English teaching job offer in a medium Polish town. Is the salary sufficient?

Hi everyone.

I've been offered a job teaching English in a medium sized town (c 100,000), in central Poland. The salary is 2000 per month. Gross, I think. I've also been offered an apartment shared with another Teacher, free of charge. The school also pays the utility bills in full.

A bit about me: I'm 49, have Trinity TESOL but no degree. I have one year's experience teaching English overseas, plus a summer school in the U.K.

My age and lack of a degree has resulted in a summer of frustration, as regards seeking a job. It seems most employers want more youthful Teachers, and the lack of a degree excludes me from the majority of advertised posts.

Poland isn't my first choice for my next job but it's by no means a choice brought out of desperation. I'd go there with an open mind, wanting to experience the way of life there, whilst gaining more teaching experience. But, I don't want to live like a pauper...

My lifestyle is fairly simple. I like a few beers a couple of times a week, no more. I'm happy with good home cooked food, or simple inexpensive local eateries. I'd want to join a local gym, and use public transport. I don't feel the need to buy expensive clothes and the like...

I have 2 questions:

1/ Is the salary sufficient to live as I've described?

2/ Polish culture: Is the salary offered with a job often negotiable? Would it cause any offense or bad feelings to go back to the employer, and try to negotiate a higher figure?

Any thoughts of ideas most welcome.

Thanks

Could you be more specific? A lot depends on the place.


Have they mentioned what kind of contract they'll be employing you under? Taxation could range from 9.5% all the way through to nearly 40% - so you need to be careful.


Don't do it. It's asking for trouble - Polish employers will *always* put the bottom line before their teachers - and if it means throwing you out of the flat (and trust me, it will be a flat, not an apartment) in the middle of winter, they won't care less. It's pretty much universally accepted in Poland that accommodation from an employer usually leads to trouble.


Find out if it's net or gross, and what "umowa" you'll be employed under. I'm 99% certain they'll be paying you under the so-called "umowa o dzielo" - which means a tax rate of either 9.5% or 18%. However - one catch - you won't have public health insurance paid-for under this system.


Often very negotiable, but given the deal, there's probably not much room to negotiate.

How many hours a week do they expect you to teach?

no. It is pennies. Don't take it.

He's not going to get offered much more in Poland as an "outsider".

Hi thanks for the reply, it's a town an hour or so south of Lodz.

I've asked them to confirm the tax situation, and to send me a detailed contract with the offer.

I'm interested in what you say as regards 'paid for' accomodation. If they value their teacher/s (I work hard, am responsible, deliver well planned lessons that are fun for the students), why would they throw them out of the accomodation?

I should perhaps add that I met the owner of the school in person and while she seemed a little fixed in her ways in terms of teaching styles, she seemed honest enough and I think, OK to work for.

Thanks again.

Pennies in Warsaw, not so much in a smaller town especially with accommodation.


yep fine, just make sure you have some savings in case the shite hits the fan.


dont ask, dont get.

I have savings which I can call on if necessary but I'd rather not, if possible!

Hmm. It might not be so bad then - but I'd still try and get them to agree to a bit more. Of course - it depends on the contract - I can't give you a definitive answer until I know what basis they're employing you on. Still - if it's 2000zl net - it's not that bad.


This is Poland - school directors tend to be neurotic. But it can be as simple as not being able to afford you - there are countless horror stories here where schools simply don't have the money to keep native teachers and make up spurious reasons to get rid of them - often mid-year. Jonni or Harry on here can tell you a lot about this.


That's usually a tell-tale sign that you'll have problems. It's a common problem in Poland - the first sign is that the director is "fixed" in her ways, then you discover a few months later that she also has "fixed' ways of doing other things - then the problems start.

I mean - it could be fine, but a lot depends on the contract. What's also important is to compare the Polish and English versions of a contract if offered - I've heard of some tricks involving the Polish contract being significantly different from the English one.

Thanks for all the replies so far. I think I'll tactfully request a little more money. The original job add gave a hint that this may be possible, with experience...

As regards the school not being able to afford the accomodation, it's been established for 20 years. But I guess these days, that's no guarantee of anything!

If everything hits the fan I can always go home, it's only a 50 quid flight. I'm more concerned about being able to life well (within my modest lifestyle), rather than having to count every coin to get by.

I don't think you should expect a lot in the way of accommodation- you will be living in a communist block. But it is bearable. The experience will be worth it.

I don't think 2000 is a lot. You should definitely ask for more.

Mr D you are at it again, what nonsense you talk, 2000zl a month is like a pee in the ocean! I don't think anybody in there right mind would come to Poland for 2000zl a month. If you take away rent and food you will have very little change... Mr D I don't think you would work for 2000zl a month so please don't impose this on other people. Ps living in a major town or country town the bills are the same.. ie gas/ food/petrol/water/electricity.

wielki pan

[quote=Ricco] I've also been offered an apartment shared with another Teacher, free of charge. The school also pays the utility bills in full. [/quote

2000 isn't much, to be sure. Ricco, you should ask for 2500 net or no show. If the school refuses, you really haven't lost anything. Have you tried Language Link? They tend to look after teachers. I worked for them years ago and, although the pay wasn't great, they were honourable.

If you do come to Poland, you can always pick up private work (don't tell the school). This can earn you beer money. Keep dropping in, you can get a lot of good, free advice here.

I once got fired for insisting that I was paid the flight bonus which was in my contract. There was a clause which said that all teachers would get £200 at the start of the second semester for the flight which they'd bought at the beginning of the year. But when I asked for mine, I was told that it was a mistake and that those bonuses were only for the Warsaw teachers (I was working in Gdansk). I insisted that they paid up and the school owner responded by sending me a letter firing me, the date on the letter was 26 days before the date on postmark (she clearly didn't want to pay me notice). And the flat I had wasn't paid for by the school but was arranged by the school, so the b*tch phoned by my landlord and told them that I'd be getting thrown out of the country soon.


It isn't a lot. But 500zl per week after all bills are paid is just about enough to live on in a small town.

And in Poland, only a contract in Polish has any legal force. Any translation is a courtesy that has no legal weight whatsoever.


My gut answer here is to pass on it if you're only thinking of Poland as an interlude in an international ESL career. Poland can be a great place to live once you know how to get things done (which are very different from anything you're liable to be used to and maybe different from anything you'll be able to be get used to).

But Poland (especially a 100,000 town out in the middle of nowhere) is not a good place to spend a year or two. A large city more used to foreigners like Poznan or Wroclaw is a better bet for a shorter stay but even that can be a challenge. The weather, culture, language, food and ways of doing things (I cannot stress how much stress this is liable to cause you) are liable to lead to despair unless you're committed to learn to adapt and not just work.

To sum up, Poland is a nice place to live, but I wouldn't want to visit there.

That's a rather simplistic interpretation of the Act on the Polish Language!

I wish you well in getting an English language contract enforced in Poland (especially if it differs from the Polish version). Let me know how that works out.

Since the amendments made in 2004, it is no problem at all.


If a clause as to which language version prevails in the case of discrepancy says that the English language version will prevail, it does exactly that (but if there is no such clause, the Polish version prevails by default).

You seem to be rather badly out of date.

I'm aware of the kinds of cases you're talking about and 100% confident that none of them would apply in the case of the OP.

The only thing that will be binding if he signs the contract is the Polish version which he cannot read. Any English version provided will have no legal weight unless the Polish version says so and the chances of the Polish version saying so are about 10000 to one (and that's being optimistic).

Do you agree?

And why would they not apply in the case of the OP?


If he's silly enough to sign a contract in a language which he does not understand, more fool him.


He is entirely within his rights to ask for an English language version only. And if the school refuse to provide on, that's very much a red flag showing that not working for them might well be a good idea.

Ok. So he is given a contract to sign. There is an English version and a Polish version which he can't understand. He's happy with the English one so he signs it, as well as the Polish one, which he assumes means the same. Later it turns out that the Polish version is slightly different and they sack him, citing a clause in the Polish version which wasn't in the English version. Now what?

First thing would be to simply sign only the English version and not the Polish version. Second would be to request a sworn translation of the Polish version. Third (and most important) would be to remember that even in the event of things going pear-shaped, there are plenty of things which one can do which don't involve a court but may well end up costing the school more than if they had just paid you.

Ain't that the truth. I was going to go into detail but I'd better not; he's probably still hunting me.

Rotsa ruck with that in a small town somewhere south of £odź (Piotrków Trybunalski or Sieradz?)... They'll just tell him they can't pay him (for whatever reason) until he signs the Polish version.

Sworn translation is okay (but also not great if he doesn't understand Polish law and how English words are bent to conform to that) but he shouldn't trust a translation not done by an independent person (which he'd have to pay for).

All that aside, even if the school owner is meticulously honest (big if) the potential for some trivial cultural difference to blow up in his face is pretty large.

It's Piotrkow Trybunalski...

I'm not too concerned about being 'deceived' with a Polish version of a contract. If everything goes wrong I can hop on a plane, what have I lost: £200 or so at most.

At the end of the day, I don't have any other job offers. Indeed, I'm not even receiving replies to my countless applications, all around the world. I could sit at home, go on the dole, or I could take a chance on this job.

My previous experience was in Indonesia which is so different from Britain, it might as well be on another planet! Nothing is done properly, almost everyone is corrupt. I had to suffer 12 months of energy sapping heat, the only respite was my air conditioned room. And yet I enjoyed it overall, it was great to immerse myself into the cuture, learn a little of the language, form relationships with locals. Being stuck in an 'expat' area where people pretend they are at home is my idea of hell.

So saying all that, do you think Piotrkow Trybunalski might be for me?

So he simply tells them to pay up or see him in court on the basis of the English language contract.


Unless he just points out that both parties to the contract understand English and so he wants the contract to be in English only and if they want a Polish language version (which is sworn), they will need to pay for it.

Frankly, a person insisting that one signs a contract which one does not understand is highly unlikely to be a person that one wants to work for.

As I advised before, you should ask for more money because they're taking the p1ss offering 2000. Other than that, if you're not that fussed about the legality of contracts or being messed about, go for it. Poland's a great country. It'll be a pleasant surprise for you after reading the stuff on other threads of this forum!

If that's the case, then give it a go, what do you have to lose?

A few things to consider (be prepared for).

Poland is nowhere near as corrupt as Indonesia so it has that going for it and the heat is not unbearable. But a lot of things are pretty profoundly different from anywhere in the British Isles.

Your coworkers are liable to seem unfriendly. In Poland socialization with colleagues is the exception rather than the rule. Some might resent you and others might want you to be their free English tutor. Even ones that don't dislike you will generally ignore you. Be ready for that.

Some may give you positive reinforcement for not knowing Polish and/or discourage you from learning. Ignore them and learn as much as you can and use it whenever possible. It's a lot harder than Indonesian so expect frustration.

If there is a problem with what you do in the classroom it will probably not be brought to your attention until it's a crisis. I don't know why this is, but it's a pattern I've noticed again and again. Be pro-active (but don't ask students, it will make you seem incompetent to them).

You need to learn to be assertive. Poland can be wonderful for assertiveness training for wimpy anglophones. If you don't stand up for yourself you're a walking target.

Polish women flirt. Most of the time they don't mean it. If they do mean it (and you're not responding) then they'll escalate.

Don't take no for an answer. The first answer to any request or suggestion is almost always 'no'. It doesn't mean 'no' it means 'convince me'.

Rules are meant to be broken. Poland isn't super corrupt but written rules count for little in practice. Make this work to your advantage.

There's more but that's a start.

What part of "accommodation is paid for" did you fail to understand?

Check whether it's gross or nett. Important! Either ways you can live on it if your needs are cheap and your rent and bills are paid.

Also important is to check how many hours you are teaching. You can pick up (nudge wink) privates on the side to boost your earnings if you aren't working flat out at the school all week. Don't expect to save much over the year though.

PT doesn't look that amazing but it's a town and there's everything you need. Good connections to Lodz if that's a selling point.

I know this whole situation so well - more than you can imagine. So, to the person who started this post...please let us know how you got on! Did you take it? Are you ok?!