HugoEnglish
Comments and Reviews of Hugo English
Hugo English teaches English 1 to 1 to children in China. They pay between 14$ to 20$ per hour. (This is their homepage or apply by emailing hugo@hugoenglish.com)
Please leave us your comments and reviews of Hugo English.
30 Comments
Sithy Hedges
It seems that there are many disappointed applicants who have an interview scheduled and nothing happens. This is what has happened to me. I had an interview this morning at 6am. I messaged them and left a voicemail on Skype 30 minutes after my interview time. There has been no contact whatsoever before the scheduled interview, or any time after thus far. It does seem like a very badly organised company, although online it gives the impression of efficiency. I wonder if they will ever reply to any of us.
Celizia
Booked an interview on their website. And also no email confirmation and no Skype call.
Peter Squires
I’m guessing that htis lot are NOT connected with Hugo the language book/course publishers?
Yoak
Application process
– I applied online via their website, and received an invitation to interview with a member of their HR team on Skype
– The lady I interviewed with was very sweet and pleasant, but her English was simply horrendous. I had to ask her to repeat herself multiple times, because I either could not make out the words she was saying, or she was using words that I recognised as English words, but did not make sense in the sentences into which she strung them. However, she was very nice, polite and smiled a lot.
– The interview included questions such as:
** What’s your experience teaching English? Have you ever taught Chinese children?
** How long have you taught English?
** Education background
** Do you have a teaching certificate? (TESOL/TEFL and so on)
– My recruiter informed me about the pay range: 7-10 USD per 26-minute lessons
– After the interview, the lady informed me that she would like to schedule a mock lesson with me, and asked if I was available the next day for the mock lesson. I was, so we scheduled the mock for the following day. It was my understanding at the time she scheduled the mock, that the mock would be with the recruiter, but this was not the case
– On the following day, I logged into Skype about 10 minutes before the mock and sent a message to the recruiter, saying that I was already on the online portal (http://global.talk-cloud.net), via the link she sent to me on Skype the previous day, and that I was ready to begin whenever she was. She sends me a reply on Skype saying, “we found a child to take class with you” (sic). That seemed really odd to me, because it was a mock lesson. Nevertheless, I went to the classroom and taught a little boy for 26 minutes.
– The portal was good; it was very interactive, but the actual material provided was…bad. There were no instructions on what to do with each slide, so you have to come up with your own ideas on how to deliver each slide. If you have previous teaching experience, or an imaginative mind, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
– After the interview, I went back on Skype and informed my recruiter that I’d completed the lesson. She informed me that I should hear back from them in 2 days.
– In 2 days, I received an email congratulating me for passing the mock class and offering me a 12-month contract, which I never signed.
Why I rejected their offer
– The contract I received was the most depressing and oppressive set of stipulations that I have ever read. Some of the contracts from Chinese companies are pretty awful, but I think that this one took the cake.
– Besides the fact that I was offered 7.5 USD for 26-minute classes, which rounds up to be roughly 15 USD per hour, there were so many stringent rules on the contract that made me feel like by the end of the month, these people would come up with a reason to not pay me for the work that I would have done.
– I can tell you my proposed pay, because I did not sign their contract. One of the many rules on the contract was that contractors are not allowed to divulge how much they earn per class to anyone, and it is implied that they would be penalised if they do so. It doesn’t state how they would be penalised, but I’m sure that the person who came up with such a tyrannical contract would have no qualms coming up with creative ways to torture rule breakers
– They actually have a non-disparagement clause in the contract. I’m not even kidding. “Consultant shall not publish and post negative comments on any social network platform to attack and defame customers or company. Aforementioned four terms will be (sic) take effect, even if consultant completed (sic) and terminates the consulting agreement.”. According to the contract, you cannot criticise the company, even if it is rightly deserved, while working for the company or even after you stop working for them. Nice.
– Some of their other oppressive rules include, but are not limited to the following:
Charging teachers 10USD for missing a lesson that they would have received 7.5USD for (at least in my case). That makes no sense, right? I know. It wouldn’t be sufficient for you to lose the 7.5USD you were supposed to earn for that lesson, you will actually pay them 10USD for missing a lesson.
A teacher arriving later than scheduled (my guess is even 1 minute late) to a lesson, is equated to a teacher-no-show. This is absurd and absolutely preposterous, not to mention very insulting to the teachers that work for them, because their time is practically considered worthless. A teacher-no-show = you don’t get paid. So, if your lesson begins at 18:00, and you turn up at 18:01 and teach until 18:27 (to make up for turning up 1 minute late), you are essentially going to be working for free. How nice!
If for whatever reason a teacher finishes the lesson slightly earlier than 26 minutes (maybe 24 or 25 minutes), the teacher will not get paid for that lesson, because it would be counted as a “teacher-no-show” lesson. Again this is incredibly insulting to any teachers that work for them.
If for whatever reason a teacher does not complete a class feedback within 12 hours, rather than contacting the teacher to do so, the dummies that came up with the contract for HUGO English/HUGO Education, decided that not paying teachers for a class that they have taught (again concluding that their teachers’ time is worthless), is the best course of action. That lesson will essentially be counted as a “teacher-no-show” lesson.
In conclusion, I refused their “job” offer, not only because I considered the pay to be unsatisfactory, but more importantly, because the contract was a completely one-sided, barbaric piece of rubbish that showed no interest in the well-being or content of contractors, but rather, was completely self-serving, self-centred and greedy, with the prime benefactor being Hugo English/Hugo Education.
I may actually have accepted the pay if the contract wasn’t so repulsive…ok, no I wouldn’t have.
Anonymous
I’m working for this company and honestly, except for the fact that the penalty for a “teacher-no-show” is higher than what you’re actually paid for, and that you cannot post negative comments about them, what I like is that they are more lenient when it comes to technical problems and unintentionally showing up late in class compared to other companies. They only penalize if you are late for five minutes or more because you will not be able to teach for 26 minutes. They also contact you to remind you in case you forgot about a booked class. There isn’t any penalty if you will not be able to make it due to technical problems just make sure you let them know. I experienced that when my internet connection became crappy and they were very considerate. The only thing I’m concerned about is sudden low class bookings after the holiday. I used to have most of my slots booked… I don’t know if I got bad ratings (they should inform me) which doesn’t make sense because I still have a few regular students or there just aren’t a lot of students lately. And right now, not being paid on time (the previous months were okay, so, I wonder what’s going on).
Nadja Dimitrijev
This also happened to me. Did you find out what was the key of your problem?
Daniel Austin
Thank you very much for your thorough explanation. This is very valuable to know and hopefully the company will read it and make needed changes.
Tarique
I got an email from Carole Zheng, a recruiter for Hugo, without ever applying for the job, did an “interview” the next day, and was set for a demo class the very next… I thought WOW… and then I asked… “what is the pay like”,… and I was told: a minimum of $8 per hour, depending on the outcome of the demo “quality of my teaching abilities”, a maximum of $10… Fortunately my ship wasn’t built yesterday, so I did a search on Hugo and found them to be offering between $14 and $20 per hour, EVERY WHERE, so naturally I asked her (Carole Zheng), 20 minutes before my demo was to start, and this was her response:
“The information you saw is out of date. We reduced the class price for student from 2018. If teacher’s wage is $14-20 that is more expensive than the class we sold for students. That is one of the reason why we can provide large amount of classes for teachers”.
So!, I am just asking, what was your pay rate ?, and are they possibly “dumping” you guys for cheaper teachers ?????
Rebecca
Omg so glad I wasn’t the only one! They were 2 months late paying me but they finally paid me. Very annoying!
Nicole
Have scheduled a time, but nobody called me. I have rescheduled but who knows!
Doesn’t sound positive due to the recent comments above.
Sabrina Morton
I too have not been paid for March and was asked to lower my rate. They haven’t responded to any emails or Skype messages. I have worked for them for almost a year and am extremely angry at the current treatment.
Oxana Lee
I refused to work until I got an email from them in mid-March (looks like some of the teachers did, explaining that they are having issues). Never got one myself. Today I checked my account and got this message when trying to log in: Account does not exist!
One year I worked for them, and only had good praises.
They still owe me cash, but I doubt I will ever see it.
Good riddance to bad rubbish (Hugo)!
Anonymous
I started working for Hugo in January this year and everything was great up until this last month. I got an email telling me that they are dealing with issues concerning foreign exchange controls and problems with the increasing exchange rate which doesn’t make sense since the RMB has actually gone up slightly against the US dollar. As a result they asked if they could lower my pay rate by $2 per class. I signed a contract but they don’t seem to matter to them. As well, payments to teachers are supposed to be made no later than the 10th of the following month but I was just notified that March’s payment would be issued sometime later in April. No date or reasoning was given. I think it’s time to start looking for a new job.
bert
Aww…thanks for sharing your disappointments. It’s a reliable company.
Oxana Lee
I hope that was sarcasm. ‘reliable’ by far they aren’t at the moment. The lack of communication (total silence) makes it even worse. I have sent them numerous emails and Skype messages in the last month and all TNA.
They owe us cash or at least an explanation of why we aren’t being paid.
Angelique Stuart
They have not paid me and are ignoring all my messages. I will be contacting the police today though. Don’t sign up with them!
John
Don’t work or bother with Hugo, I worked for Hugo for more than a year and after Chinese New Year, they have not paid me for January and February and now they are ignoring my emails and Skype messages/calls. Its awful. I have done nothing wrong and there was no sign of this at all. So they are thieves and do it unexpectedly and leaves you penniless.
Karen
Me too not been paid for February and not answering emails so very worried, not happened before
Oxana Lee
same, here. At least it is good to know that it isn’t happening just to me.
Kathrin
Have they already paid you? I just started working for them this year and I have been paid for February. I think they stated something in the email which is related to this? I actually thought my salary would be sent by the end of this month.
Oxana Lee
no, still silence (no emails or skype contact, not sure which email you are referring to) and no money for February or March to be seen.
Nikolla
I booked an interview and no one ever replied or called me. After the initial log in you go straight to the booking page. It just gives you a smiley face and that’s it. No e-mail confirmation and no Skype call at all 🙁
Lynne McCormick
I tried to book with HugoEnglish. I got right in to apply. My chosen time did not seem to be busy. But after a “Sure” with a smile icon and a “seeming” picture of it going through, it was just ” log out. I wonder if I need to wait until Monday to get a confirming email? It is now Saturday. Also, how would I send my resume in?
Mariam Mahmoud
Same here! I have booked an interview, and there was not any email confirmation about the booking whatsoever. It should start in about 20 minutes.
Sheila
Hi,
Did your interview go through? What sort of questions did they ask?
Sarah Louise Burton
I have worked at Hugo for just over a year it´s a great company to work for
Sithy Hedges
That’s interesting and glad it’s going well for you. I’ve seen lots of reviews, my experience also, that no contact has been made by company whatsoever. They have not confirmed interview. They have not confirmed application. They have not been present on Skype at time of interview. They have not made any contact to explain, confirm or apologise.
I would be grateful if you would let me have any other contact details for the company. It’s mostly out of curiosity as to how they operate.
Thank you very much and kind regards
Sithy
Richard
This is same for me. I booked an interview and it is supposed to be happening in 20 minutes from now. There was not even any email reply about booking being confirmed
Nkolaka Evelyne Awunganyi
I’ve booked an interview but don’t know how it will be carried out
mikedveenstra@gmail.com
Is it by Skype or telephone? Please let us know how the interview goes.