The British School of Costa Rica

PLEASE NOTE: Most terms and conditions of service indicated below for overseas contracted teachers would NOT apply to locally contracted teachers.

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RESUME OF TERMS/CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT - 2011

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I)   Teachers are contracted under the auspices of the "Selective Migration" programme of the International Organisation for Migrations (IOM) based in Geneva.  This greatly facilitates the obtaining of residency/permission to work as a Teacher at the School up to a maximum of four years.  If Teachers cannot be included in the IOM programme, then they are contracted directly as salaried employees.  We are presently seeking a better, direct agreement with Immigration.

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II)  The timetable of classes for STUDENTS in Primary covers 25 hours (five days of five hours of classes) and 30 hours (five days of six, one-hour of classes) in Senior School.  A TEACHER'S timetable of classes & duties is based on 20 contact hours in Primary and 22 contact hours in Secondary.  As far as possible, the timetable of classes is reduced for subject/level coordinators and Heads of Departments.  All staff are expected to participate in a Break Duty rota, contribute to the “life of the school” and to attend departmental, staff and parents' meetings.
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III)  Teachers are asked to sign an initial 2-year contract that may be extended for 1 year or renewed for a further 2 years by mutual consent of both parties.  The School pays for: i) one-way airfares at the beginning and end of each two-year period and ii) 50% of a Costa Rican, regional INS Medical Insurance Policy.   Upon starting, a shipping allowance of up to $ 500 is provided ($ 700 for a teaching couple), but this will be divided between shipping costs and taxes paid (e.g. upon importation into Costa Rica).  Upon finishing a contract, a similar arrangement exists to ship a teacher’s belongings “home”.  The school also assists the Teacher in finding suitable accommodation, lends funds for a deposit and co-signs any agreements required to secure the contract or an international telephone line etc..  2-3 Bedroom houses or apartments can be rented near the School for approximately $ 600 - $ 650 per month.  If the housing is not furnished, the School lends basic furniture (bed, stove, fridge, table and chairs) to newly arrived Teachers.  A short-term, interest-free loan to help in the buying a car can be arranged with the school (which will require the vehicle be well insured and placed in guarantee against the loan).

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IV)  A teacher's total annual remuneration (100%) is paid in 15 segments as: i) taxable Salary each month over 12 months (80%), ii) a tax-free Christmas Bonus or "Aguinaldo" (<7%) and iii) tax-free redundancy pay at the end of each year of contract (>13%).  All salary related payments are linked to and calculated in U.S. Dollars but paid in local currency with increases to compensate for any devaluation of the local currency applied approximately every 2 months.  The calculation of the Aguinaldo is determined by local Laws and based on the average SALARY over the 12 months prior to the 30th November each year.  Hence, in their first "year", Teachers commencing in February receive only approximately 83% and those commencing in July/August receive only 30% of a month's salary as their Aguinaldo in December.   At the end of a contract, the balance of Aguinaldo due is paid to the teacher.  However, the last 1 or 2 months of a contract (e.g. July or December and January) are paid as tax-free "Holiday Pay" and not included in Aguinaldo calculations.  An "Overseas Allowance" is included in the salary for overseas contracted teachers and it is already included in any estimate of salary provided to prospective teachers.  As from 2011, deductions from salary will be approximately 18 - 24% (obligatory contributions of Social Security, Pension and Tax).  TOTAL ANNUAL REMUNERATION : for overseas contracted teachers is calculated on Salary Scale A3 whereby points are awarded for i) "Qualifications" (10 for a qualified teacher  - B.Ed. or PGCE), ii) "Years of Teaching Experience" up to a maximum of 12 years / points and iii) "Level of Responsibility" (e.g. Coordinator) with a minimum of 6 up to a maximum of 15.  Hence most "salaries" fall into the range of $ 38,376.00 per year (20 points) up to $ 50,688.30 per year (42 points).

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V)   Before arriving in Costa Rica to start work in the school, it is essential that a teacher obtains NEW (recently issued) copies of their Birth Certificate and Police Record Check and these must be legalised under the Apostille system.  Teachers presently working overseas will almost certainly need to return “home” to complete these procedures (or at least initiate the process and arrange for the completed documents to be sent on to Costa Rica).