Topic: ELT Communications/English Plus

[hero]

More material from the old board here.  The now infamous ELT - as seen advertising daily in the Bangkok Post, nobody knows why they need so many staff as they don't have many schools left!

I have personal experience with this company although I will leave this post with the info taken from the old board only (in the interest of impartiality and because it is far more recent than my own experience some years ago!)

ELT Communications

A particularly nasty little outfit this one, only teachers with absolutely no qualifications should go near it. The Thai boss will happily lie to his clients [government schools around Bangkok] about the qualifications of the farang teachers who work for him.

The farang office manager is only interested in keeping his job, a situation of necessity for him due to his complete lack of any qualification to do with English teaching at all . Though I understand he is quite adept at telephone installation.

The wage for school work is a modest but workable 33k a month.
Unfortunately ELT will call upon you to work extra hours some weekdays after school and sometimes at weekends. These locations usually require creative use of the Bangkok transport system and is the last thing any teacher needs after a long hot and sweaty day in a Thai government school . These extra hours are not paid and a refusal to do them will see your monthly wage drop to about 26000, not a nice way to carry on.

Staff turnover at this joint is rather high, and the boss admits he likes lots of new people who don't complain or rather take some time to. Teaching material is produced in-house and is mostly ripped off from other books, looks sloppy, and is full of spelling mistakes.

So please do work for these people if you just need a job but don't have any qualifications. Just turn up. As long as you are a native speaker and breathing you will be given work.

ELT were running training courses, I don't know if they still are. It is worth mentioning that when these courses started a few months ago neither 'instructor' on the course [one was the office manager] had any kind of TEFL qualification. I think this 'course' has already been mentioned in another post.

  Oh dear!

English Plus

As a previous post said, "keep well away." This is truly a "Mickey Mouse Outfit".

I worked for ELT / English Plus some time ago, maybe 2 years. Nothing but hassle, wrestling for the money on pay day, no support, and that little shit of a Managing Director hiding behind "Company Policy", which he would invent on the spot to save/steal cash !!!

They started to process the work permit and all was well ( Ha Ha bloody HA !!!!) until a new contract was introduced !!! My existing one had about 6 months to run !!!!!! Anyway the new IMPROVED contract was total bollocks, fines for missed days !!! Fines for not giving 24hrs notice of sickness ...need I go on ? I was reluctant to sign and said so. Bearing in mind I had never in 6 months been sick or blagged a sickie !!! And it stated as did the previous contract that the work permit would be provided.

On the day I had to go to get my 1 year stamp at Immigration I was told to bring my passport to the office ( the old one on Sathorn Rd ) Upon arrival they tried to remove 8000 baht for the W/p !!! I said that it states you provide it !!! Oh , well we should amend the contract he said .

Now, and for the last 2 years I have been at a quality outfit, excellent head teacher, small classes ( Max 10 ) good salary (average 45-75k) full support and library !! It is out there , you just have to find it !!!!

Hmmm.  I remember poster B, he did cause quite a stir, in fact it was me who ended up covering his classes

I'm sure we'll hear worse stories about this company (I can hardly call them a school as that would suggest they had some interest in education!), so I'll stay out of it for now!

It would be great to hear from any "graduates" of the TEFL College!

I seem to recall seeing the infamous MD of this outfit respond to a post on ajarnforum.  I wonder if he knows about this site yet........

[Uncle Che]

Yeah, I know how some schools can be. I hope the director comes on board and lets us know what his side of the story is.

[Gonzo]

The problem most schools and therefore teachers have as their employees is money. The schools are run as businesses first and educational institutions second. ELT is no exception. Instead of trying to maintain a balance between the ethics of education and the budgetary concerns the money wins out nearly every time. I worked for ELT on a casual basis some years ago now and was very glad that I didn't work as a full time employee. The manager has some hefty connections within the Ministry of Education which I gleaned from a few overheard conversations in the Sathorn central office. They were not aware that I can understand Thai. This is why they are still operating and have not been investigated. I personally never had any problems with my conditions of employment but talked to many others, both teachers and franchise holders, that did.
Incidentally, the reason I never had problems is because I dealt with them on my terms not theirs; a tactic that has worked well for me in my employment here in Thailand. If the management/admin won't compromise, I leave.

[hero]

I think the biggest problem with the ELT management is the outright contempt that they show their teachers!

I think teachers learn pretty early in their teaching careers in Thailand that money is the primary motive of nearly all schools/agencies and those that are trying to make it a long-term career adapt accordingly.  The problem at ELT is that the teachers are permanently in a management-induced conflict.  They frequently change the terms of employment and conditions of work to an extent that it is even impossible to get into a steady routine there - every payday is a confrontation.  Even the most laid back teachers have problems there because the management are always trying to squeeze every penny or extra hour of work out of them.  I have known teachers that have been prepared to help them out (usually financially motivated!) and do a bit extra for the company that then find their holiday pay removed, or find that when they ask for some help or time off they don't get it. 

For me that just shows a lack of respect on a human level and something that nobody should have to put up with

[Gonzo]

For me that just shows a lack of respect on a human level and something that nobody should have to put up with

Which is why I left.?
Vote with your feet, but tell everyone you know when you do.

[mootcha]

Hey,

I worked for ELT for a year. THe boss decided not to renew my contract . Needless say we didn't get on from the start, and it's cheaper for him to employ someone new than to give me a raise. Naive little me had included a HUMAN factor in my renegotiation thoughts. Anyway, I was doing really well at the school I was working at and he knew that I would be there for another year but those factors were meaningless.
Moral: by all means, work for ELT if you have no qualifications, DO NOT do their TEFL course,  be ready to fight for your cash and don't expect to be treated like a human. OH and forget "I scratch your back you scratch mine"

I am FREEE

mootcha

[bangjock]

Here's what to expect from ELT. Newbies beware!!

The contracted 100 hours.
According to the contract, an employee is expected to work 100 contact hours a month. Most schools that ELT supply  will get you in the region of 70-80 taught periods per month. Here's the catch, whereas the school pays ELT by the hour, you'll be paid by the period of 40-50 minutes or so. Your full months work will get you in the region of 70 hours. This still leaves 30 hours or so to be made up.

You will be required to complete at one of the dwindling number of E+ centres. These are generally located in the extremities of the metropolis. Here's catch 2, no overtime until you meet your hours, but B500 per hour paid by the centre to ELT for the teacher.

You may achieve you hours by working 4 evenings and/or weekends. No travel expenses either, those went out the window long ago.

The Down Time
Come the end of each semester, you're on your own. There is a B10,000 retainer paid, but not until the month after. You can do centre work, but don't work too much, if you make your salary you lose the retainer.

Sick Days
As an employee you are entitled to 4 days sick. However, these are unpaid!! The company offers a medical package that consists of B500 for outpatient visits, and a maximum of B10,000 if you are admitted. So take care on those motorcycle trips.

Holiday and Bonus
After completing a year you may get a weeks paid holiday,  which must be taken out of term time. Your B10,000 completion bonus, for completing 12 months, is payed in the 15th month of working. Don't sign a new contract and you will lose bonus and holidays.

General Terms and Conditions
Payment of you salary is in arrears, 5 weeks in arrears, paid on the 7th of the following month. Any overtime is paid on the 23rd of the month up to 7 weeks late!! Don't turn up for a days work and you'll be B2000 lighter! If you wish to turn up in person to pick up your salary, expect to waste several hours of your day.
Work permits are few and far between, so don't believe what you're told. Maybe 4 out of 40 teachers were ever issued with work permits. Visas and visa runs are at your own expense.

Leaving
Expect to lose bonus, holidays and be swindled out of money when you do leave. I have never known anyone to leave this outfit and recieve what their due.

Many people think the boss    is a great marketeer, but I've seen how he treats his customers, threatening to pull out of schools if they complain about anything etc etc Repeat business never matters, there's always a new school and new teachers to be 'had'. New teachers are preffered, as they ' don't complain so much and tow the company line'.

Take my advice and steer well clear.

[hero]

Ah an old favourite and no mistake

I'm sure there are plenty more posters out there telling a miserable story about this bunch of cowboys

A familiar story for sure.  Let's hear all the other stories and make sure this outfit ends up in the "Hall of Shame" where it belongs

[Uncle Che]

And with this wonderful new post, informative and exclusive to this board, ELT begins the 30 day countdown to the Hall of Shame......

[Gonzo]

May it be a swift journey with lots of nasty razor blades.

[hero]

At this current point in time there are very, very few E+ franchises still operating as such.  The word from those in the know is that "E+ (AKA ELT) are very happy to sell an expensive franchise agreement, have the clients cancel it when they realise what cowboys they are dealing with, and then collect the breach of contract settlement."

Word is that suits them down to the ground!

Typically, the E+ franchises go on to be independent companies, pay crap wages to teachers and disappear!

[Liz]

I was hired by E+ as a TEFL trainer a position that never happened, so I left. My experiences weren't as bad some others,  but I had talked to enough people to know it was on the cards. What I would really like to warn people about is the TEFL training course. As I was supposed to be teaching it I sat in on it for a week and it was unadulterated c***p. The content was next to useless and repetitive, made to look good. The teachers were pathetic and boring and had no qualifcations. The first one used it mainly to grandstand and big note himself (the afore mentioned office manager I think). Not only that, they had talked everyone into  prac teaching which is basically just working without pay, there is no feedback or learning experience associated with it. Be warned don't waste your money...don't go there!

[bangjock]

Liz,

Well done, it's about time more was revealed about this outfit.

I did notice that the advert for this course, on another well known teaching forum in Thailand, stated there was a 'special offer'. So special, in fact, that the price was actually higher than it used to be 

I think they were running the 'course' in Sukhumwit somewhere, is that where you were, Liz?

[anyonefortennis]

Yere, nice one Liz, I canna remember the last time someone posted some up to date information about a school, any school!

I've had a wee bit of experience with the E+ and I came to the conclusion that there nowt but robbing b*stards, well the people selling the brand name are in any case.