Job Discussion Forums

[eloisewl]

Anybody know anything about or have experience with EFINST? http://www.efinsthr.com/index.php/contact.html

I've tried a search and can't seem to find anything so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[fishmb]

Which branch are you considering?

[eloisewl]

The advert is for 4 branches in Istanbul and schools in Ankara , Bursa as well as the Kelkit University. So either one of those.

Any knowledge would be appreciated.

[Happydays]

They are the Beykent lot, just read the EF-Beykent threads, you'll find out what they're like

[svenhassel]

[theenlil]

Kelkit branch is supported by Aydin Dogan Foundation which is good in terms of money (Aydin Dogan is the big man in the Turkish Media). But, Kelkit is not such a big city as Ankara, or Istanbul.

[medearedux]

I've just finished a 9-month contract at EF Suadiye, and I wouldn't recommend it. At the beginning of the year, they subcontracted me out full time to a university, after I'd agreed only to do part time. The university experience was very bad - bad students, bad administration, no discipline, no control over my classes, no support from university administration, unreasonable expectations of us and the students. EF didn't credit me for the full time I was teaching there, so they gave me classes every evening as well. Which meant I taught until 9 or 10 every night and had to be back at school at 8:30 am the next day to teach a full day, with an evening class at the end of it again. As it was a salaried position, I couldn't turn it down and was not paid extra for it.

They change your schedule every week and even after you receive your schedule, they add things to it at any time throughout the week, without warning, which means you can never make any plans. They expect you to be available 24 hours a day for 5 days a week.

They promise work visas in their ads and contracts, but never arranged them.

Since January 2010 they haven't paid on time, instead paying half our salary about a week late, and the other half 2 or sometimes 3 weeks late. They don't seem to be doing anything to resolve the situation, and I expect it will continue next year.

I put up with all of this all year without much complaint, and then the day the university contract finished, with one month left on my contract, they cut me to half time with 1 day's warning. I'd previously been told by other teachers that the same thing had happened last year, and I'd addressed the issue with EF in February. I was assured then that if anything like this was to happen, I would have plenty of warning. I was given none.

In short, all year I felt abused and disrespected by the company. Their conduct in all this has been incredibly insulting, both personally and professionally.

[melsabee]

As of now, we (at the Suadiye branch) have not been paid on time for 5 months in a row and the lack of communication from the Turkish staff is unbelievable. They have no respect for us as teachers. They can not even warn us about the late payment. After a meeting, when asked about it, we were told if it happened again, they would inform us if we were to be paid late. Needless to say, they didn't follow through with this promise or any others.

And also, when they offer you a "free" room in a hotel for the first week, don't believe it. They will deduct 1/4 of your first housing pay because they claim you didn't need housing since you were in a hotel, even if you arrive a week or two before you start to work (as I was asked to do).

Also, almost every employee that was forced to do Maltepe (the uni. outsourcing) is leaving. It is horrible work. Not only are you forced to deal with Maltepe students (extremely rude and disrespectful) but you then have to come back and work hours at night (sometimes until 10pm) at EF, for much less pay than the actual Maltepe teachers get.

You also do not get credited on your time table for the 15 minute breaks between 45 minute classes (at Maltepe), nor do you get credit if you have to do a split shift at Maltepe. So, you end up working the equivelent of say, 20 hours but only credited for about 16 of them. And being that they are allowed to give you up to 30 contact hours, these hours will eventually turn up as extra hours with classes at the actual EF school. That said, the DOS tries to never give any one teacher 30 hours. Fairplay, but one Maltepe teacher I know has 26 hours on her timetable weekly (not including all the time she should be credited and is actually at working).

The staff room is also quite cliquey. There is no help with creating a bond between the staff.Sadly, it is not the DOS' fault. Everyone has such different schedules and timetables that there is rarely an opportunity that everyone would be able to attend. But there is an obvious divide between the Maltepe and non-Maltepe teachers.

I was promised I would not return to Maltepe for the second semester but this promise couldn't be upheld as it wasn't up to the person who made the promise. So my schedule was given, without notice, and I was to return to Maltepe with my weekends taken away (the one benefit when working Maltepe), 18 hours at Maltepe (9-4) and night classes twice a week until 10 on the same day totalling 12-14 hour days (when I was to be at the Maltepe the next morning at 8:15am) and weekend classes. When I refused to do it, I was put on a half time schedule, barely able to cover my rent and my holiday reduced as well. Another teacher was later hired without asking me if I would like to return to my full time contract.

The turn-over rate is extremely high here for a reason.

Basically, I had very high hopes for this school last year when I signed on and I couldn't have been more disappointed. The DOS tried to help with problems but it is an uphill battle against a bad system because the DOS has no real power against the higher administration. If they make an unfair or corrupt decision, the DOS must carry this out.

A good example of this was when the Maltepe teachers fnished working at the end of May and were reduced to HALF of their pay with one month left to go in their 9 month contract. They were given one day's notice and had already booked thier flights home for July so there was no way out. Basically, you have to uphold your end of the contract but because you are illegally working (they do not get you a work visa), EF does not have to hold up their end of the contract. They can do whatever they want and will exploit you any way they can save a penny.

I would equate working at this school to working at a very badly run hagwon in Korea where you have no rights as a teacher or person. But you don't get the money you get in Korea so there are no real positives to the situation.

It is sad, but outsourcing teachers (for the money) to a horrible prep program university that in no way reflects the views of the school ( communicative approach) has, in the end, ruined it.

This is only one teacher's honest and open opinion of the current situation at EF Suadiye. But if you are thinking of coming to this school, don't trust anything they tell you. Promises and respect mean nothing to them.
Hope it helps someone.

[EnglishTeacher8942]

I also was very disappointed with my experience at EF INST Suadiye. As other posts have mentioned, teachers at all EF INST branches have been paid late 6 months in a row. The most frustrating part of this situation for me has been the lack of communication from the administration. Teachers are not given warning of late payment, but have now come to expect it, and are not given any notice of when to expect the pay. Obviously, this can cause a very difficult situation with rent, bills, etc. I feel proper attention to this problem has not been given, and formal complaints from teachers have resulted in no change of communication or punctuality of payment.

Throughout the year I felt that the well being of the teachers was often sacrificed to make a buck. Although this should probably be expected from a language school (a for-profit institution), I feel lines of respect and professionalism were breached. Although teachers continued to remain professional throughout many difficulties, I feel this respect was not reciprocated by the administration.

Be aware that if you sign a contract with EF Suadiye, you will most likely be forced to work in the Maltepe University Prep English Program. Most teachers found this to be a very frustrating teaching experience. The majority of the students are unmotivated, yet forced to attend class, causing a huge discipline problem in a class of 30 students. CELTA style training is not very effective in this type of environment. A normal teaching day at Maltepe is from 8:30-4:30, although teachers are only credited for 5 hours and are thus expected to teach at the language school most evening as well.

EF broke contract with me with only 28 days remaining. As expected, my teaching hours were substantially decreased after the completion of the school year at Maltepe University. I had been warned by other teachers that the year before, others were forced to go on half time contracts at the end of the Maltepe semester. With this in mind, I addressed the issue with the DOS in February and was assured that if anything like this were to happen, I would be given proper notice. Instead, I was informed May 28 that I, as of June 1, would be forced to accept half-time pay. No form of apology was extended from either the co-owner or branch manager, whose offices are both in the Suadiye branch. Unfortunately, our rights as teachers were incredibly limited, as we were not given proper work visas.

[nh0828]

Does anyone have any experience with the other EF INST locations in Istanbul? The Suadiye situation sounds pretty heinous, but is that representative of the Levent and Bakırk�y branches as well? The school looks so promising, but it's discouraging to hear such negative stories...

[cupofrosie]

I would like to inform everyone that situation at EFinst Suadiye has been resolved.

I experienced first hand the situations as described above. However I remained at the company and have been very contented this year.

1.
Payments are no longer delayed and have been prompt throughout this whole academic year.
2.
The University contract is no more. The new contracts are business contracts which generally means intelligent, charismatic and motivated students to work with.
3.
The staffroom is no longer cliquey (probably because there is no clear seperation of in-house and university-contracted class teachers)
4.
The DOS continues to work hard to be fair and supportive to all teachers. (A difficult job considering the confines of the business)

As with all companies there are still hiccups, but in general it is a much more positive, and professional place to work this year.

[beekay]

Hi cupofrosie or anyone else who knows about working at EFinst Suadiye,

What's the situation like these days? Cupofrosie, back in March you said that things had changed and been resolved. Did they remain that way?

Does anyone else have any info on this place? I'm looking into them as a potential employer and would like to know any useful info before getting in any deeper...

Thanks!

[cupofrosie]

Hi,

In my honest opinion, if you want to work specifically in a language school, then either British side or EFinst are your two best bets.
I cannot speak for British side, or the other EFinst branches, but at EFinst Suadiye you can expect a pretty decent job.

Upsides:
- decent salary for a language school (around 2000) plus a housing allowance.
- residency permit paid for and organised by the school
- private health care
- good DOS who actually does care about the welfare of her staff.
- a lot of good quality resources
- relative freedom in teaching style (within reason)

Downsides:
- Too much of the teaching is dictated by Sales and Marketing who sell course which are too fast/ unsuitable/over ambitious/ exhausting for the teacher.
- Management don't consult or listen to the teaching staff or the DOS on educational matters.
- Clients are over-indulged to the detriment of the teaching staff and the DOS.
- Split shifts.
- Your schedule is likely to change every week, and sometimes mid-week.
- Management penny-pinch, even from teachers' salaries.

All in all, EF Suadiye is a pretty good place to take a chance. But my advice to you would be to understand that without a work permit, a contract is not worth the paper it's written on. At the end of the day, if they choose not to obey the contract, you have no way to force them, but if you don't obey the contract, it will likely come out of your next salary.

My advice... go for it, just don't let them pull any crap.

[beekay]

Cupofrosie, I can't thank you enough for all the helpful information. I now know what to look out for!

[Moonshadow_51]

EFINST at Suadiye has an excellent DOS who serves very well as liaison between Turkish and foreign staff, and she attempts to make the work schedule as accommodating as possible for teachers.

I have heard that there was a problem with pay in the past, but since March, 2011, salaries have never been late. Perhaps tardiness had to do with the affiliation EFINST had with the university subcontract.

Students are of a pretty good profile; many of their fees are corporate sponsored, and so the clientele are generally well-educated.

Suadiye is in a beautiful location; it's a delight working in this area. Transportation to and from work is easily accessible.

The library of resources is more than ample.

Transportation to company sites is provided, with travel pay included in the hourly rate. Generally, colleagues enjoy the office, since a good teachers' room is provided, Internet access in classrooms is nice, and the copy machines are producing good printouts 97% of the time. Yes, there is a small margin of time lost to needed repair, on occasion, but that happens in any office.