Just for your information:
As a freelance (self-employed, sole trader), I supervised 6 Master's
dissertations in TESOL online for the University of Edinburgh last
summer. The pay rate offered (before COVID), including vacation pay, was
20.76 pounds per hour for a fixed number of hours. I have a PhD and
experience as a lecturer, so this was presumably the top rate that the
Department offered. Another U of E department in the Sciences offered a
higher rate, according to the U of E website.
In fact, the fixed number of hours was far less than the hours required
to do the work, so my real rate of pay was less than 8 pounds per hour.
I accept that the first time one does a job, it will take twice as much
time as for someone who has done it before. However, the hours allotted
omitted necessary tasks, such as communication with the administration.
In the UK and Belgium, the rates offered by private language schools for
online tailored courses for adults that involve much less work, less
expertise, and less personal responsibility than does thesis supervision
are from 25 EUR to 50 EUR.
So yes, my choice to supervise dissertations was not made for the money,
as your mails state. However, when I lost 3/4 of my clients on March 13,
2020, I then was glad to have the prospect of income, however underpaid.
In my experience, organizations who want a long-term partnership with
freelances know their own business well and set prices to attract
freelances. Those who are used to hiring only through employee contracts
have often not done their homework before setting prices to hire
freelances. Their understandable desire to get the cheapest labour
possible for a task results in too low pricing because they have not
formally identified and budgeted all of the tasks that their employees
really do, nor what extra work a freelance will need to do, compared to
an employee. There are often the further disadvantages that freelances
do not dare to suggest improvements (i.e., to unpaid, needlessly
time-consuming administrative procedures) and that if they do, their
suggestions are dismissed as self-serving or as unimportant, since they
come from dispensable people who do not know the organization's business
intimately.
I am very grateful to have several great long-term relationships with
about 10 organizations: we are happily interdependent and we appreciate
each other. Let's hope that as freelancing becomes common, more
organizations get it right.
Cynthia Grover
On 2021-05-20 23:48, Linda Ulrich wrote:
> gosh, £20, that undervalues all ESOL teachers
>
> On Thu, 20 May 2021 at 22:40, Laila El-Metoui <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Wasn’t shooting the messenger Judy , if you read the post again I
>> thank you for sharing stating that it might benefit people... was
>> commenting on the low wage and stated working conditions, I
>> genuinely surprised to see how little it was for a university in
>> London if I’m honest
>> I hope it doesn’t include preparation and marking !
>> Laila
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On 20 May 2021, at 22:13, judykirsh
>>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Dear all
>>
>> I agree with Laila - on the surface it certainly doesn’t seem an
>> appropriate rate and I think it’s a matter for negotiation. I got
>> the impression that the project manager knows very little about
>> ESOL, English or Basic Skills. As I used to work at LSBU, I was
>> asked (as a favour) to publicise the vacancy ... which I have
>> hopefully done.
>>
>> Best wishes
>>
>> Judy
>>
>> Sent from the all-new AOL app for iOS [1]
>>
>> On Thursday, May 20, 2021, 7:19 pm, Laila El-Metoui
>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Wow £20 ph to work for a university? On demand ?
>> What has the sector become?
>> I appreciate that some people might want to jump at this opportunity
>> due to personal financial constraints and thank you for sharing Judy
>> ... but LSBU? For £20 ... some community organisations actually pay
>> more !
>> To ‘help develop and deliver a course’ with no guarantee of
>> hours , is it me or does this sound on the low side ?
>> Laila El-Metoui
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On 20 May 2021, at 19:02, Judy Kirsh
>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm posting this job vacancy on behalf of Sandra Turner at London
>> South Bank University. She is the Senior Project Manager for an ESF
>> project called DAGILE (a partnership between LSBU, Ravensbourne
>> University London and Brandmovers). Website: Free Online Training |
>> OCN Accredited Courses | Dagile [2]
>>
>> It offers free, online courses supporting digital and leadership
>> skills for people based in London who are employed, self-employed,
>> on furlough or a Kickstart programme, plus ESOL and basic skills.
>> They are urgently looking to employ a tutor to deliver ESOL Entry 3
>> and English Entry 3 as part of the project (see attached draft job
>> description):
>>
>> - The role is for teaching online courses for ESOL/English at Entry
>> level 3, accredited by OCN London.
>> - They have developed the Unit for ESOL 'Speaking and Listening'.
>> - They would like the tutor to help develop and deliver the Entry
>> level 3 English Unit 'Reading'
>> - Due to the nature of the project predicated on demand, the tutor
>> will be contracted at the hourly paid lecturer rate of around £20
>> p.hr [3]
>> - The job involves a commitment of 1-2 days per week (depending on
>> demand);
>> - Project ends September 2022 (but they are working on an extension
>> into 2023).
>> - Start date June/July
>>
>> Please contact Sandra directly for more information:
>>
>> E: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> M: +44 (0) 7976644335
>>
>> Please forward this message to your contacts and anyone who may be
>> interested.
>>
>> *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for
>> researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into
>> teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James
>> Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of
>> Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research,
>> visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html To contact
>> the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]
>>
>> <Tutor - Basic Skills English_ESOL.doc>
>> *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for
>> researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into
>> teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James
>> Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of
>> Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research,
>> visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html To contact
>> the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]
> *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for
> researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into
> teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson
> at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education,
> University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html To contact the list
> owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]
> *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for
> researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into
> teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson
> at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education,
> University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html To contact the list
> owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]
> *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for
> researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into
> teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson
> at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education,
> University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html To contact the list
> owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]
>
> Links:
> ------
> [1]
> https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aol-news-email-weather-video/id646100661
> [2] https://www.dagile.uk/
> [3] http://p.hr
***********************************
ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
To contact the list owner, send an email to
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