Job Discussion Forums

[Celeste]

I have worked in Japan and Korea, and most of the things that the OP was concerned about were much more common in Korea than they are in Japan. THere are many things that you can do to protect yourself when working in Japan.

First of all, come on a valid working visa. No visa- no work. The old "we'll arrange it later" excuse is not good enough. Working without a visa gives shady employers an unfair advantage over you.

Second, have enough cash or credit at your disposal to get out of a bad situation if you have to. Coming here with no money ( and no means of obtaining any quickly) puts you at the mercy of those who write your paycheque.

Third, don't keep secrets. If you think you are being taken advantage of or abused, you must tell someone!!! Join the general union, call labour relations, tell your friends neighbours and co-workers, but for goodness sake, don't just let it happen and wonder what you did wrong. A lot of victims of all kinds of abuse (be it physical, sexual, or verbal/emotional) feel that they are somehow to blame and keep it a secret and delay getting help for themselves. If an employer is infringing on your rights, let people know about it immediately.

Finally, demand to talk to both current and former teachers before you take a job with a company. If they have nothing to hide, they will most likely be more than happy to put you in touch with their current and former employees. DOn't believe them if they give you some song and dance about not being able to do that because of privacy etc. For the last two places I have worked, I would be more than happy to tell a prospective employee all about the great working environment and benefits I had. I would also be more than happy to dis one or two not so great places I've worked for.

Working abroad is frightening to friends and family because they wnat to protect you from all of the bumps in the road. THere is a lot of discomfort and personal growth that you will experience as a result of working in Japan. I for one think that the positiives far outweigh the negatives.

[nomadder]

From these stories Japan does sound almost as bad as Korea.

[PAULH]

[Marika]

Wow I can't believe all of the bad experiences some of you people have had. I really lucked out big time. The school I work for is fantastic. They set me up with a wonderful apartment and I even have a computer in it.
The teachers are wonderful and the director and one of the Japanese teachers treat myself and the other English teacher like their own kids.
I really like the city I'm in and I guess should be really thankful for the good luck I've had.

Marika

[catman]

[Eleckid]

I'm teaching in Japan now, have been teaching at this school for a year, so I'll try to ans your questions based on my exp:

* Sometimes the contracts are bogus and even if it says you will teach for only 20-25 hrs, once you are there... you will teach more hours without pay.

- For sure this is true. Not just the foreign teachers, but also the Jap staffs. Actually, the Jap staffs have to do more extra hours of free work than us. Everyone works hard, so you are also expect to do the same. If you mind about working overtime for free, then don't come here, cuz every worker in Japan are abused & every company employer squeeze their employees til there's nothing left.

* They will pay you less than you amount they stated in the contract and you won't be able to do anything about it.

- Not true. Tho they will not pay you extra for overtime, or raising your salary, they won't pay you less than what it says on the contract. But you gotta remember that they will subtract your salary cuz of tax.

* The contract will tell you that you will be teaching but once you get there, you "will be pimped" or be told to be a "stripper" or something completely different from teaching.

- I've only heard this (actually it happened to a friend of mine) for those who are going to Korea, but not in Japan. So don't worry.

* Being a foreigner, you will get harrassed and possibly raped and killed. [This comment scared the living cr@p out of me]

- Not true. Japanese doesn't like foreignors but they're also scared of them cuz they don't understand English. The little Jap men won't rape you cuz most likely you'll be bigger & stronger than them.

* The Japanese are domineering and you will be treated like a doormat.

- They are very proud of their country & their nationality, but they also think that foreignors from Eng speaking countries are cool, so they won't hurt you, they'll treat you really nice.

Japan is pretty safe & ppl are overall friendly. They don't show their true feelings so even if they hate your guts, they'll smile at you & be polite to you...in front of you at least...most of the time...hahaha

[Glenski]

Eleckid,

Sounds like you have run into a lot of negative situations in Japan in your one short year here. I would caution anyone reading your post to note that it is NOT normal.

[spidey]

Glenski,

Although I agree with you that Eleckid has a lot to learn when it comes to living and working in Japan and expressing himself with the written word, but do you think that your attack on him personally is justified?

[PAULH]

[PAULH]

[PAULH]

Found this on teaching in hogwons in Korea. If only we could be so fortunate....

The greater % of Deceptive Practices are attributable to Private hogwons. You should be aware of the following and be prepared to deal with them:-


For solutions and required forms to effectively deal with these problems, visit the new efl-law.org and become a Member. Join in August for free access.


Index.
a) Dismissal at the 11 Month Mark of the Contract
b) Dismissal at the 5 Month Mark of a Contract
c) Teacher Assaulting Students
d) Shared Accommodation With Strangers
e) Flouting Immigration Law
f) School Being Sold to New Owner
g) School Borrowing Money From Teacher
h) Airfare Calculations
i) Apartment Security Deposit
j) The EPIK Renewal Process
k) Misleading Vague Contractual Conditions On Working Times
l) Racial Discrimination
m) Work Illegally or be Dismissed
n) Health Insurance
o) Employer seeking Recruiter's Commission back




Dismissal at the 11 Month Mark of the Contract
a) dismissal at the 11 month mark of a 12 month contract on nothing more than spurious allegations - designed to defeat the teacher from receiving his/her severance pay and return air fare.


Dismissal at the 5 Month Mark of a Contract
b) dismissal for no reason at the 5 month mark - designed to defeat provisions of the Korean Labor Law that requires 30 days notice of dismissal after 6 months of working or pay in lieu thereof- some employers consistently employ teachers for 5 months, then dismiss them time and time again. It should be noted this is an abuse of the Labor Standards Act and misunderstanding (innocent or deliberate) that clearly says the time line is 3 months (and not 6 months) as applied by Schools and some Labor Office officials.


Teacher Assaulting Students
c) teachers dismissed because the employer alleges the teacher has 'assaulted' students - and the school has lodged a complaint with the police - seems very common when the teacher is close to receiving substantial end of contract bonuses. Given the 'shock' of being approached by police and having to defend oneself against false allegations, some teachers have suffered financial loss and great stress during the process.


Shared Accommodation With Strangers
d) teachers forced to share accommodation with Korean friends of the school owner despite the contract guaranteeing single accommodation


Flouting Immigration Law
e) schools deliberately not completing Immigration requirements within the first 90 days as required under Immigration law - designed to have the teacher forced from Korea for breach of Immigration laws. Note some TEFL Recruiters are openly advertising illegal practices for new teachers -


School Being Sold to New Owner
f) schools being 'sold' to new owners who refuse to accept the contract previously entered into by the former owner - and the new owner refusing to pay any obligations under the old contract despite the old contract maturing in days or weeks - thus the teacher being denied annual leave entitlements, severance pay, return air fare. Some of our inquiries have shown the new owner to be a family member of the previous owner!


School Borrowing Money From Teacher
g) school owners 'borrowing' money from the teacher with promises to pay it back - and not doing so - if this happens it is a clear warning that the school is close to bankruptcy


Airfare Calculations
h) school owners who have contracted to pay the return air fare to the teacher at the end of contract but have calculated the fee based on exchange rates that existed 12 months ago - and thus given the fluctuations in currency values, the teacher sometimes has lost 15% of what should have been paid based on the actual purchase fare.


Apartment Security Deposit
i) some schools include in their contract that the teacher must pay an 'apartment security deposit' (ASD) of 600,000 Won which is deducted from the initial pay, and is designed to cover any outstanding apartment expenses or damage caused willfully or negligently by the teacher during his stay - some schools have fabricated stories and reasons as to why the' ASD' should not be refunded - thus one should be very wary of signing this type of contract.


The EPIK Renewal Process
j) a few EPIKs have reported that despite being promised renewal contract up to the very last minute, the promise did not occur, thus causing the Epik teacher great stress as to end of contract plans and preparations - given the Epik contract is a government contract this tends to show the Epik recruiting advertising pages to be false and misleading or that Provincial Offices of Education are totally ignoring the promises that were offered to the teacher to induce him/her to sign up for the EPIK contract.


Misleading Vague Contractual Conditions On Working Times
k) Many contracts are written with vague and misleading information as to how many lessons a teacher must work weekly. Employers couch contractual terms in such vagueness that one is not really sure just how long 'a lesson' really is. Contracts note lessons being 30 or 40 or 45 or 60 minutes, but never explaining what that actually means. The end result is that employers interpret that vague clause to get the greatest amount of working time out of the teacher possible - and there is nothing you can do once you have signed the contact, short of a legal challenge - This practice is also couched in terms such as "Sessions" which has some vague meaning that includes a 28 or 30 day period, as the employer sees fit. This practice is not only confined to private schools, but can be found in Contracts provided by Institutions of Higher learning, especially colleges. If you sign the contract without being perfectly clear what is expected of you, you may find your working hours greater than you imagined.


Racial Discrimination
l) Sadly we have received many reports of Teachers arriving at Incheon International Airport following being hired from their home country - and as soon as the school owner sees them and sees that they are NOT Caucasian, the school owner refuses to have anything to do with them - in fact abandoning them in the airport.
See Korean Human Rights Commission for remedies.


Work Illegally or be Dismissed
M) Recently we have become aware of schools demanding teachers work in breach of Korean Labor Laws, namely working at second and third locations and working without a visa. The school directors have told the teachers they will sacked (dismissed and deported) should they refuse to do as told.


Health Insurance
N) Some Employees believe their Employers are paying into the National Health Insurance Scheme. Money is deducted from the Employee's pay. Later, when the teacher begins a new contract with a new Employer that Employer goes to Register the teacher but finds the teacher NOT registered by the previous school who never paid a penny to the NHIC. Thus the NHIC will NOT enroll/cover the teacher until back payments are made. This is around 700,000 Won the teacher must pay. If your employer says he has enrolled you in the NHIC but you don't have a Medical Card from the NHIC and your employer accompanies you to the doctor/ hospital to pay your bills, you can assume your employer is cheating you and the NHIC.


Employer Demanding Recruiter's Commission Back
O) If you resign from your job, or are dismissed before the contract term is up, the Employer will/may deduct the "Recruiter's Commission" from your final pay. But two issues arise here:- (a) The employer falsifies the amount he paid the recruiter (b) the Employer will often get the money back from the Recruiter in any event -


If you find yourself in one of these situations, e-mail us with the facts. We are building a substantial data base of reports which we will present to the Korean Government at an opportune time.

In addition to adding to your list of deceptive practices, I will explain the deception.

My employer has always paid expenses for his teachers. When monthly bills
arrive (telephone, electricity, Internet, water, gas, apartment maintenance) the teacher gives them to the owner. The money is deducted from the employee's monthly pay and the bill is (supposedly) paid. However, the owner is now in SERIOUS financial trouble and bills are not being paid.

Presently, my telephone bill has not been paid in 4 months and is turned off. The apartment maintenance has not been paid in almost 1 year and the complex is threatening a lawsuit. My cable has not been paid in 4 months. You get the picture. He also was conducting the same scheme with health insurance. However, he recently had to pay considerable back payments. As of August, I am paying my bills myself. As you know, it is simple enough to pay them at the bank.

The above practice has been ongoing for the 4 western teachers in his employ. To my knowledge, the most serious delinquency is the apartment maintenance. As I stated, my maintenance fees are 300,000 won in arrears. The same is true of two other apartments. One apartment is 520,000 won in arrears.

[PAULH]

[Chris12]

Anyone reading this who is thinking of coming to Japan do not accept a job with either USCOM or Lilkid. Both agancies are owned by the same person. USCOM still owes me my salary of October and November of last year. I have hired a lawyer in hopes of getting paid.
Even when they did pay me it was less than they had offered when I was in Korea.
When I came to Japan, they then moved me into an expensive apartment in Hano that took a 2 hour commute to Chichibu where I worked at 4 elementary schools and 3 junior high schools. Being paid so little and having to pay so much in rent and other charges I often ended up owing them money, instead of being paid on payday.
I know Saitama Labour Board has at least two complaints about USCOM.
However, the Labour Board in Japan is worthless!
Again, most companies in Japan are honest and sincere! I just had the bad luck of taking a job with USCOM.

[J.]

None of those things are true, Paul. I think you have jumped to a lot of conclusions based on flimsy evidence. Perhaps in my post I condensed my experience at that school but I certainly didn't do "nothing", as you suggest. I counselled teachers whenever possible, but the cases I mention were in other branches of my school and I didn't get to see the teachers often or find out about the cases until after I left, except in one case. We only worked out some of the schemes when we were talking together and comparing our experiences after the fact.

As for checking my principles at the door, or some such, that I didn't do. I was a professional teacher and the school "liked" me because I worked hard and was able to be flexible and satisfy students. However, I'm older and educated as a teacher. I felt that the school unfairly hired staff who were not prepared to teach and then threw them into a high-pressure teaching situation that would be hard for an experienced person with teaching skills. The "training" period was at most one week before throwing them into full-time teaching, sometimes with 40 kindergarten kids on a split shift, travel and extreme pressure from the boss to memorize and use his strange scripted teaching system, constant observation, eavesdropping, and criticism. Though I considered this a learning curve for me, I was worried about these younger staff. For many this was their first experience in Japan and it was so discouraging that they wanted to go home. Also one month may be enough time to find a job in a city, but we are in an area with many fewer schools. The company would have people working up to the last day of their notice and they were worried about housing, having enough money to get home, etc. and we had no Internet access at that time, so information about unions, jobs, etc. was hard to get. Some of the teachers did find other work, but not in one case. I did what I could to help her, although I repeat, she was not living in my town but about an hour away by train.

I will just say that I am posting my experiences under the impression that they may help someone avoid a similar experience. I really don't appreciate being criticized and attacked by the Moderator of the forum, who should it seems to me, be supporting his posters, not trying to tear them down. I do appreciate what information and links you have put up on here, that's why I am attempting a moderate tone with you, although I am angry.

[PAULH]