Terms of Service

Terms of Service & Living in Nur-Sultan

Contract:

The contracts are annual, only. This is not the school’s preference but is a consequence of Kazakh law.
The employer will try to confirm employee’s continued employment at the end of the three month probationary period.

Teaching

The school day is 9 hours long. We are contracted to work for 8 of these hours, but to be at school for the 9 hours.
We are not expected or contracted to work on Saturday or Sunday.
Teaching responsibilities may reach 16 lessons (16 hours) a week, and no more. Team teachers also plan, teach and assess so the preparation and assessment is not only the responsibility of the international teacher.
Middle school class sizes vary from 10 to 22 students, with Diploma classes varying from a few to a 16.
All classrooms have computers, e-boards, white boards etc…
International teachers (generally all teachers) are not given more than three different preparations.

Salary:

Accommodation:

Rent is paid by employer.
Bills are paid by landlord including basic internet and basic cable.
Will be provided in the same region of the city as the school to reduce the commute.
Basic furnishings and kitchen items will be provided.

Transportatation:

To and from work is paid by employee, but the school will assist with arrangements. The cost is small 3-5 USD per day. Buses are a cheaper but a more time consuming option.
There is a bus system through the city that is cheap and an online service shows routes, times etc…
There are two kinds of taxis: Professional and anyone else. Professional taxis are cheap and reliable, but not so plentiful. Any other driver can also be as taxi as he / she chooses. Quality of service and price varies from o.k. to good, safety has always been perfect.
Generally the civility and law-and-order of driving culture is quite impressive compared to developing countries.

Health care insurance:

Provides a majority of costs for basic health care including emergency care.
Generally, long term serious health care problems are not covered.
Annual medical check is organized and mostly paid for by the employer, again the cost is small.

Flights:

The employer covers two return flights of up to 2,500 USD per year / contract.
These flights must be to home countries during the summer holiday, but not during the Christmas break. Flights are not covered at other times.
Lay-overs during flights must be less than 48 hours.

Holidays:

56 Calendar days of paid leave, not 56 work (week) days. This enables for a little more than 8 weeks of paid leave, depending on how the leave is taken (by not taking weekends within the period of paid leave).
As well, there are approximately 17 days of public holiday during the school year – days that would not have been calculated as relevant to salary.
Student holidays include approximately 5 days in October, 19 days over Christmas, 6 days in the spring and three months for summer. Teachers normally take their leave during these periods. Student holidays include many of the 17 days of public holiday mentioned above.
Teachers are expected to work for at least one to two weeks after the school ends for students in late May, and before it begins in September.
It is normal to have more leave during the year if permission is asked and the timing is not very inconvenient. This would be unpaid leave.

Cost of living in Astana:

The following are cheap in Kazakhstan:

Local food including groceries and most restaurants with ‘local’ cuisine.
Transportation.
Regular amenities.
Entertainment.
Most clothing.
Many restaurants – Georgian, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Italian, French, German, Thai etc… that are of high quality are cheaper here than in western countries.
Local beverages – beer, Georgian or Moldovan wine, vodka, cognac. There are good quality varieties of these.

The following are expensive by European standards:

Food imported from Europe (Italian wine, good Scotch) and the most ‘posh restaurants’.
Clothing imported from Europe.
Hotels (There are a shortage of medium-range hotels).

Activities – Leisure - Entertainment

Hiking,
cross country skiing,
ice hockey
football,
tennis,
skating,
ballet,
opera,
circus,
Various styles of bars and pubs,
clubs (dancing),
various restaurants,
shopping (Not many items cannot be found)
Being a capital city there are many embassies, business and educational establishments. The community of foreigners is varied and of a competitive size. Opportunities for developing a social life are many and diverse.

Climate

Generally dry and windy, but precipitation is heavier in ‘spring’ and ‘autumn’, which are short.
Hot summers – mid June to mid - September.
Cold winters – mid November to mid - March.