Job Discussion Forums

[soapdodger]

Ted, While I have to agree with you that compensation culture, particularly the US kind, is wrong, it is absolutely right for people to demand redress from those who have genuinely wronged them. This is particularly pertinent in the area of EFL, which is undoubtedly the most corrupt, devious and unprofessional pseudo-educational business in the world. It has got like that and stayed like it simply because the message is "We can do anything we like with the fools who work for us, because they are too weak and stupid to stop us". Just walk away is good advice if the wrong is trivial, but the consequence of walking away when it is more serious is that the wrong is going to persist and grow and affect the people who follow in your footsteps.

Of course the trend in the world today is away from seeing the big picture and to be entirely selfish, which is why the world is in a mess. The argument of "I'll just post some comments about this sh8tty employer on a few websites and that'll stop them getting any teachers, and therefore I've done my bit" is unrealistic and juvenile. The kind of scum who run the majority of schools around the globe can only be stopped by hitting them where it hurts: in the bank and their direct local reputation with their clients, and the only way to do that effectively is through the courts of law. No-one is going to listen to some whining ex-teacher with a grudge, they're ten a penny. People sit up and pay attention to the winner of a case.

Yes, it can be time-consuming and expensive to follow a legal action to its conclusion, which may not be in your favour, as the post about Korea amply illustrates, but if nobody even tries there are no reasons to complain about what a mucky little sweatshop this trade is.

Lawyers never come cheap, and most of them are born with a fin on their back, but the following advice might be useful.

If you have an embassy near you, don't waste too much time seeking advice from them. The best advice to get is which lawyers to avoid rather than which ones they would recommend. The kind of ambulance chasers who hang around embassies don't come cheap or even that good.

Use your students and any reliable local contacts to find out who they would use, what pitfalls you are likely to come across and what chance of success they think you have. If they think "low", find out precisely why- if it doesn't seem to add up, continue.

Do your own research. Get a copy of the local labour or business law and go through it with a local before going anywhere near a lawyer. They are like prostitutes and charge by the hour ( gosh, so are teachers!), so the more time you can save by knowing exactly where you want to take your claim the better.

Think long and hard before deciding to represent yourself. This is not a wise move in your own country unless you are very articulate and can think on your feet and abroad it can be suicide. Having said that, if you have the right kind of persona and get a good translator, it might run in your favour if you get the right kind of judge, but there are 2 too many ifs in that.

Be very careful about the kind of translator you get. If they are court appointed, test them out first - you're a "linguistic expert" after all- and if they don't cut the mustard, change them. Also, don't just go for a lawyer because they can speak English, that doesn't make them the best lawyer for your case. Remember that in the UK if you have to take on a barrister the chances are you'll never meet them, let alone talk to them, before your case is heard. Lawyers deal in facts. Present the facts and nothing else and they'll do the rest. By all means sit down, have a coffeee or a beer with them and share all your gripes about what an ignorant twerp the owner of the school is...if you've got the money.

Most EFL teachers are white caucasians, and would never dream of playing the racism or discrimination card. Think again. Alot of the problems teachers come up against are a product of the "Let's shaft the stupid foreigner" mentality. This is absolutely wrong and is a very valid ground for action. Also, when the court sees that on a claim, they are going to be alot more careful about how they behave as well.

Think like the police. You don't get nicked for travelling at 2 miles over the speed limit. You get that and bald tyres, faulty sidelight, broken seatbelt, assault on an officer, public affray... they want a conviction and that's how they get it. Load everything that is reasonable onto your claim..something is bound to stick, and if it does, you are much more likely to get costs.

Finally, compensation is nice, costs and the satisfaction of knowing you've kicked a piece of scum hard where it hurts is better. You'll have done your colleagues past and present a service, and helped the EFL community as a whole...maybe only a tiny bit, but that's a whole lot better than not at all. And if you do get a result, get down to the local paper and make sure it gets known about, it's your right.

[Takahiwai]

Several years ago, when I was working in a small city in the north of Spain, a new language school opened. It was part of a chain which arrived in the country that year. Classes were aimed at adults, and the idea was that the potential students paid for a set number of hours per term and then turned up when they felt like it. There were tons of different levels and teachers were 'discouraged' from making students repeat levels if they hadn't achieved the necessary improvement. I think classes, such as they were, were based around computers, and the teachers were there to 'advise'. The real hook was that part of the teachers' paid time included taking the students to the on-site bar and socialising with them (having to 'pay back' part of their wages in a roundabout way, into the bargain). Spain being Spain, this was immensely popular for a time, and all the local language schools lost loads of students. Once the novelty wore off, and the student numbers started dropping off, the schools in the chain couldn't honour the contracts they'd given the teachers and just stopped paying them. It was about the time that Wall Street crashed as well (pun not intended). Large numbers of students and teachers countrywide banded together to sue the chain, although I can't imagine they got any joy, and the case is probably still making its way through the labyrinthine Spanish legal system. Wish I could remember the name of the company. Maybe somebody else remembers this?

[soapdodger]

You used it in your post, you punny guy! Perhaps the Spanish courts were the wrong place to go as this franchise emanates from the US.

[Takahiwai]

Soapdodger - the chain of schools that I mean is not Wall Street, although it died a death at the same time. Do you know the name of the chain that I mean - it's really annoying me that I can't remember.

[soapdodger]

Sorry, no. I came across Wall St. when they tried to break into Poland and were sniffing for franchisees. The picture you painted of how the system works was so similar that I naturally thought it was them, knowing they had a very large operation in Spain.

[Takahiwai]

I think the boozy chain copied the Wall Street 'laid-back' approach with the added attraction of the on-site bar. As Wall Street was (I think) operated on a franchise basis, some of its better-managed schools still survive in Spain.

[Sonnet]

I went on strike once, over visa issues. Does that count?

[Stephen Jones]

When Wall Street collapsed there were a lot of court cases. Inlingua had also had problems some years earlier. A friend of mine got a couple of years salary out of the courts.