We, the undersigned LingoAce teachers, would like to formally express our concerns and disagreement with the recently announced changes to scheduling requirements and leave policies.

We understand that LingoAce aims to improve student retention, booking consistency, and the overall learning experience. We share these goals and want the platform to succeed. However, we believe the proposed measures place an unreasonable burden on teachers and fail to adequately consider the realities of teaching on the platform.

1. Mandatory recurring weekly availability

Requiring existing teachers to maintain at least eight recurring weekly peak-time slots across four consecutive weeks significantly restricts their scheduling flexibility. Teachers have different personal circumstances, workloads, and availability. We believe that consistent availability should be encouraged and rewarded, not imposed as a mandatory requirement.

2. Respect for existing contractual agreements

Many teachers joined LingoAce and signed their contracts under previously established conditions. Introducing additional obligations and financial penalties that were not included in those agreements raises serious concerns.

We believe that substantial changes to existing contractual arrangements should be discussed transparently and mutually agreed upon, rather than unilaterally imposed.

3. Fair treatment regarding illness and emergencies

Illness and unexpected personal emergencies are unavoidable parts of life. Teachers cannot always predict when they will become sick or how long recovery will take.

A policy that introduces financial penalties based on the number of affected lessons, regardless of the circumstances, fails to distinguish between irresponsible cancellations and genuine emergencies.

No teacher should feel pressured to teach while ill simply to avoid financial consequences.

4. A fair cancellation policy for both teachers and students

Teachers already experience significant income losses when students cancel lessons, particularly at short notice. These cancellations affect not only earnings but also the time teachers have reserved for work.

It is difficult to understand why teachers are expected to absorb these losses while facing increasingly restrictive cancellation rules themselves.

We believe that a fair platform should recognize the interests and circumstances of both parties.

5. Meaningful consultation with experienced teachers

Teachers are the people who work directly with students every day. They understand the practical challenges of maintaining demanding schedules, dealing with last-minute cancellations, managing consecutive lessons, and balancing professional and personal responsibilities.

We believe that experienced teachers should be consulted before significant changes affecting their working conditions are introduced.

Our requests to LingoAce Management

We respectfully request that management:

• Reconsider or withdraw the mandatory eight-slot recurring availability requirement.
• Suspend the implementation of the proposed leave and deduction policy until meaningful consultation has taken place.
• Respect existing contractual agreements and seek mutual agreement before introducing substantial new obligations.
• Introduce reasonable exemptions for genuine illness and unexpected emergencies.
• Review student and teacher cancellation policies to ensure fairness for both parties.
• Establish a channel through which teachers can collectively provide feedback and participate in discussions about future policy changes.

Our position

We are not opposed to improving the platform. We are not opposed to consistency, professionalism, or reasonable expectations.

We are opposed to policies that restrict teachers' flexibility, introduce additional financial risks, and disregard the realities of the work we do.

Many of us have dedicated years to LingoAce, building relationships with students and consistently delivering quality lessons. We believe that experienced teachers deserve to have their voices heard and their existing agreements respected.

We want LingoAce to succeed, but that success should not come at the expense of the teachers who make the platform possible.

We respectfully ask LingoAce management to reconsider these changes and engage in meaningful dialogue with its teaching community.