Pros
- Flexible and very easy to book lessons to suit me. - The pay is good and I have been able to support myself with this job during the current pandemic, so much so that I intend to continue this job even after lockdown completely eases (reliant on the below cons not becoming too much of an ongoing problem) - I really enjoy the dynamic of teaching varied class types, sizes and ages. It keeps it interesting and challenging. Genuinely really enjoy my job!
Cons
- BUT (and this is a big but) the company's overall care for their teachers is really poor. See below: 1. All any any bad ratings from students cannot be appealed, even if the student is giving feedback that is not directly aimed at the teacher, but instead the lesson plan, lesson quality (sound etc) or general experience. This impacts the teacher directly rather than a general lesson feedback report for the whole company (who provide the lesson plans). 2. An unexplained absence to one lesson results in all your lessons for the rest of the day immediately being cancelled. This makes sense to a point; as I assume it covers the company as they assume you are unavailable. However; I had a technical issue a few minutes before a lesson was due to start. I contacted tech support and they were extremely unhelpful. Long story short, I couldn't get into the lesson and then missed the time slot, so all 7 (!!!) of my lessons already booked for the rest of the day were then also cancelled. This is a whole day of work that they removed due to reasons out of my control. I had prepared for all 7 lessons. I then spent 2/3 hours in contact with various 'consultant support' teams at itutorgroup, who were again, utterly uncaring and unresponsive to my situation. I am still yet to find out if this absence is valid or not... and if so, I could be charged a penalty and have the absence marked on my teaching record (in addition to losing out on all the lessons they cancelled) Overall - there is no direct line of communication for teachers to any kind of senior management or helpful support team. Minor issues are responded to with severe and often irreversible punishment, which not only negatively and wrongfully impacts the teacher, it also leaved you feeling extremely un-motivated and let down by the company you put so many hours of hard work into.