am now wanting to go home at the end of June. The problem is I signed a contract until next January. Big mistake on my part, I know, but that is the contract that they offered me. I signed this contract in February, and things have changed. Due to personal reasons, I need to be back home. It also turns out that the other teacher at the school only had to sign a contract until June 15th! Part of the reason I want to go home is due to the other teacher, as the school says that we must live together if we want our accommodation paid for. I am fairly easy going, and am willing to compromise on most anything, but this is a different issue entirely, as she has come into my room in the middle of the night screaming at me. If I had done anything wrong I would not complain, but it was over the fact that I had my own laptop (from home, not the school), and she didn't. There have been other conflicts, not only at home, but between her and other staff at the school, and I did notify the school of the problems at home, but I was informed that I would have to pay for my own apartment if I chose to move. (Something I cannot afford in Moscow!) Of course I do not expect things like holiday pay and whatnot, but I do want my flight home paid, since I am staying until the end of the school year (longer actually, since I agreed to work for the month of June). Due to my contract, my flight is not guaranteed, and I know that normally I would have to suck it up and pay, but before I signed it, I asked about what would happen if I chose to leave in June. I was informed that if I gave advance notice of my intent to leave, that my flight would be paid, and so I signed. Now they are saying otherwise. Stupid mistake on my part I know, but does this not technically render my contract invalid since I signed after being given false information, not to mention the garbage I have put up with?

[spiral78]

I really doubt you can get the school to honour a verbal 'promise' that is contrary to what is in your written contract.


And if the other teacher is leaving on 15 June (presumably never to return) doesn't that probably solve your flat-share problems?

[smithrn1983]

Sorry to hear that you're in such a situation. Schools saying one thing before you sign, and another afterwards is not unheard of in Moscow (or in many other places) and unfortunately there is not a lot you can do about it. There have even been instances of schools not honoring what's in the written contract and getting away with it. It is possible to take a school to court for breach of contract, but the process takes a LONG time (can be more than a year) and, of course, you would have to prove what they said before you signed the contract, which is no easy task.

As Spiral said, the other teacher leaving does seem to solve the flatmate situation, and if the apartment is completely vacated, you might have some leverage to negotiate a housing allowance that would allow you to find your own place in Moscow (possibly shared) until the end of the contract. Point out that this is in their best interest. A teacher who's happy living in Moscow will be more inclined to teach good lessons, and retain more students; hiring new teachers is time-consuming, risky and expensive; and you never know if the new hire is actually going to show up or not.

If your other reasons for wanting to return home are strong enough, though, you'll probably just have to pay for your own flight back home. Try picking up a few private lessons between now and then, and that should pay for the price of the plane ticket.

[ancient_dweller]

chin up! Did you come on this forum for sympathy? Nobody comes to Moscow thinking they will get Western luxuries (such as the rule of law).

I don't doubt that they agreed to what you are saying, but I mean, think about it. You agreed to a contract and asked them, 'by the way, if i quit during the contract can you pay for my flight home?' (and they answered 'yes') That seems a bit too good to be true - and you know how the saying goes. Some poor chap has gone through a lot of administrative work to sort out your visa, accommodation etc... and he's going to have to do it again for a new employee, (after finding one) and pay for your flight home on top... I think, in Britain, USA or wherever, any sensible business would realise it's not profitable to do it. Have your wits about you.

I suggest you man up, laugh away your silly housemate, stop worrying so much, get some private students and save a few kopeks for emergency flights home.

[maruss]

They may already be looking for a replacement for the job and then say that they are free to leave in June as requested?Being a bit nicer to them than usual might also get them to pay for the return flight too,but if it's to somewhere outside Europe I wouldn't bank on it so saving some money on the side from private lessons is very good advice.In fact I would say that in Russia being prepared for almost any eventuality is part of the daily routine for many people.....for example,millions keep cash hidden in all sorts of places for the simple reason that nobody trusts the banks to hold all their savings!

[manbitesdog]

Ah I think I may not have been exactly clear in my first posting about what exactly the problem is. Of course I did not come to the forum looking for sympathy, just advice, and of course I did not come to Moscow thinking that I will get western luxuries!

Due to a technicality, I believe my contract to be invalid in the first place, and I would like to look into this a bit more, so if anyone has any suggestions on where I may find legal advice or somewhere that I may find anything written about laws regarding contracts for foreign workers that would be great.

The school is also now telling me that I will have to work for free for at least a part of June, due to time I was away renewing my passport and getting a work visa, something that they could have avoided if they had given me time to renew my visa before coming to Moscow the first time, as I had informed them that I needed to do so, and if they had brought me over on a work visa in the first place. I have always been very nice to them, doing everything in my power to make things easy and convenient for them, and this is actually the first issue I have brought up with them. I know that they are hoping that I come back in the future, once I have dealt with everything I need to deal with at home, and I did say that (other than this), I have had a good experience at the school, so maybe that will help? I am normally very positive, but I guess given the situation and my reasons for wanting to go home make it extremely difficult. Also, I have been teaching private lessons, but my location and current work hours (8 hours a day, 5 days a week), make it difficult to take on any more. Thanks for your comments everyone!

[Sashadroogie]

This might be a bit out-of-date, but I"m sure you can find more current docs of the Russian Labour Code on the 'net.

http://www.bblaw.com/uploads/media/BB_LaborLaw_Russia_en.pdf

In any case, your contract is almost certainly invalid. What you signed is probably not the document that was submitted to the Russian migration authorities with your visa application. Is what you signed even in Russian? You'd need to talk to a real lawyer about this though, obviously. Not as costly as you may think, either.

However, bear in mind that promises to pay flights etc. may not be legally binding either. So if you start a process, be sure what you want to get out of it.

[ancient_dweller]

There was a girl on this forum who took BKC to court and apparently won. But, I have heard that contracts that are not in Russian are invalid. But, I also heard that the provider of a work permit is legally obliged to pay for flights, as they are your sponsor. So, get a lawyer and look in to that.

Anyway, they gave you a work permit, so they have some responsibility.

Working for free! That's funny.

[Sashadroogie]

Yes, that was Eve. Follow her comments here:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=84186&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

And do contact a lawyer. Get the facts first.

[manbitesdog]

Hello everyone! Thanks for all the advice! As a follow up, they will not pay for my flight, but they are making some other concessions, so I am going to take what I can get. I also found a much much cheaper flight, so I will just keep up with my other job and everything will work itself out. I did not name the school, but they are quite a good school, and the staff are really quite nice. I was quite upset initially, but they were reasonable once we had the chance to sit down and have a good conversation about everything. Thanks again for the advice!

[spiral78]

VERY nice to hear that things worked out satisfactorily. Kudos to you for having the patience and diplomatic skills to give them every chance to make things as right as possible - and for being flexible enough to accept an alternative solution.

[ancient_dweller]

That's great news!

I was firing you up for a big david v goliath style court case

[SilverDan]

I'm glad you got things sorted out.

Keep in mind that right now teachers are not as abundant as they were a few years ago and you're worth more to them than they are to you. If there is any chance that you'll come back I advise doing some networking before you go. Meet people within different schools. Now that you've A) got teaching experience B) proved that you can survive Moscow you are not a risky hire. Schools will jump at the chance to take you on board and pay you a lot better than the major language schools in this country.

Keep in mind, I'm describing the current situation and it could change in the blink of an eye.

[Jazziz23]

Good stuff!!