Job Discussion Forums

[Himawari10]

Hi all! I've been interviewing for positions to teach in Japan for the last few months and have received a few offers that I've had to unfortunately decline. The first one was due to unpaid overtime being written into the contract and most recently a refusal to provide the contract prior to me moving to Japan.

I've spent quite a bit of time looking for information on what should be present in a work contract and the red flags you should watch out for in regards to the contract. Below is what I've compiled. I'd like more seasoned forum members to share any additional things that should be included in the contract or other red flags that might serve as a deal breaker for a job seeker.

I understand that the first job I get in Japan won't be perfect but I figured starting this thread might help people when deciding whether to accept a position or pass on it.

Should be included in the contract:
Contract start and end date
Working hours: total hours per week, schedule including breaks, and days of the week worked
Teaching hours: total contact hours out of your total hours per week
Length of classes
Monthly salary
Overtime rate of pay
Commuting allowance
Holidays/Vacation periods:when you can use discretionary vacation days should also be included (e.g. 6 months after employment)
Training/probationary period: length of this period and whether you are paid at full salary or at an hourly reduced rate
Lateness: will pay be reduced?
Sickness: will pay be reduced?
Health/social insurance and pension: percentage they pay into it (e.g. employer 50%, employee 50%)
Notice period
Job description

Red Flags:
6 day work weeks
Unpaid overtime written into the contract
No contributions towards social insurance/pension
Not paying for transportation/commuting costs

Am I missing anything? Are there any questions that should be asked about the contract?

Also, can you share what your deal breakers are in regards to a contract? Mine are having to work 6 days a week, getting paid less than 250k a month, unpaid overtime, and no pay for holidays/time off.

Thanks!

[mitsui]

Any mention of extra duties as assigned by the director are a big red flag.
They don't mention and it just means extra work one is forced to do.
And when you get a contract and it differs from what you were told in the interviews.
Some schools are notorious for lying, although they don't think they are.

[rxk22]

I would also add in, discrepancies between the Japanese and English contracts. As the Labor board will always side with what is written in the Japanese version.

Do you mind naming and shaming the company? As they deserve some bad press for having such bad conditions. I think that if more people knew how bad some of these jobs are, they wouldn't even take them, perhaps forcing them to make their conditions better.

[victory7]

[mitsui]

Do you mean Nichibei in Yotsuya?

[Himawari10]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

Mitsui, the extra duties as assigned clause does seem like a big red flag. I read on a different forum about a teacher having to wait on a line in shifts with other employees after work to reserve a sports field or something crazy like that. I'm sure something like that would fall under "extra duties as assigned". I'll keep this clause in mind when reviewing contracts.

Also would you mind naming the companies notorious for lying as rxk22 suggested? The company that wrote in unpaid overtime in the contract was Kyoshin Universal Campus and the company that refused to provide the contract prior to me moving all the way to Japan is Kids Duo.

Rxk22, that's a good point. Would the Japanese contract be considered the "Notice of Employment"? And I agree about sharing the names but I think a lot of people are desperate to work in Japan so they are willing to accept such conditions. Apparently, I was in the minority for not accepting that I'd have to wait until moving to Japan to review and sign the contract. I've shared the names above though.

Thanks Victory 7! Yeah I couldn't in good conscience accept the position without the contract. I'll keep in mind about the contracts with a focus on penalties. Thank you, you've shared all good points. I'll be on the look out for these in the future.

[victory7]

[Himawari10]

[Harp]

Victory7 makes a very good point (actually a lot of them!), before you sign a contract make sure you ask to see the Rules of Employment/Work Regulations - these have to be in place (for places with more the 5 employees), submitted to the local labour office and are legally binding.

They generally go hand-in-hand with a contract and as v7 said sneaky employers may add things in the Rules that are not mentioned in the contract. So always ask to see the Rules/Regs before signing a contract.

Also remember that any clause in a contract or the Rules that is illegal/contrary to the Labour Standards Law is unenforceable no matter what a employer says, even if you signed a contract agreeing to it.

[victory7]

Himawari - I'm sending you a PM right now. Check your mail!

[Lamarr]

I worked at a school in Tokyo a few years ago where the teachers had a dispute with the management over their pay and conditions. They went to the Labor Standards Office who advised them that, according to Japanese Labor Law, if you do any work over and above what's stipulated in the contract, the employer has to pay your for it, so you should claim extra for it at the end of the month. They told the school owner about this, which forced him to draw up a list of payments for extra duties like counselling students, writing student reports, setting and marking student tests and so on: things that weren't laid out in the contract and weren't covered by their official work time, which was just the lessons, not the breaks in between, or the period before the first class or after the final class of the day.

It's not unusual for these employers to add illegal and unenforceable "scare clauses" to try and manipulate you, especially if you're new to Japan and aren't wise to the law. The Labor Standards Office can give you a free consultation, with an interpreter, if you have any questions or issues with your contract, working conditions and so on.

[rxk22]

[mitsui]

The Tokyo Labor Board can be helpful, but not the one in Kanagawa.

[Lamarr]

Those teachers I mentioned above had all been working together at this place for several years, so that gave them some extra power and leverage to force the hand of the school-owner. He'd actually reduced the teachers' wages, as he was looking to sell the school and wanted to make it look more attractive to a buyer. He also shelved the 20 lessons minimum per week that they'd been guaranteed in previous contracts. I think they did the right thing in that situation, to fight back against the guy and maintain a bit of dignity (this school eventually went bankrupt about 6 months later).

I had a consultation with the Tokyo LSO about my contract with another school, basically to confirm the law regarding the amount of notice you have to give to terminate your contract (Japanese law says two weeks). They provided an interpreter, all free of charge, and the man who did the consultation was quite helpful, suggesting that I don't worry even about giving less than two weeks notice, as he thought it would be very unusual for a Japanese company to sue you over something like that (especially a school, which would have other teachers who could cover your lessons anyway). He didn't have to tell me all that, so it was helpful of him to give his opinion on it.

[Lamarr]