Life / Freelance English teacher - Are Polish people unreliable? They continually cancel lessons... [22]

When it comes to cancelling private lessons last minute Poles are no different than others. No better or worse. I have a friend who teaches French in the US and it happens to him all the time with his private students.

You need to have a 24 hours cancellation policy and charge for cancellations otherwise you will be messed around.

Scottie1113's comment is sensible but a bit too strict because students should be able to cancel lessons in case of emergency if they are stuck at work or be sick or whatever , as long as they pay who cares for the teacher should not be penalised and waste his/her time and money.

The best is to explain this to your students during the first lesson and inform them that you will charge them for last minute cancellation or try to ask students to enroll for a block of 10 lessons or more, after all if they attend a language school that's what they ll have to do.

Travel / Polish Road Tax ViaToll , a legal rip off before Euro 2012 ? [26]

I don't have any issues with Poland.On the opposite i love it that's why i want to see things improving .

And why do you take any comment questionning how Polish officials behave as a personal attack?

Do you think you are yourself a representative of the whole nation or what?

Sorry but if you browse the forum you ll read a lot of comments about criticism of stupid or absurd things in happening in Poland and posted by many people who are like me.

There are great things and stupid things in Poland so yes it is important to see things from different perspectives.

Travel / Polish Road Tax ViaToll , a legal rip off before Euro 2012 ? [26]

Gumishu , they could send the kids back at their expense and detain the bus ...
After all when we arrest a criminal we send him to jail and we pay for his food drinks for many years don't we ?

Food / Polish cuisine for Euro 2012 - poll results [9]

What about Polish desserts ?Delicious Polish pastries and cakes ?

Sernik
Babka
Makowiec
etc
Yummy...

Travel / Polish Road Tax ViaToll , a legal rip off before Euro 2012 ? [26]


They don't .I don't know who takes care of the official communication but it is not even on Wikipedia where there is a complete list of European countries with Road taxes.

I don't believe that a bus company would risk loosing contracts with schools by taking the risk of not paying intentionaly the Polish Road taxes and having the children detained "as hostages".

On the contrary i think that Polish officials intentionally detained the children as hostages so they could get the money faster.

Work / BEWARE of K&S Krakowska Szkoła Języków Obcych!! [41]

A few months ago some teachers posted some messages informing us about some of their troubles with the K&S language School in Krakow and telling potential language teachers to be careful.

It seems that indeed this language school may have taken clients money and not paid their staff and is being under investigation according to the Krakow Post: krakowpost.com/article/4681

According to the journalist there are not so many rules to comply with if you want to operate a Language School .

Incredible that this school was still promoting its services ( Russian, English German, Spanish lessons etc) through Groupon coupons according to the Krakow Post .

The clients who paid for courses they ll never have will eventually be reimbursed but teachers who are owed about 5000 zl each will have to face a long and expensive legal battle if they ever want to get their pay checks .

I doubt they will because the K&S Krakowska school may have organised a fraudulent bankrupcy.

Very sorry for the teachers ,but as a principle no one should continue working and waiting for more than 1 month with unpaid salary.

Travel / Polish Road Tax ViaToll , a legal rip off before Euro 2012 ? [26]


Yes Gumishu there are Road Toll taxes in many countries in Europe however it would be good if it was written somewhere that there is such a tax in Poland, we are not in Kenya for God 's sake normally the school bus should not have been able to circulate on the roads then.

The Polish Bureau of Tourism which is having a big campaign right now to promote tourism in Poland should clearly inform visitors on their website.

Real Estate / Real Estate Agencies in Poland (they are greedy for money) [18]


I agree . However in the UK, France, Germany ,the Real estate agencies in order to provide the landlord paying them a fee(usuallythe equivalent of 1 month rental) the best candidates, on top of organising visits of the rentals ,will ask a lot of references to potential tenants like their pay check, annual income, tax forms+ make them sign the tenancy agreement and sending the tenants a monthly rental invoice etc .

In Poland they don't do anything like that ,they just open the door for visits and tell the landlord when someone is interested in renting his / her property. That's it, am i right ?

Real Estate / Real Estate Agencies in Poland (they are greedy for money) [18]

In Poland some dishonest people will multiply by four the local rate.Just be careful and let some Polish friends contact those agencies for you.

Their fees should be clearly stated on their websites or publicly displayed on their shop windows .(?)

If not the Polish Government should pass a law about that.

Always ask their fees before .

Life / Why is Prostitution still legal in Poland? [106]


Some of these women regard themselves as "Sex Professionals" , they say they pay their taxes and make in a day what others make in a month .If prostitution is legal ike in Germany where you have tons of "Sex Centers" you have less Mafia involved because if it is ilegal and forbidden it does not mean prostitution will disappear but on the contray still will flourish through mafia pimps.

Besides now with Internet you have tons of' Escort girls and boys" websites and unfortunately tons of female and men students advertise their "services" .

Why is it morally accepted in a Catholic country? Why is it morally accepted in a Jewish country? Why is it morally accepted in a Muslim country? Why is it morally accepted in a protestant country? Because as long as you have some clients, you have an industry.

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]


Developers, restaurant and cafes owners,private clinics owners in Krakow or any crowded city in Poland, those people are making loads....and of course have a luxurious lifestyle.

I have the impression that successful entrepreneurs are quite numerous and i believe the taxation -fiscal policy for small businesses or starts ups is better in Poland than in most European countries.

What i like in Poland is that people who are making good money are also spending it and enjoying an excellent lifestyle and i also find people to be very generous.

I have not personally met many penny pinchers in Poland ...It seems that the people who manage after so many years of poverty to reach a wealthier social class are not hiding it and are on the opposite enjoying every bit of their success in Business.

Life / Realistic grocery budget for a family of three in Warsaw? [20]

If you stick to Polish Food and products ,you ll be fine, anything imported ( foreign Cheese,foreign jam, foreign anything cost an arm and a leg.

+Polish food ( apart from Cheese but its my personal opinion) is delicious.

Alma = Whole Foods but cheaper
Lidl + Biedronka =Walmart
Carrefour+ Auchan = in the middle

There are also plenty of small around- the -corner -shops and open air markets (Buy seasonal fruits such as raspberries, apples ,plums) avoid any imported fruit or vegetable such as avocado and lime etc

A Fulbright scholarship is around 2000 $ per month ,right ?

Law / ARE POLISH PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS INEFFICIENT? [6]

Answer to your title: Go To Pozcta Polska to buy some stamps, get a number from their ticket machine and read a book you ll have 2 hours to spend

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]


I have a friend working as an international manager for Capgemini Krakow. No way this lind of salary could take place for a SAPat Cagemini Krakow , that's why i asked SS1313 where the offer came from.

The good thing is that it would send pay at those places higher if it is a serious offer.

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]


Yes of course Scandinavia offers very high salaries but taxes are incredibly high too so in terms of purchasing power i think Poland is better.

We can compare with very rich countries like Switzerland too but we can also compare with countries like India where rich countries are massively outsourcing their activities.

I would just be curious to hear the name of the company in Krakow...

Study / Go on ERASMUS in Warsawa or Krakow? [6]

Krakow is number 1 , it is a students' city and has everything to offer to students from all over the world from Culture to Leisure.

Work / Cost of Living, Average Salaries and Job sites in Poland [263]

Unless you generate a huge added value for your company i find this offer quite extraordinary for a monthly pay in Krakow in your industry.

What's the name of this company?
We are on the internet and some people might exaggerate but if this offer is true you should jump on it because you and your family will live almost like kings with this sort of monthly pay.

Study / Polish language schools in Krakow [30]

GabiDaHun
I totally agree but what can we do ? the Polish Course at Jagellonski university is even more expensive and it has zero interraction and purely focussed on Grammar and taught like Latin a dead language.

Law / Gumtree.pl ad posting criteria? [9]

@Nightglade

yes the same thing happened to me , Gumtree Krakow is managed from the Nederlands i think anyway there are a bunch of uncompetent employees working for Gumtree Krakow!

Study / Polish language schools in Krakow [30]

I recommend PROLOG because I had an excellent experience with the quality of teaching, they created the course praised by the European Union called Hurra1, Hurra 2, Hurra 3 etc.

I liked the teachers a lot, i had Marek and Isa. The lessons were dynamic ,fun and interesting. I had mini group lessons and learned a lot.

The best is to contact them directly onBronowicka 37 ul ( students arrive by tram) and pay your course to PROLOG or through the PROLOG website and not to Polish course which is just an agent getting a commission on any school registration.

I did not use the accommodation offer( it should be ok, there was a German lady in my small group who said she was happy with the accommodation but it is quite cheap so i am not sure if it is that great) but i joined one of their free excursions in the afternoon ,it was very good (Nowa Huta with a registered guide /English tour)

Work / how much is the salary of purchasing manager in Poland? [7]

Polsyr,Your profile is very good however there are thousands of Poles with the same profile on work market in Warsaw.
I guess you could expect 4 000 zl to 6000 zl per month as an employee( more if you choose a consultant status).If you target big companies you could expect some other perks such as a gym subscription+ car + restaurant vouchers .

There might also be some bonus liked to your performance.

Travel / Money Exchange Offices with good prices in Poland? [13]


In fact there are quite big differences among KANTOR 's rates in Krakow , one must avoid the Kantors located on Glowny Rynek, Florianska and choose kantors located 5 minutes walk away from Stare Miasto.

It is easy to find a 10 to 15 % difference in their rates !

Work / BEWARE of K&S Krakowska Szkoła Języków Obcych!! [41]


The Poles are far too accepting. I would have turned down the place to get my salary. If they closed down it means they went bust?

in anycase, no one should wait more than 15 days of delay in payment of one 's salary and should not show up at work and look for another job right away.

How can people pay their mortgages and all their personal bills if they are not paid on the spot. Crazy.

News / About fifty injured after two trains collide in Poland [73]

Yes terrible. The trains between Warsaw and Krakow are ok but the railways are in such a derelict state + the whole railway system is not properly monitored in Poland, it is like in India.

Work / BEWARE of K&S Krakowska Szkoła Języków Obcych!! [41]

It is illegal not to pay employees ( does not apply to self employed) sharp every month in Poland and you should go to a Work inspector to file a complaint or get a lawyer.

Work / Salary expectations in Poland [373]

Yes 6000 zl per monrth does no seem shockingly huge given your qualifications but avoid thinking in Euros just stick to Zlotys .

Apart from the accommodation which will be a maximum of 2500 zl per month for something really really nice in Krakow , your purchasing power will be high and you ll have enough to spend on nice clothes, good food, restaurants ,litle trips etc

If this company is offering you 4939 zl per month you can also accept for a few months just to try and then negociate with them if they are very satisfied with your work.

4939 zl is also ok since you are not married ,you can find a nice furnished studio in Krakow for 1600 zl all included.
Try to negociate so they provice you a budget for Polish lessons or organise corporate Polish lessons for you at the company, your life will be easier knowing Polihs( you ll be less ripped off as a foreigner).

in anycase you will adore Krakow ( exept in Winter maybe).

Life / Letter-mail international Forwarding and redirection with Poczta Polska in Poland? [17]

Sure any Pole knows that employees are really helpful and service -oriented in Poczta Polska.

Work / Difference between an employee and a contractor working in Poland [8]

morton
Absolutely. If you are a contractor /consultant and you invoice a company you are not an employee but self employed and a company is a client for you..You will not get employee's benefits but you charge much more, normally what you invoice equals to twice or thrice as much as an employee gets because you don't get paid vacations, canteen access ,health benefits and the company pays it taxes and you pay yours.etc.

Basically as a contractor you don't work= you don't eat.

The positive thing is that you earn more, have no boss yelling at you and you can leave whenever you want.