This is a guest post by one of our contributors: The contributor cross-posted this review on Dave's ESL Cafe.
So BKC has to jump through hoops. Here's how they pass it onto us.
The last two weeks of the contract cannot be taken as holidays because of legal hoops BKC jumps through to accommodate the end of your contract. In order to make sure the legally-recognized part of your salary and all can be received by you via bank deposit prior to the end of your contract, they have to legally say your employment actually finished two weeks (or so) earlier than on the contract you signed. There's a form you sign for this when you get the visa manager's signature on your BKC leaving form.
That said, what's the thing about terminating early and having to submit your passport two weeks before your early departure date? They basically issue you a visa that's good until the day you leave (or very shortly thereafter). This is blatantly illegal. They do this so as to insure you don't go and work for any one else because your visa IS NOT tied to an employer. Withholding pay unless you give them your passport is illegal in so many ways I haven't bothered to count.
Registration is legit and if you stay for more than one contract it may even display the address of the apartment where you actually stay as opposed to the hostel at Tverskaya where most of us have been registered at one time or other, no doubt.
The number of paid vacation days does suck for global EFL standards. Most of the days are taken up by national holidays. As for February 23rd, that was a holiday. Thing is, BKC decided the 22nd would also be a holiday, hence making up for it the Saturday the 27th.
Making up for holidays, yeah, that's just a way for BKC to get you to work more. Many cultures around the world do this and it's just a matter of the teacher being aware of this and negotiating otherwise.
Policies and contracts are different according to Russian law. Contracts are set in stone and require both parties to agree to any changes. Policies must be written and physically given to all employees in a hardcopy form. The catch? The company has the legal right to change policies whenever they want unilaterally. Any extra bonuses like non-standby placement tests that aren't written in the contract are literally at the company's discretion as to whether or not they're paid and that is legal in Russia.
Case: I was stiffed on interviews because BKC decided to switch it to a stand-by session last-second so I wasn't paid anything extra as the standby was part of my base contract hours.
As for contracts, the only valid ones are those written in Russian. Good luck getting one like that from BKC because the Russian income tax rate is insane, plus there are other bureaucratic concerns (most of which I don't know). That's why many teachers can't find legal grounds to sue BKC, although BKC is currently in the midst of a legal battle with a former teacher on the concerning the grounds of dismissal. I'm rooting for the teacher on this one regardless of the grounds of the case just because of the bad things BKC has done (otherwise my view would be really different and this would be a glowing email, although in a non-nuclear way).
As for postal addresses, most teachers send their stuff to central office for various reasons - and it's reliable. What happens is, the Russian postal system will deliver it to a specified postal mailbox or keep parcel notices on-hand until you go there and ask if anything is there. So, BKC has a runner who goes there once a week (or so) and collects everything with BKC in the address. Voila. That's not BKC, that's just the postal system. I haven't tried DHL, but that may result in direct - and therefore speedier - delivery.
The airfare re-imbursement totally sucks, even with 2010 increases (which are a bad joke IMO). I have no idea how this is calculated, but I know tax issues are involved. That said, BKC can make it what it wants, so....
Medical coverage is actually ok for non-serious stuff. I've had a house call and I've had to visit the hospital once. Say what you want about the doctors, but the house call was free and the hospital visit re-imbursed.
There have been issues with teachers who became seriously ill and needed surgery. Then BKC did the absolutely disgusting thing of renegging and forcing them for forgo so much just to stay in-country to get it done. You don't kick someone when they're down, but that's not a Russian axiom. The Russian one is kick them until they can't get back up. Seeing bar fights or street fights anywhere will make it clear that it's different in Russia.
What, then, about accommodation? Dealing with Russians in your building is not something BKC can control, but choosing neighborhoods is. Loud neighbours is one thing, gangs around the buildings that accost you is another. Such is life.
While the teacher is responsible for cleanliness as well as anything they break, BKC is responsible for everything else (but not lightbulbs and matches and garbage bags and simple stuff). That said, I was docked for replacing door knobs, shower knobs, taps/faucets, oven/stove knobs, etc. It took me and my roommate two weeks to get a bathroom door lock replaced. This was a particular problem because the door would remain open without it. I literally had to email the accommodation manager that demanding a change in sexual orientation to save on a door lock was too much to ask. Only then was a door lock installed.
I honestly don't know if they wait for kicks or if it's just a test of patience. That said, I know many admin on the 3rd floor are caught between a rock and a hard place. Bribery, ass-kissing, and gift-giving seem to have worked well for other teachers, but only generally so.
My family builds their own homes. I never had the heart to tell this to the accommodation manager because then I would have gone on and on at all the shoddy things in the apartment I occupied while at BKC.
Finance on 3rd floor can be rude when they reject any costs that aren't covered under BKC's ever-changing policies. "What you do with your money is your business." I hated that. In all honesty, I wonder if they receive any bonus, commission, or company kickback for shaving off this and that teacher-based expenditure. I don't know if that happens, but I wouldn't put it past BKC and admin.
As for wanting teachers to stay and cover classes, that's to insure continuity of classes. That's a little BS considering the attitude Russian students have toward "their teacher" versus others. Plus, BKC is a company and continued classes mean money is continually coming in. This is an arguable point, but whatever, covers are a part of TEFL-life.
If there's ever an unresolvable issue between yourself and your mentor/ADOS, then you're passed onto the DOS, Mr. (or is it now Dr.?) Rimmer. He knows his stuff when it comes to the English language, but he has a nasty tendency to put teachers into one of four categories. You're either a criminal, sexually deranged, trying to escape something, or are genuinely meant to be a teacher.
Then there's the owner, Mr. Bondarev. Former scientist who grew his business up from the mean streets of Moscow during the rough `90s. Drives a nice car, owns BKC country, has property in other countries, and is engaged on a sizeable personal project involving frequent travel to one country in Asia I will not name. BKC is a cash cow, so I'm truly stumped as to why BKC is engaged in actions that will see the company run into the ground.
