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Evilcows
Joined: 12 Sep 2011
Posts: 7
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 Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:32 pm Post subject: Job advice |
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Hi all I'm hopeful that some of you can provide me with some good advice. Sorry in advance I tend to ramble.
I'm currently in the process of quitting my current english teaching job and applying elsewhere. One of the companies I'm applying to I have worked for before and had a good experience. I'm stressed out and confused on what I should do. This isn't my only option but it's more of a sure thing than the other interviews, at this point. I guess i'm worried about what happens if I say "no" to them and don't get the other jobs I'm interviewing for.
They have offered me a job but...
they keep changing locations I'll working at. Some of these locations aren't far but some would be a long commute. When I brought this up to them they gave me two additional locations that they think i'd be working. The second "issue" is that the contract they sent me does not reflect what we had talked about in terms of pay or contract length. When questioned they told me the emailed contract was simply a "sample" and the real one, which i'd be signing in training, would reflect my salary request but no mention of the length request. Also they have yet to say what the salary is since I was just asking for contract length I wasn't expecting a salary change. I've made arrangements to speak with them via phone this week but I've been stressed out over all these changes. Sample contract not reflecting the actual contract? Umm? Is that normal? It's not something I've come across here before.
Additional info:
My visa is valid until 2019
This is a FT eikaiwa job
I've been talking to them since dec
None of the locations mentioned would be where I worked before (my preference to be more urban)
I finish my current job early march
I have chosen to find my own housing due to not wanting to deal with the way this company insists teachers stay in their housing. |
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danshengou
Joined: 17 Feb 2016
Posts: 434
Location: A bizarre overcrowded hole
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| Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I would not be comfortable taking the job without a written contract up front. Have them email it to you, and get all the terms and conditions in writing. And you should probably take the fact that they won't tell you where you will be teaching to mean it'll be in the worst location. That being said, if you feel your odds are good with the better jobs, then just keep these guys on the backburner while they are getting the contract in order (i.e., you're not saying 'yes', and you're not saying 'no' at this point). Then if a better job comes through you can accept it. Buy yourself some time, get the contract, do some more interviews. See what happens. |
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move
Joined: 30 May 2009
Posts: 132
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| Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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In my experience it's normal to sign a contract on your first day of employment. Locations might also be decided late, but the salary definitely shouldn't be. I agree that you should get it in writing, and be ready to walk if the conditions aren't suitable. And definitely don't work without a contract, they should have them ready for you to sign by day one and no later.
You said you had a good experience with the company before so I'm guessing you left them on a positive note. Loyalty is a big thing for many companies here, is it possible that since you're going to work for them again they're making you come back through the dog door?
Best Regards,
A. Cynic |
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GambateBingBangBOOM
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
Posts: 2021
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 2:24 am Post subject: |
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| danshengou wrote: |
| I would not be comfortable taking the job without a written contract up front. |
In more then 12 years in Japan, I have only had a written contract already in place on the first day of work one time (in fact I have gone without a contract at all for close to a month at a time- basically so long as you have one before the first pay day, and maybe not even then depending on the company, you are probably good to go). And that one time was because without it, I wouldn't have been able to rent an apartment in the city. It was extremely difficult to get even then. I almost ended up turning the job down at the last second simply because I wouldn't have been able to get there (I guess I could have stayed at a hotel or something for the first month). I found out later that the school actually had lost many well-qualified employees before starting for that exact reason.
Yes, occasionally you get screwed over when you arrive, but it's really once in a blue moon. Generally, Japanese companies hold onto giving out the contract until the last second because
1. They like to feel like they hold all the cards and all the power in the relationship (not understanding that the contract protects them as well as the employee) [this is how it is described by many many foreigners, and some Japanese people]
or
2. They like the final contract signing to feel like a ceremony, like the final scene in an adventure story where you, the signee, are the hero finally achieving the goal and they, the employer, are allowing you to do that [this is how it has been described to me by several Japanese Teachers of English, including department heads and deans].
Either way, it's part of life as someone working on contracts. I would be worried about the money issue, but not really anything else. OTOH if they have already promised you X amount, then asking about it amounts to saying, "I don't trust you. Tell me again" (even though telling you is legally binding, proving it is impossible so you have to take it or leave it. Always be able to either live without a job for at least a half a year, or take what they offer, and then immediately start looking for another job). |
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