ballerina

Hello everyone, I have been away from here for some time but I'm back online and have some time on my hands to look at the internet a bit

I wanted to share/vent some of my feelings about a company I worked for, that I feel screwed me over a bit. And get your views on a course of action I am about to take...

Last year when I was pregnant I started a post asking about how I could take private students and register them for exams as external candidates. I got some great responses and had a little chuckle just rereading the posts as a bit of a scrap went on about someone's sense of humour (or lack of, allegedly).

I was working at a language school and when I was pregnant, I went to INPS who first of all said that I would get maternity pay based on my contributions and be entitled to maternity leave for 5 months. Actually, my contributions were not enough(because I was paid peanuts and had lots of work cancelled when students didn't turn up/cancelled at the last minute) so I didn't get any maternity pay. THEN... the school decided to cancel my contract (after convincing me to work until I was 8 months pregnant because they were desperate for teachers) but the boss (but not the director) promised that in January he would take me on again. At the time there was just me and him teaching and they desperately needed a third teacher. After keeping in touch with the boss, and him saying that he wanted me to start back to work, after he spoke to the directors, they announced that (even though they are looking for more teachers) they didn't want me to come back!!!! No explanation or anything. The (ex) boss admitted that he didn't know what to say, he would take me back that same day etc).

BAST***DS!!! as someone quite rightly pointed out in the last thread.

So anyway, I am back to trying to find private students, which isn't easy in these money-stretched times.

But I had an idea.. yesterday I noticed an article on BBC news online about an Italian university switching to all English language... I posted it on the language school's facebook page (i'm a 'friend' on there) for the students to see... and I added that I can offer private lessons at a competitive rate to the school... etc..

Immoral? bad? I have nothing against my ex-boss, it is ultimately out of his control who works there. but like I say, it's not personal, it is business.

I intend to take this further by putting posters up nearby (or posts on the fb page maybe, until I am blocked), outlining why my lessons would be better than the schools'. I don't have a contract with that company now so I can't see how I would get into trouble for poaching... and I wouldn't be poaching anyway, just making them see that they would be MAD to renew their useless expensive contracts with the school....

any reason why I should not do this? I am prone to acting without thinking at times...

Lorna at Vicenza

I'm not sure I can see anything wrong with your plan as long as you don't directly involve the other school's name.

I think you can use words and expressions to highlight you but not to directly and openly discredit them.

Businessess are in competiton all the time but there must be rules about saying things like "Join Ballerina because Marco's school is crap."

One more thing - you might want to get a proper receipt book. The more advertising you do against them, the more people will know what you're doing and the risk of getting dobbed in to the finanze is higher.

ballerina

good point about the finanzia, thanks. However, if I was registered as self employed in the UK, could I actually carry out my work in Italy and pay taxes in the UK? That's another thread, I know. Just wondering how I can do it above board, which seems to be really difficult in Italy! OH told me recently that you have to PAY to become self employed in Italy!!!

Lorna at Vicenza

You can legally earn up to 5.000 euro per year without having to get a partita IVA or do anything to declare yourself self emplyed.

You will however need to give your clients a ritenuta d'acconto where they pay the 20% tax. Might be 21% now.

Large companies and factories etc. shouldn't have a problem with this and you can write that's it's a one off English course of 60 lessons or whatever on the ritenuta invoice.

This won't work for little Poalo's mummy though who just wants a couple of lessons paid cash to get him back on track at school.

37100

It might be possible, but you'd be skating on very, very thin ice if you are resident here and all your work is here. You don't have to pay to be self-employed, but a 'partita iva' comes with costs. The gov has now created a new 'partita iva' for under35's with a flat 5% IVA rate. To that you must add Inps and the cost of a commercialista. And you can't invoice the same person all the time - I can't remember the limit.

Goodluck in what direction you decide to go.

ballerina

right thanks. I'm not under 35 though... 36 in a couple of weeks Maybe I can cancel my residency here. I didn't even want it in the first place really.

thanks for all the advice everyone

37100

OK, so I'm no expert, but if I remember rightly you can still have the new parita iva, but unlike under35's for a max of 5yrs.

MarkRD

You can only officially stay here for 3 months without having to take up residency. At least that used to be the rule and I think it's still valid, even for EU citizens.
Plus I really can't see you working here 'above board' with residency. I might be wrong though. If you have a UK company address you may need to have an offical 'sede' or something.
I get translations done by a company who have an office in Milan but they invoice from UK.

All power to you to for getting your own back on the language school though

ballerina

If I go back to England every month (which I do, for a haircut and other stuff, I still have a house in England), could my time here be as a non resident? could I be resident in the UK do you think and just 'domiciled' here, or whatever the proper term is?

and yeah... I can't wait to see how long it takes for my fb post to be removed haha!

MarkRD

Obviously a grey area here ... I really don't know, but I'm thinking codice fiscale, medical care and such, which you may only get as a resident.
The thing is we don't really have 'residency' in th UK (do we?) whereas here it's so strict.

37100

Rsidency and fiscale residency are different. 183 days here and the tax office considers you resident for tax purposes. I'm afraid that a couple of days a month in the UK if all your work is here, probably wouldn't wash with them. Just speculating though. You need a tax expert.

ballerina

hmmmmm lots to think about. thank you again everyone and keep the advice flowing!

MarkRD

Yes, right about the 183 day (half a year) rule although quite how they check where you are and for how long I don't know.

Domino

don't you haveto prove it with flight details etc ?
failure to prove means you are resident.

look into the antics of Philip Green (he of BHS etc) and the Candy Brothers (of skyscraper blocks of flats) who live in Monte Carlo and catch the redeye to London in the morning and the redeye back again at night.

Domino

I think we are all prone to acting without thinking at times - usually with good cause at that moment.
I would suggest that now you have had time to think about it, and writing it out here has helped to get it out of your system, you have a further think about the reason why the directors will not give you a position.
Is it because they are holding back to give it to a native Italian ?

This seems to be the problem across europe with language schools and teachers, they won't commit, they won't charge for missed classes - even though you are there and ready to work. You should at least get an attendance allowance.

But you appear to have cast your net against them and are advertising locally then you are going to have to make a decision as to whether you are trading or not. Posting against them on their own page could get you into trouble - remember they have the legal right and also the legal might.
Others here know from their own experiences how difficult it can be, and what you will have to overcome.
But in the meantime you may wish to spend a little bit of time looking at the attached links that may help you

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/polic...s/index_en.htm

http://europa.eu/youreurope/business...y/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/sme-week/

I wish you luck in what you decide and keep us up to date in how it goes.
kr
Dom

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