Job Discussion Forums

[Rebate]

Hi all, I have a friend who was offered a job but it sounds kind of fishy. I don't have much experience with wages in Madrid but they seem to average 13 - 16 EU/hr. Has anyone heard of this school and/or know what they mean by "invoice"? I've included the info he wrote below. Would appreciate any and all advice.

Thanks in advance! Rebate
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I responded to an ad by the company you see below, offering me 22/hour for like 2-4 hours of classes in some in-house company class.

However, the lady asked me if I know how to invoice. Anybody know what on God's Green Earth she's talking about? Anyone heard of this place? And here's the info if anyone's interested in checking it out for themselves.

Gracias a todos!

English First Language Consulting
Tel. +34 91 310 21 72
M�vil. +34 629 165 163
www.englishfirstlc.com

[Moore]

She was talking about you working as an autonomo: that is, a freelancer, paying your own social security, you get a better hourly wage, but then you have to pay 220 per month in social security contributions, no matter how much you earn.

If you don't really know what she's on about then it's probably a good idea to give it a big swerve: the tax system here is madly complicated and unless you have a head for these things (which I certainly don't) then it's best avoided. It's easy to get 15 euros an hour here after tax (if you're legal: if you're non-European then you can forget about autonomo anyway), often more, and you save yourself a whole load of grief.

There are several companies offering these seemingly well-paid autonomo deals: it's ok if you're going to leave Spain after a year and never come back, ever - they won't come after you for a years worth of tax, but if you have any longer term plans, a business, a girlfriend etc, then make sure you pay all your taxes (which is much easier said than done given the complex system here), and in the end there isn't a huge advantage in being an autonomo, you can do things like write off work related expenses such as your phone bills, but there's not all that much to gain, unless you go to companies that you teach for directly, bill them what a school charges per hour (about 45/hour), and then it is worth it, otherwise I wouldn't bother if I were you.

[Rebate]

Thanks for the info. I'll forward it to my friend. I don't know if he is legal or not but... You did say something that made me nervous. I do not have papers and am thinking of staying for over a year, maybe two or three, if not more. Should I worry about the gov't coming after me after 1 year goes by?

Missed you last night, the house was packed but it was nearly as much fun w/o you

Thanks,
R

[Moore]

If you don't have papers, then by definition staying in a country illegally gets more problematic: issues such as sickness/injury, tax problems, instability can rear up.

My advice is, if you plan to stay for a while...
a): Get a Spanish wife/husband very fast, or
b): get your papers - this involves going back to the states for a few months, but academies are prepared go through the process of getting you legal if you've shown yourself to be a good and reliable teacher.