Basically this is me just venting, because the most ridiculous thing just happened.
I'm a language teacher/translator, and recently I got a job at a school teaching my native language and English to foreign executives living here and their families.
From the start, the school showed that it was a bit unorganized, from me having to wait over half an hour for my first on-site interview, to training being rescheduled at a moment's notice. My English teaching training was basically “here are the books we use”.
After weeks of unpaid training (did you think the hours upon hours would be paid for? LMAO), I finally start teaching. I get one student, and they expect me to magically conjure a lesson for that six year old boy from the aforementioned training. Lessons were going smoothly, but thing is I got a family (and myself) to feed, and waiting for months to get more students is not on the cards.
At the same time, more and more translation requests start coming in, so I just go to the school and politely explain that I got the opportunity of a lifetime, translating for a publisher I've dreamed of working with for basically my entire career, and tell them I'll still make good on any promises I made, teaching every class I picked up already (there was talk of me picking up more, but still not nearly enough to support my household).
The coordinator responds with an uncomfortable chuckle and a “I have to think about it”. I wasn't expecting a party or anything, but at least a “shame It didn't work out” or something, you know?
At that point, I'm still in my first month of actual work, after more or less two months of training. Haven't gotten a penny yet. They proceed to ghost me, and basically I have to call to hear they don't need me teaching the classes I had. Ok, more time for me to do my other job.
I waited for over a month for them to call me about payment, but since it was a small amount I was fine with just letting it go. Today, after no contact since I quit, I get a message from the coordinator asking me if I could talk. She calls, but her mic isn't working, so she sends me the following in writing:
“So, I went over your schedule, and you did 31.5 hours of training. When teachers stay with us, we don't charge for training, but since you chose to quit you owe us 300 dollars. I know you taught 5 lessons you haven't been paid for yet, too, so how do you want to settle this?”
I'm seething with rage, like physically shaking out of the sheer hatred I feel for these people. How can anyone think charging an employee for training, not to mention the crappy kind of training they gave me, is okay? And to just casually mention the worked hours I haven't been paid for on the same text, as if that came any close to what they're trying to charge me? This just has me boiling, but at the same time I'm laughing my ass off at how easy the lawsuit would be if they actually try to come after me for that money (they can't, of course, because there's no signed contract, and they don't have things like my social security number or any other info)