First Leap Reviews

3.3

51% would recommend to a friend

(180 total reviews)

Charlie Cao

59% approve of CEO

33% positive business outlook

First Leap has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 180 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Leap employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

180 reviews
1.0
22 Feb 2017

Some good, mostly bad

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Easiest way to get into China - Great use of technology in the classroom

Cons

- They blatantly lie to employees about everything from salary to work location - Every positive review on here was done by the company. They are called the "media development" team and they make fake positive reviews. - You have to pay 5 months rent UP FRONT to get an apartment in China, get used to couch surfing.

avatar
First Leap Response
8y
Thank you for your review. Every employee in the company will be offered a contract and handbook. The handbook is an extension of the contract. While the handbook can change every 6 months, there is a one month notice period before change. The salary is listed in the contract and is unchangable until the contract is changed upon mutual consent. Working location is also not changed. If an employee has agreed to a city location, the company is unable to make the employee move to another city unless the employee agrees to this once they have begun working in this city. The employee may be required to work in a different centre location in the same city, but this is limited to one month unless upon mutual consent. This is clearly laid out in the handbook, and the handbook should be provided to every potential employee at the same time the contract is offered during recruitment. The second con mentioned is actually false. There is no media development team in the company, the positive reviews have been completed by teachers. First Leap currently has around 200 international employees in its corporate centres, so if any prospective or current employee would like to converse with other employees, they should contact their recruiter to be put in contact with multiple employees. With regards to the third negative, this is true. However this is not related to the company. It is standard practice for housing agents to ask for rent to be paid quarterly (so every three months). The initial payment for a new apartment will be the 3 months, a deposit (which is normally an equal amount to one months rent) and an agency fee (again, which is normally equal to one months rent). The agency fee is negotiable, however. This is normal in larger cities such as Beijing. Having said this, however it is possible to find alternative arrangements, sometimes without agency fees, that will allow you to either sub-let or pay for an apartment on a monthly basis. I suggest looking at thebeijinger.com classified section (for Beijing) as well as contacting current employees for other information or suggestions. Lastly I would like to add, we are saddened you have had this experience. While you have not detailed what you feel you were lied about with the salary or working location, or what was going on in your school, I do notice you have listed yourself as a current employee. So we would like to rectify the situation to make you feel more comfortable. The company had a grievance procedure that you can use to formally make a complaint about management. Information can be found in the handbook.
1.0
22 Feb 2017

First Leap does not care

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They didnt check my backgrkund

Cons

They expect you to work 6-7 days a week, without notice or compensation. It violates our contracts, but they dont care. They know we dont speak Chinese, and dont understand the Chinese legal system. Most of us dont even have money for a lawyer.

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First Leap Response
8y
Thank you for your review. I am sorry you have had this experience. Employees should not be required to work 6-7 days without mutual agreement or during times of 'make up days' for holidays. Even in these situations, the company will always try to maintain a healthy balance. First Leap international employees are offered a handbook and contract that outlines working expectations, and working hours. In the handbook, there is also a grievance system should an employee feel their contract has been violated. If you are still a current employee, please sned a formal grievance to the International Department Manager, or the International Teaher Manager (if you are franchise employee). We will try to resolve this issue.
4.0
2 Mar 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Kids were great and the hours were manageable

Cons

Management doesn’t seem to care much for its employees, clearly want to shortchange them at any/every opportunity possible to save money for the company

Viewing 1 - 3 of 180 Reviews

Glassdoor has 201 First Leap reviews submitted anonymously by First Leap employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if First Leap is right for you.