The contract is 30 hours which means ‘contact’ teaching hours. This can span over more hours due to extensive travelling around the city and sporadic gaps in the timetable - an example of this could be classes in a state or private school in the morning, travelling to another school or private lesson, possibly a break (although not always guaranteed) then travelling to another class or private lesson and finishing anywhere up to 9pm at night
By signing the contract you opt out of the 48 hour working week which means that the amount of time you commit to the job can be more than that, which the company are legally able to enforce due to this clause. Your availability is expected to be Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm
Travelling time is not counted in your hours and is not subsidised and can take as long as up to 40 minutes between lessons on busy public transport. Commuting can potentially take longer depending on where you live in the city
The contract states that normal place of work is the language school when in fact lessons there are minimal and for many teachers, most are in other schools or private lessons
Changes are frequently made at the last minute and you are expected to turn up when told, fully prepared, which can be stressful
Although there are some support materials, all preparation must be done by the teacher. This means lots of time spent on preparation that is not subsidised or supported - potentially difficult for teachers who are starting out. Some previous programmes are available for ideas
When students cancel, you are expected to make up the hours, which can sometimes be at the weekend or during holidays - in the contract your normal hours of work are outlined as Monday - Friday but in the job description it highlights that some weekend work may be required if necessary
In some cases, if another teacher is not available to make up hours they have missed or their student has cancelled, you are asked to do these hours on top of your own timetabled hours
Because the timetable is lighter in the first couple of months, it is often used as a reason to give teachers more than their contracted 30 hours for the months after to make this up
The contract does not permit teachers to resign at any point until it ends in June and any attempt to resign is followed up with the consulting agency claiming “breach of contract”
Some lessons are described as “play” lessons for anything up to four hours. This can be very difficult if the child has a low level of English and the teacher low level of Italian
You have no input in the arrangement of your timetable and management often makes it very difficult to say no through use of emotional influence and continuous reference to the contract. This can often leave you feeling micro managed and guilted into doing things that you aren’t necessarily comfortable with
The business is the priority and the company pays its employees below average despite their hard work and the business’s very high income due to its clientele
The employing company AIZ are based in England and there is no contact with them throughout teachers’ employment but they will claim “breach of contract” if there is any suggestion of leaving. In cases where teachers have left/attempted to leave or have become sick this year due to stress, AIZ have terminated and back dated their end dates without pay or proper legal employment procedures, leaving teachers in financial hardship and without a reference to acknowledge their hard work
