Job Discussion Forums

[olpha]

Working in Berlitz, Batavia, Jakarta...Had serious second-thoughts on the day I was to sign the 12-month contract. Things aren't so bad -- they've changed wages / minimum / housing allowance...But the hours are still horse & being up for 7:30's every Saturday is a big con.

I was told by the boss that Berlitz had already paid 28 Juta for my KITAS & I'd need to refund that money...But that I didn't really have to until I signed the contract...

But because I've never taken care of my own KITAS / VISA / health coverage & all that...& because I was flat broke...I signed off.

So is that really what a KITAS goes for these days? I have my doubts.

-db

[laughing_magpie06]

Sounds inflated to me. I worked once for Berlitz and they said if you went in the first 6 months you had to pay it all back but that they repaid it for the next 6 months. But be warned-I got an amazing amount of hours in those first 6 months but very few after that so they try to get their pound of flesh when you can't escape without penalty. I also found you got 2 or 3 classes at the start of the day i.e. 730 am then 2 0r 3 at the end so you have 6 hours of downtime but no chance of going out drinking or anything. No, I wouldn't go back in a pink fit.

[olpha]

...So I suppose you must've stayed the 6 months out?
(I suppose I'll have to...)

So then what became of you?

~db

[ezekiel]

There's no way a KITAS costs 28 juta...tax for a teacher for a year should be about 10-11 million and the actual cost of the physical visa is very little..would be surprised if the whole thing costs 18 juta even with bribes and Manpower, police and Visa agent fees

salam

ezekiel

[olpha]

Thanks Ezekeil

anyone know if it's usually OK to ditch a contract after 6 months??

didn't come here to sit in cubicle-sized classrooms & do 1-on-1's with boring white-collars for the year...

[ezekiel]

No worries!

The problem you face olpha is that if you have a KITAS and are only six months in..the school will be reluctant to let you go whether they have really paid 28 million or not (which they haven't!)..they have, of course, incurred expenses though..and now you are in the position that if you want to leave you need an exit visa/permit which your boss must give you permission for..they may also want compensation for the fees they have already paid to get your KITAS..which means you should try to make it as amicable as you can in order to get it someone mentioned the 'sick leave' loophole a while back whereby you claim sickness with the help of a doctor and stay off sick for more than the maximum time..at which point the school often cuts it's losses and lets you go willingly..but I'm not sure if that really works or is just an urban myth...

salam

ezekiel

[laughing_magpie06]

Having worked for Berlitz and knowing their style, they make it clear in the beginning that you will pay ALL back to them if you leave in the first six months. After that they pay you back in the form of a bonus month by month until the twelve months are up. However knowing that they don't even like teachers taking unpaid leave (well they don't offer annual leave anyway) if you were take just a little sick leave I think they would let you go.
One thing to consider is this....I got a lot of classes in the first six months and then very few after that. And they seem to make them all early and late making it difficult to enjoy any sort of social life. Cant duck down to a drinking spot if you have a 730 class after waiting 4 or 5 hours.

[olpha]

Looking for a good cultural / drinking spot

where snobs & drunks get together & read poetry (like there was in Korea this great spot) & play music & clap for each other simply so that they get clapped in return...

I've heard of Open Mics @ TMI but I don't know -- is it TMI (Taman Mini Indonesia??) or TIM (taman indonesia mini?)

Somebody has got to know somewhere that's not overpriced where there's something going on in the head...???

[eddie honda]

For KITAS: KITAS, agent fees, singapore trip, bule taxes, manpower police registration, etc, etc, etc = around 17-19 million