Job Discussion Forums

[Black_Beer_Man]

Would you believe that it's possible for your employer in Japan to actually make you pay a fine for staying home to take care of yourself when you're sick?

Well, that's what some employers are doing. Workers in this country are often viewed as wealth producers. Machines. Not people. You should come into work with influenza and make your coworkers sick too.

And worse still is the fact that Japanese labor laws allow employers to penalize you financially if you don't show up at work half dead.

It's all here in this article from Japan Today. https://www.japantoday.com/category/kuchikomi/view/worsening-labor-shortage-taking-toll-on-sick-workers

[Miura Anjin]

This is quite common among the eikaiwa chain schools too. The contracts are structured in such a way that if you miss a day of work for sickness (whether your own or your child's, for example), you lose a chunk of your salary.

The very helpful advice given by management was "don't get sick".

[taikibansei]

Hmm...I do believe that at most part-time jobs in most countries in the world, one normally gets docked for not coming in to work. If you don't show up one day for that part-time clerk job at Walmart because you're sick, you won't get paid for that day. On the other hand, full-time workers (or at least those who have accrued sick pay) usually don't get docked for taking a sick day--again, in most countries in the world (including Japan).

That said, the employee protections in Japan are actually far stronger than, say, the US. Ironically, the article itself gives an example of this:

[kzjohn]

My small uni doesn't have "sick" days, only paid leave (有給休暇)--20 days/yr. They frown on taking holiday when you'd then miss class time, but allow it if it is important. (E.g., I was in hospital a while back, took all my leave and then some. Personnel bent over backwards trying to make all my time off look 'legal') They had other teachers cover my classes, tho those teachers relayed some data to me and I did the final grades.

My wife, OTOH, at a public school can take leave whenever she wants, and nobody can frown, "suck air", or anything.

One of our daughters works for Fujifilm in a technical position, & her husband is there, too, tho in a very different section. For the past few years, they've taken all their paid leave to travel. No penalties.

Also, she's now pregnant, due in late May. She's getting seven weeks off before the estimated date, and eight weeks after. That's paid leave, fully paid (tho it'll affect her summer bonus). She intends to stay off work, maybe till april 2018, and will return to work then. Try that in america.

One minor complaint with my uni is that they don't pay for unused leave--many US companies do (from what I hear). If you don't use it, you lose it.

But they do work-to-rule, and this is important for the office staff. If they work extra hours, or a weekend day, they either get 代休 (school prefers that), or they get paid. Same thing applies to faculty.

[Black_Beer_Man]

[taikibansei]

[BadBeagleBad]

At least one online school, VIP kids, does the same. If you miss a day you don't get paid, obviously, but you also pay the same amount you would have earned as a fine for being sick. Was actually thinking about applying till I found out about that. I don't mind being docked (though the company I work for actually gives sick days) but to have PAY to be sick. Nope, not doing that.

[taikibansei]

[BadBeagleBad]

[taikibansei]

[baki]

I only get paid daily, I don't get paid during holidays or days off, I can't get overtime, I don't get subsidiaries on health insurance or rent, I will get docked if I don't return teaching materials and I still need to adhere to the conditions of a full year contract.

Tell me that isn't worst than the US.

[taikibansei]