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International House Integra Bielsko
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Hualabi



Joined: 14 Oct 2011
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:10 am    Post subject: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

Dear all, I'm a newbie and got reply from IH Bielsko...
Any info would be very much appreciated. According the other posts Poland looks like an ugly- expensive place and IH is just taking the piss... can anyone verify details? pros and cons? They offer a salary of 2600- 3600 PLN is that good or bad??
Thaaaaanks!
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Sgt Bilko



Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 136
Location: POLAND

PostPosted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As far as I'm aware, and this may be out of date now so check, this doesn't include flat or bills. Assume 1000zl roughly will go each month. Also, the biggest increments were always for IH Integra experience with much smaller increments for people new to Poland. So, assume your salary will be 2600-3000 depending on what you've done before.

If you have a lot of experience and/or DELTA then, unless you get a DoS/ADoS job, you'll probably be frustrated with all the training and general enthusiasm of the new teachers, cutting up pieces of card and searching for authentic materials and chatting about Michael Lewis down the pub.

IH Integra is/was great for new teachers wanting a lot of helpful input - Post CELTA training basically. As some new teachers have arrived with a rather shaky grasp of tenses and other structures this is vital for both them and the school's reputation. There is/was also Younger Learner and business training. A year there as a newly qualified teacher is worth a lot. Think of it as free training with a bit of pocket money thrown in. Don't think of it as paid employment or you'll be miserable. (See Sharter's messages for details)

Also is/was good for someone with a couple of year's experience who wants to take the DELTA in a year or two. They offer(ed) great pre DELTA training in the past and even help with financing if you sign on for a year or two afterwards.

Hope that's useful
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Silver305



Joined: 04 Nov 2011
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 4:07 pm    Post subject: Re: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

I'm currently working at IH Integra Bielsko and I really like it. It helps of course that I'm teaching exactly who I want to be teaching - the DoS tries to assign you your preferred ages/levels. I've also found Polish students easy to engage and motivate and thus classes are fun. You're contracted to teach 21hrs a week and you're paid for this even if you're under hours. The bulk of the hours are between 15:30 and 20:30 Mon-Fri, although there are some classes earlier in the day. There are no classes later than 20:30 and no Saturday teaching (always a plus in my book!).

After I'd accepted the job, I too came across numerous posts all over the internet slating all things Poland, from the towns and cities to the language to the people themselves. Poland-bashing is rife and I have no idea why. The Poland I'm living in is a beautiful country and the cost of living pretty low. If you're single with no dependents, the salary is more than enough to live on. For your first two years it's tax-free, but after that things get a bit tight.

You pay for your own accommodation, which the school will probably help you to find. I share a beautiful, centrally-located, two-bed flat with another teacher and we each pay 950 PLN pm, which includes all bills.

On paper that might look like a huge chunk of your salary, but what's left over will go a lot further than you might imagine. Today, a one-way train ticket from Bielsko to Opole (a 3 to 4hr journey) cost me 31 PLN, which is approx. �6. A bus to Krakow (2.5hrs) costs around 16 PLN, which is approx. �3. I've just done a big grocery shop that will last me two weeks and it cost me about �20. The cafes I've been to have charged me around 4 PLN (approx. 80p) for a cup of tea with milk... None of the above suggests to me that Poland is expensive.

So, what are the downsides? Well, as Sgt Bilko said, the regular training sessions can get to you a bit if you're not a first year teacher (which I'm not). Compared to the other schools I've taught at, IH Bielsko isn't very well resourced. This means that for my VYL classes I spend a lot of time making and photocopying my own resources and worksheets. Talking of which, you have a photocopy budget which is scarily low, so it's best not to make too many resources! Nothing like a 'Catch 22' situation!

Hope that helps. And if you have any other questions, please ask.
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lundjstuart



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland

PostPosted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 11:27 pm    Post subject: Re: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

Silver305 wrote:
For your first two years it's tax-free, but after that things get a bit tight.


That's a load of B/S!!
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Silver305



Joined: 04 Nov 2011
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 6:30 am    Post subject: Re: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

lundjstuart wrote:
Silver305 wrote:
For your first two years it's tax-free, but after that things get a bit tight.


That's a load of B/S!!

You're free to hold any opinion you choose. I, however, know the situation at the school where I'm working.
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lundjstuart



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 9:04 am    Post subject: Re: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

Silver305 wrote:
lundjstuart wrote:
Silver305 wrote:
For your first two years it's tax-free, but after that things get a bit tight.


That's a load of B/S!!

You're free to hold any opinion you choose. I, however, know the situation at the school where I'm working.



Please enlighten us all on how the system works, how they avoid the tax authorities and so on.

The only way not to pay tax is to be paid under the table, which is very hard to do if you need a work permit.
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Silver305



Joined: 04 Nov 2011
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:24 pm    Post subject: Re: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

lundjstuart wrote:
Please enlighten us all on how the system works, how they avoid the tax authorities and so on.

The only way not to pay tax is to be paid under the table, which is very hard to do if you need a work permit.

Your posts are very aggressive in tone! Why not live and let live?!

Since you've asked (or should I say demanded), I work under a US contract for a US company which appoints me to IH Integra. For some reason, after two years the school requests that you to switch to a Polish contract, which involves setting up your own company and effectively contracting yourself out to the school. Although your hourly rate goes up, so too do the deductions, hence my original comment about things getting tighter after two years.

A quick Google brings up the following - http://www.krakow-info.com/taxes.htm - which states that all residents in Poland have to pay personal income tax UNLESS they represent a foreign company in Poland or are working for a corporation established with foreign capital. I assume that that explains why I don't pay tax. If I'm wrong, so be it.
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sparks



Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 632

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've heard of this two year thing. I'm not sure how it works either, I actually thought that I.H. was busted for running this tax scam. Something with technically employing you from the U.K. but having you work in Poland and effectively avoiding taxes in both countries. Maybe it was the B.C. that I heard this about. Or maybe it was that it's possible because I.H. is technically a charity of some sort and gets tax breaks through the U.K. At any rate, Lund, it may not exactly be on the up and up, but I think we all know that anything is possible in old Polska.

Oh yeah, if you start your "business" after two years the costs and headaches do go up, way up!
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Master Shake



Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sparks wrote:
Oh yeah, if you start your "business" after two years the costs and headaches do go up, way up!


Headaches? What headaches?

I know ZUS payments go up from 350 to 800-900 zloty after two years.

Is there anything else? I'll have had my business open for 2 years come next October.
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sparks



Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Posts: 632

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, just the ZUS increase. It made me consider on a monthly basis burning the place on Senatorska to the ground in a fit of rage (that's too many prepositional phrases). I recommend getting married Shake.
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lundjstuart



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 211
Location: Warsaw, Poland

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:06 pm    Post subject: Re: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

Silver305 wrote:
lundjstuart wrote:
Please enlighten us all on how the system works, how they avoid the tax authorities and so on.

The only way not to pay tax is to be paid under the table, which is very hard to do if you need a work permit.

Your posts are very aggressive in tone! Why not live and let live?!

Since you've asked (or should I say demanded), I work under a US contract for a US company which appoints me to IH Integra. For some reason, after two years the school requests that you to switch to a Polish contract, which involves setting up your own company and effectively contracting yourself out to the school. Although your hourly rate goes up, so too do the deductions, hence my original comment about things getting tighter after two years.

A quick Google brings up the following - http://www.krakow-info.com/taxes.htm - which states that all residents in Poland have to pay personal income tax UNLESS they represent a foreign company in Poland or are working for a corporation established with foreign capital. I assume that that explains why I don't pay tax. If I'm wrong, so be it.



It shows that you're still paying tax, where's the "No Tax" at?

They aren't aggressive in tone, sorry that I'm direct and to the point.
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Silver305



Joined: 04 Nov 2011
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:33 pm    Post subject: Re: International House Integra Bielsko Reply with quote

lundjstuart wrote:
It shows that you're still paying tax, where's the "No Tax" at?

I really don't know how to dumb this down any further. I am NOT paying tax; not here, not in the US, not in the UK or anywhere else. My gross salary is the same as my take home. There are no deductions.

Anyway, I'm bowing out of this thread now. I joined it to give the OP some further information on this particular school, not to get into an argument about my salary.
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gwiazda



Joined: 07 May 2010
Posts: 13
Location: Poland

PostPosted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've heard about this 2 year tax free thing too. Does anyone have any accurate information about how something like this

Quote:
I am NOT paying tax; not here, not in the US, not in the UK or anywhere else.


could be legal?
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hrvatski



Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Posts: 270

PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 9:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah this definitely sounds legal.
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maniak



Joined: 06 Feb 2008
Posts: 194

PostPosted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Master Shake wrote:


Is there anything else? I'll have had my business open for 2 years come next October.


No, that's it.


But to the new guy, do you have a residency card? Or a work permit?

If not, you are working illegally.

Do you have a NIP number? Do you have national health care? If neither, then you are also (probably) working illegally.


Btw, if you open your own company and figure in an accountant (100-200zl) + taxes (depends on how you much you can write off, which Im guessing wont be much, and what tax scale you use) it's a pretty crappy deal if you're only going to be working for one school.
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