How you get paid at The English Farm depends on where you are. If you are in NZ, we will pay into your bank account. We also, as a NZ company, will deduct PAYE and contribute to Kiwisaver. If you are outside NZ, we will pay you via Wise (formerly Transferwise). In some instances, we will also pay via Paypal (this is discouraged because it is expensive for you—TEF has no control over the exchange rates that Paypal applies). Unless you are in NZ, you are responsible for your own taxes. TEF will pay fees on our end, but we cannot guarantee that your bank will not deduct fees on your end.
Payment is initiated on the first day of the month globally*, for the whole previous month. Wise generally transfers within a couple of hours (depending on how long it takes the funds to clear), but bank transfers take up to a few days to process. If for any reason the pay will not be processed on the first working day of the month, then you will be notified by Matthew.
Your pay comprises two of the following types of payment:
- as booked time in your schedule, or
- as piecework.
Booked time
All time-based tasks are booked and paid in 30-minute blocks. These include:
- lessons, feedback and preparation;
- training;
- content creation; and
- staff meetings.
Note that lessons are booked into your schedule by students, so they are taken care of automatically. All other tasks need to be logged manually by you. When you book time on your schedule, be sure you allocate it to the appropriate task as prompted. If you are unsure how to log something, get in touch with a trainer.
Piecework
Piecework tasks are:
- homework;
- progress reports; and
- skills assessments.
Note that all piecework is calculated automatically so you do not need to log this manually. Your pay is based on the expected time it takes to complete a task. Please check the pay rates here. Some assignments may take more time (especially when you just start working), but others will take less time and the rate of pay should even out in the long term. If your hourly rate for homework or assessments seems low, then contact a trainer at The English Farm to discuss how you are approaching the tasks.
Training is logged when you do it with your trainer. Your trainer will confirm the number of lesson blocks a training session is worth. It is your responsibility to input the training into your schedule. Once you have completed your training, you will need to retroactively book the training that you did. You can book it in for any time (we recommend putting it in at times you would not otherwise work) as long as the totals are correct.
Lessons are logged and paid automatically via the booking system. You are paid for a full lesson whether the student attends, is late, or is absent. Please see this document for details about how to use your time when a student is late or does not show.
Staff meetings are paid the same as training. They are once a month, and we aim for them to go no longer than 30 minutes. The number of lesson blocks will be confirmed at the end of the session. Please book staff meetings under “Administration”.
Content creation is done by holocratic teams of creators, in line with TEF's organizational structure. Pay is agreed prior to creation and may be amended during or after in exceptional circumstance. Read the help page for more information about creating content.
Extra tasks:
You are paid in 30-minute slots which include 25-minutes of teaching time and 5 minutes of feedback, prep and updating profiles. Experienced teachers can finish lesson records in the five minutes between lessons and still have time to prepare for the next class. You should be able to add notes to the feedback box, input words, phrases and pronunciation as the lesson progresses. Talk to a trainer if you need help with this.
The English Farm has been designed to minimise preparation and admin time, and once you are up to speed, you will find there is no trouble completing all required of you in the allotted time. Our lessons are made to be taught smoothly with little prep and your feedback should also be fairly quick. The more familiar you are with the curriculum and the system, the less preparation you need to do for classes.
It's recommended that you type language advice and little tips into the chat window during the lesson, and copy and paste them into the lesson record as you go. That way you can finish your feedback quickly, and there is also a high level of consistency between your lessons and your feedback.
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* Midnight UTC/midday NZT (depending on daylight saving) on the second of the month. We have to wait for the month to finish everywhere before we can trigger the pay report. We also give one day's grace for logging additional tasks, training etc.