Foul-Mouthed Complaint About BKC Moscow

Originally posted on the BKC Moscow Teacher's Forum


Foul-mouthed complaint about BKC

Excuse me while I call foul: "Foul! You big fat ugly LIARS!'

Why you might ask, am I so incensed? Well, it might be because BKC and its key players in administration don't feel the need to be even the slightest bit interested in consistency. New rules are dreamt up: contract changes. New season appraoches: tax regulations mysteriously change too. To make my point more clear, let's look at two different utterances from the horse's mouth. I quote from the Head of Recruitment, as posted on this very forum:

1. Originally (and it IS the case in any other language school in Moscow) only the full time contract teachers are provided with visas, because it costs something to the company and also implies some responsibilities for both parties. As a favour we offered visa support to those willing to work for us and those who were prepared to spent most of their time teaching BKC groups. As inviting organization we hold certain responsibilities in front of authorities for those who have BKC visas and have to pay those authorities officially fixed tariffs, taxes etc.
In case an hourly paid teacher works 24 hours with us we earn enough from classes he/she teaches to pay all those tariffs. In case an hourly paid teacher can't, doesn't want or is not able to work 24 hours why would the company bear all the expenses?

Now, what do we learn at the last meeting? Behold:

The minimum number of teaching hours for those who has BKC visa and works on an hourly basis is 18.

Excuse me? Like what the fuck is going on with all those 'tariffs' we had to pay prior to summer? Why were some of us FINED 6 fucking thousand fucking rubles when our one-to-one students cancelled their lessons, and we were just short of 24 hours? To cover visa costs? And now 18 hours is mysteriously enough to cover the same visa and the same visa costs? I cry FOUL! What a fucking scam!

There never were any taxes needing paying to the authorities which merited 24 hours. You were just milking the crisis for all you could. But now that summer is approaching and legions of teachers are fleeing, and most of the EMT too, now you realise that you'll be fucked again in August/September. So maybe that's the reason for suddenly realising that 18 hours is enough to cover these mythical 'taxes' on the visa - a vain attempt to hold on to staff?

Am I right, or am I fucking right?

What a foul fucking company!

Reply From Another BKC Teacher

Too true,

The decision to lower the "hour ceiling", if you let me use the Boro's BKC dollar inspired phrase, shows that the whole thing was a scam in the first place. Unless BKC is now willing to pay the charge incured by teachers who end up working 18 hours only in the summer period.

Anyhow, the first expanation sounds much more likely, given that we are talking about BKC-IH Moscow.

Reply From Another BKC Teacher

One more thing - it would be extremely helpful to know how the charge is decided on.

What I mean is whether is it enough to work 96 hours per week (with the weekly minimum of 24 hours) not to be charged, or does a teacher have to work every single week at least 24 hours.

You see there are weeks when I clock as many as 35-40 hours, so if the charge was imposed only in the first case ( not less than 96 per month), it would mean that I and any other teacher could make up for hours lost due to some laid-back one-2-one students not showing up at the end of a week, if I make myself clear.

Whatever the case, as always our having knowledge would help.

Another Reply

I'm curious. If having a BKC visa implies responsibility on both parties' sides, does that mean the freelancers are going to get all their health benefits, tax details and holiday pay? It is the case that it is BKC's responsibility to provide such for all their employees. If in doubt, consult the law.

Anybody in Boro wish to comment? Or shall you ignore such niceties also?

Reply From an Actual BKC Administrator (aka Boro Lady)

Yes, a teacher should work 24 hours every single week.

Hours were decreased for Summer because the company just cannot garantee 24 hours for every teacher and in this case it would be definetely not a teacher's fault.

Such benefits as holiday pay are already included in your hourly rate. For confirmation of taxes please call us to know how to receive a document you need.

Another Reply

Dear Boro Lady,

Actually, I have been informed recently by one of the staff on the 3rd floor boro that an off-contract teacher has to work the minimum of 48 hours (2x24) every pay period.

Could you either confirm or contradict this info?

Reply From Boro Lady

Such benefits as holiday pay are already included in your hourly rate. For confirmation of taxes please call us to know how to receive a document you need.


Reply From Teacher

Dear Boro Lady,

As I asked before, where is this stated in our contracts? Sounds like a convenient invention to me. And what about health insurance? Pension payments?

Any concrete answers from BKC likely?

Another Reply from Another BKC Teacher

I am very curious about How you are going to explain this issue. Namely, another curious teacher pointed out to me the fact that whether an "off-contract" teacher brings BKC money or not doesn't relly depend on how many hours he'she works, but, as far as classes are considered, on how many students there are in his class.

Point taken, if a teacher has 5 people in their class, the company doesn't earn the same money out of their service as out of the one teaching, say, 11.

Which only comes to prove that the whole tax tariff is at least as clear as we we are (unsuccessfully) being made to believe.

The Post That BKC Never Replied To

Dear Boro Lady,

Did you know that it is illegal to include all benefits like holiday-pay into an employee's salary? Is anybody in BKC aware of a the thing called the law?

Don't you understand that BKC is still liable for holiday payments for ALL of its teachers, regardless of their status as freelancers?

I'd start answering the questions here if I were you, thank you very much.

A Few Days Later

So? Are you going to respect Russian law or not? Do you want a court case?

In the end, there was only deafening silence from BKC.