Greece -The Home to TEFL

General Information:

Who Can Work in Greece.
a) Citizens of the EU.
b) Non EU citizens who meet Immigration requirements.

School Teaching.
There are 1000s of Frontisterio's in Greece. These are private schools that teach a variety of subjects. They generally operate when the government school system is closed, i.e. late afternoons and evenings and weekends. Every town an village has many Frontisterios. Most schools belong to PALSO, a self regulatory organization

Educational requirements to teach.
You must have a University degree.

Problems.
The problems teachers face are those that have been dealt with in detail in the Korean section of this site. Contractual disputes make up the greater % of problems.

Getting a Job in Greece. Procedures:

Teaching Languages / Issuing a Teaching License to a Foreign Educator

- An application from the foreign educator in Greek, officially stamped.
- A letter from the school proposing that the foreign educator be hired.
- A copy of the employment contract in Greek, signed by the school owner or his/her representative and the educator.
- A copy of a degree held by the educator in a subject equivalent to that the school is proposing they teach.
- An official translation of their degree from the Foreign Ministry.
- Degree or teaching certificate (EDUCATION).
- Written confirmation from the educational attache at the foreign embassy, or the consul, that the foreign educator:
a) is a foreign national,
b) is qualified to teach in an equivalent state school in his/her home country.
- A certificate of good health from the outpatients' department of a Greek public hospital or an equivalent hospital in the educator's home country.

Foreign educators who are civil servants on official secondment from their own country to foreign schools or language institutes should submit the document by which they were seconded, or a document from their embassy stating that he/she is a civil servant and that they have been seconded to the specific school. The interested party should submit the above documentation to the school. The documentation will then be passed on to the Ministry of Education via their local Education Office or other competent body.

Some issues to consider on your future contract

If you are applying from within the country of employment, you have the advantage of meeting the school/institution owner and discussing any provisions of the contract you have been presented. Determine that the person you are negotiating with does in fact have authority to represent the institution and that contractual arrangements will be binding; (e.g. some universities leave the interview to western teachers on their staff. Though they may make promises, they are not in a position to legally bind their employer.) The key areas you will be discussing are:-
(a) monthly wage
(b) hours worked and when and what constitutes an 'hour'
(c) holiday and annual leave provisions
(d) health insurance and deductions
(e) accommodation
(f) contract length
(g) any other salary deductions
(h) pension contribution and return of said pension contribution at the end of contract,
(i) accommodation.

As noted above, some institutions have fixed non negotiable contracts. If you do nevertheless, negotiate a change, confirm it is written into both English and local language versions of the contract. Oral agreements can be forgotten or explained as a miscommunication. Then do check the local version mirrors the English version.

Links:

http://www.tesolgreece.com/index.html
http://www.workabroadesl.com/site/categories.asp?idcategory=9
http://www.athensnews.gr/athweb/nathens.index_htm?e=C

Forum Help for Your Legal Problem
The Forum will now extend to other countries. Country specific forums will opened as queries come in. If you are in Greece please sign up. Once you have joined up, you can post your problem on the EFL-Law forum, where it will be answered fairly quickly. Join Now. We have 10,000 postings that cover the most common problems you will face. Check frequently for updates and information.