How Should I Handle Unfair Termination and Unpaid Wages as Guest Faculty?

I was working in an institution as Visiting Faculty/Guest Faculty for the past three months. Though I am highly qualified, I accepted this offer because:

1. I had a passion for teaching.
2. I could not go for full-time work because I have a small daughter.
3. Although the pay was less, I agreed because it offered me my preferred timings.

I was not given any formal letter, despite providing my address proof and PAN number. I noticed several drawbacks in the institution, such as mismanagement, but whenever I tried to address these issues with the head, he would simply avoid me. Consequently, I decided to focus on my teaching with the available resources and gave my best effort. Despite the lack of projectors, I would bring my pendrive with presentations, which I would then explain to the students using my laptop.

The student attendance was consistently low, with only 5-6 students present each day. I observed that as an autonomous institution, the students were not particularly concerned about attendance or internal assessments. Nevertheless, I continued to teach with enthusiasm, engaging the few honest students in activities like case studies, assignments, quizzes, videos, and other interactive sessions.

However, last week, when I arrived to teach my class, the head informed me that they were hiring another faculty for my subject and that I need not come anymore. When I questioned this sudden decision and false accusation about my attendance, the head refused to listen to my side of the story. I felt deeply humiliated and regretted working in an environment where such individuals held leadership positions.

Regarding Practical Matters:

1. I was asked to work for 30 hours but was terminated before completing 20 hours.
2. I should have been paid 10k for the classes I taught, but I have only received around 5k.
3. They owe me an additional 5k for the remaining sessions.
4. Many times, I returned home due to low student turnout, resulting in wasted time, energy, and transportation costs. However, I was not compensated for these lost sessions.

I am seeking advice on how to address this situation. I am reluctant to let this matter go unresolved after investing significant effort, only to be treated in such a disrespectful manner. It appears they have hired someone less qualified, possibly at a lower salary, which adds to my frustration.

Kindly advise on the best course of action.

Thank you,

Aantharya.

I feel sorry for you. Without a formal offer letter, there is not much you can do. Is there any concrete evidence of you taking classes, like an attendance register? When I worked as a part-time tutor, I used to keep a register signed by students for attending my classes. Let this experience be a lesson for you and others. In addition to the register prescribed by the institution, staff should circulate a dated sheet and ask the students to sign for attending classes. Also, it is a good practice to require students to submit a few sentences at the beginning of the class, listing points that were not clear from the previous lecture. These can be produced as evidence of attending classes.

Recruiting Practices in Institutions

Recruiting less qualified persons or promoting less qualified persons is quite common, even in MNCs. There are various reasons for that. I know a case where a hard-working manager was removed and replaced by a peer of the manager's boss.

If I were you, I would put it behind me and move on.

Have a lovely day.

Regards,
Simhan Learning & Teaching Fellow (Retd) The University of Bolton, UK

I empathize with your situation. Even if you may not like what I wish to say or suggest, just give the following points a thought.

First & foremost, you began teaching there to satisfy yourself, and it suited your current situation—money being secondary (at least that's the message your posting conveys).

Secondly, there are two terms in Sanskrit concerning the 'act of giving': 'Paathra daan' & 'Apaathra daan'—meaning 'deserving' & 'undeserving'. Applying this tenet or principle to the present situation, you should or could have checked out all the variables that could have emerged and discussed them with the management before you started.

Next, when you found a lot of drawbacks in the institution, a lot of mismanagement, etc., and the head would just avoid you, didn't it strike you as a signal that you were just being used rather than there being a genuine need for your presence? The reasons could be many and varied—as you later realized that it could have been due to the power fees the new person was charging.

As I always mention in such threads, what the other person(s) do is not in your hands—so I think you are wasting your energy and time by thinking about the qualifications or salary of the new person.

While getting into the mood or mental frame of mind of "I don't want to leave them at ease..." is both natural and easy, please give a thought if that's what you really want or wish. I see it as an impulsive response, rather than a long-term solution. Unless, of course, you have a lot of time at your disposal to handle the consequences of any such step.

I would suggest you learn from this and move on to your next career step. In a way, the institution has already, so to say, dug their own grave—by adopting such an attitude, it's more of 'when' rather than 'if' they would get hit by their actions. While this may sound philosophical, there's a lot of truth in what the Bible says: As you sow, so you reap. Maybe the fact that they don't have a lot of students could be a pointer to this aspect—results of similar past actions on their part?

All the Best.

Regards,
TS

Thank you, TS and Simhan, for the support. I did sign every time I took a session in their register. I would mark their attendance in the attendance register, but I don't think I signed there.

Anyway, as you say, it's not worth all the fight. I am continuing my work as a Guest Faculty at another college and also planning to do a Ph.D. I have a small daughter to whom I should give my time. So, it's better not to spend time on this issue.

Need for a Guest Faculty Association

But still, I feel we need to have a union of Guest Faculties or a Guest Faculty Association of India, something like that, which would help such people when faced with similar situations.

Thanks once again for responding soon.

Regards,
Aantharya.

It is quite unfortunate to note what has happened to you. If I take it as a case study of what has happened with you, then I can deduce the following:

a) Understanding people around you is quite important. This is where many leaders succeed or fail.

b) How one's passion blinds and one fails to take note of the ground reality.

c) From the description of the institution that you have given, it can be inferred that it is an out-and-out unprofessional institution. Leadership means reading the writing on the wall. Though it was clear, you failed to read it, or even if you have read it, your passion made you adopt an ostrich-like behavior.

d) Leadership is not just vision, mission, and so on. A small percentage of you requires you to be street-smart as well.

I once again regret what has happened to you. Take the incident in your stride and move on. This is what I can say.

Thanks,

DVD