Job Discussion Forums

Saul Hudson · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Japan

I'm a big fan of this ESL site, it's very reputable and I want to help keep it that way. With that said, I want to warn everyone they may be coming to Japan about a dodgy company. It's called SUNSHINE LEARNING CENTRE (formerly PINO English School). It's based in Niigata-ken.(there is no web site) The owner is a North American that has lived here for 7 years and is only in the business for the money. He also runs a coffee shop (all under the company name of Nikko International.) He makes employees work without a contract, and when he gives you the contract (which is loaded with dodgy clauses) he'll threaten to fire you if you don't sign it. He has been seen molesting students and staff, and has refused to pay wages upon the completion of the contract. ( he has screwed at least 4 teachers out of wages due to "business expenses") Allegedly, during the Niigata in October,earthquake, he fired an employee and evicted them during the disaster and refused to find another employee a new apartment. The employee had lost their apartment and was living in an emergency shelter for a month! The work hours are also misleading as many staff, Japanese and foreign, end up putting in 12 hour days 5 days a week. There is no overtime pay, holiday time isn't guaranteed, and they don't provide an apartment. (even though the school claims to) He is very unqualified and unproffesional and this is apparent when you see the school. I was an employee of PINO before this man bought the school and changed the name. Many ex-employees have brought this company to the Labour Bureau and small claims court to try and take legal action and are still in the process. Niigata-ken is a wonderful place to live and work, but PLEASE avoid this company if you want to get treated fairly and paid, and not treated like an indentured servant.
Thank you and Good luck!!

Speed · Joined: 04 Jul 2003 Posts: 152 Location: Shikoku Land

Well.......I don't know. It still sounds like a school I might want to check out.

Thank you OP for the warning. This place sounds like the anti-christ of eikawas. Thank god I don't work for this critter!

shmooj · Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 1758 Location: Seoul, ROK

Well wait a minute. We know NOTHING about this school and as it is the OP's first post we know NOTHING about him either.

While it may well be legitimate, this could also be the work of someone with a score to settle against someone undeserving of such an attack. There are a number of features in the message that leave me thinking that this may well be the latter, especially as the OP provides us with absolutely no way to validate the story.

Saul, it would be good if you could provide more details e.g. an address and phone number for the school along with the name of the owner. If I'm wrong, I apologise in advance and I'm glad you gave the advice. I hope you understand why it is important though that this can be independently verified.

homersimpson · Joined: 14 Feb 2003 Posts: 569 Location: Kagoshima

I agree with shmooj.

Saul Hudson · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Japan

Hey bud,
I understand what your saying. This is all true but you have to understand that there are reasons why I can't reveal too much personal info. The school is in Nagaoka, Niigata, the name of the school has already been included in my last message. Of course you can believe what you want but too many people leave crappy jobs unjustly and are too scared or can't be bothered to do what what they should do, and that's fight for what's owed to them.
Getting involved in the legal dispute with your American employer in Japan isn't a pretty thing.
Just telling you to beware of this school and this guy.
I think you have enough evidence to make your own decision.
Seriously, it's schools like this that get away with murder because people won't challenge them. If you want more evidence, I suggest logging on to BIGDAIKON.com and ask some people in the forum about this school. You will get all the evidence you need..........

lajzar · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 647 Location: Saitama-ken, Japan

No offence, and some of my best friends are regulars on big daikon. But I wouldn't take teh word of that bunch of reprobates too seriously on an issue of this magnitude.

homersimpson · Joined: 14 Feb 2003 Posts: 569 Location: Kagoshima

shmooj · Joined: 11 Sep 2003 Posts: 1758 Location: Seoul, ROK

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

Yeah there are a lot of people on this board trying to pose as something they are not. I don't mean the trolls, though sometimes the two types are combined.

Not to toally dis the OP, but where's the beef?

spidey · Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 4:51 am Post subject:

I too have worked on both sides of the coin. It's probably best to take these kinds of posts with a grain os salt. If we do happen to run into this particular school, then it is up to us to try to find out the truth and to use our own better judgement. We have to be able to take responsibility for putting ourselves in a bad situation.

Live and Learn

S

Saul Hudson · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Japan

The reason why I mentioned having a look at a JET site is because most of the teachers in my city are JETS. As you you know the foreign community gets pretty tight. Everyone in the city and the area knows this guys rep and yeah, you may not take people on Big Daikon's word as truth, but You start a thread and ask about the school, you will get what I'm saying. He came as a Jet and started a school in town. He bought the school I was working for and changed the name to Sunshine Learning Centre, thus the contract I was working under became void. So, after he spent time and money developing nice letter heads, and putting plants in the garden, 7 months later he finally decided that he should take care of
his teachers and offer them a contract. You can't fire someone without a contract, but you can also not pay someone without a contract. Dude, if I was at home I would have been outta there. I was working at the school long before he came along. What was I supposed to do? Tough to leave when you're Living in another country guys! Anyway, I'm in the process of dealing with the labour board, and lawyers and stuff to get my last months wages. By the way, the labour board in Japan has zero teeth as far as taking action against dodgy employers. So yeah, because of all that, I'm sorry but I can't name names.
Again, do whatever, I'm just trying to warn people.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Saul Hudson · Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Japan

Physical contact that is not unusual, but some that I found to be inappropriate. He's asked some students to give him a kiss and to come sit on his knee, but it was the way he did it. There was a weird pedophilic tone about it. He's admitted to many other teachers in town that he is a "pervert" and he has been that way since he's been a little kid. (I'm serious) He's into give staff massages when they are writing lesson plans or working on the computer, he actually physically assulted me when I tried to leave the office one time, shoving me and not allowing me to leave because he wasn't "finished" giving one of his famous "non-sensical" lectures on how to be a good buisniessman (according to his idol Motivational speaker Bryan Tracy) this was during the earthquake. I got lots of witnesses of that little event.
I got lots of stories about this guy. Anyway, he says things about students to staff in English while the students are standing right there, like sexually explicit things. It was really uncomfortable. This guy should not be around kids or women.