Job Discussion Forums

[JRJohn]

Hi, everyone,
I am an English teacher from the U.K. I have taught in Spain, Turkey, Poland, and South Korea. In Spain I had a rich social life, but the jobs were crap and and gave me a financial headache). In other countries pay was much better, but I had a bit less fun.

Recently, I decided to try the public sector:it seems better regulated than some of the private schools. What is it like to teach with Interac? I've been offered a job with them in Fukushima(the city or prefecture, I don't know which). The net salary is 230000 yen per month. Has anyone worked with Interac? Could you list your experiences?

The one problem I have is that for reasons I won't divulge now, I would really prefer to teach in a city(not Tokyo, necessarily). I'm worried that they have chosen a small town for me, which I would dread.

[JimDunlop2]

Interac is hardly public sector. It's a bloody pimp agency that should DIAF.

Do yourself (and everyone else) a huge favour and don't provide these sheisters with any more employees. Their entire operation is illegal under Japanese law anyway -- they should get shut down.

[markle]

Interac is the opposite of what you are after, poorly regulated/ operated and the worst pay rates in the country.

Possible as a starting point but not the answer to your problems - more likely a source of more.

[Willy_In_Japan]

Actually, from what Ive heard, Heart takes wages to a new definition of low......Interac is far from the worst pay.

[JimDunlop2]

Perhaps not the WORST, but 230,000 a month is pure sh|te. Especially for that kind of work. I am *true public sector (very rare, btw) and make over 10-man more than that -- which is what a direct-hire SHOULD get paid.

Plus, I have all my health benefits, etc....

Stay far away from those jokers -- just do a forum search for Interac and you'll find no shortage of information...





*true meaning I was a direct BoE-hire.

[furiousmilksheikali]

I agree with Jim that Interac is not part of the public sector. The company serves as a middleman to whom a large portion of the BOE salary goes to.

There have been a lot of threads on Interac. Most of the comments on them are deservedly negative. Here are a few to get you started. You can find more if you use the search function.

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=45718&highlight=interac

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=34335&highlight=interac

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=605&highlight=interac

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=44973&highlight=interac

[TK4Lakers]

Good evening. Yes, a lot of the comments on Interac are negative, but you should take it all with a grain of salt (like most of the posts here).

I work for Interac, I work in the inaka, and I work in the public schools (both JHS and ES).

Here are my two cents:

This being my first job here in Japan, it's not that bad. As other Interac ALT's who have worked with other companies tell me, things can be much worse.

Interac helps and supports you as much as they can, atleast in my experience so far. If you need help with something that is out of your control (or if it's something a foreigner would have a hard time dealing with), Interac will help you out.

But not everything is positive. It took me a lot of $$$ to start up when I came here, mostly because Interac threw me into a pretty expensive apartment and I had no other choice. Also, there seems to be little bouts of miscommunication here and there with the branch office, which gets annoying. Another thing is that you have to remember it's a dispatch company, and you as an ALT have no real business with the Board of Education. So at the schools, you might be just another number and not given much attention or preferential treatment.

The best parts for me with Interac is, for the most part, they leave you alone. If you do your job, get good reviews from the schools you work at, and don't do anything shady and keep yourself out of trouble, Interac will leave you alone. I do my job well, and I hardly hear from them, besides the occassional email or phone call about updates which come about once every 2 weeks.

The public holidays are nice too. Getting the whole summer vacation off, despite the pro-rated salary, was absolutely awesome. And now that I get the winter break off, I'm heading back to America for the holidays.

You hear a lot about Interac being illegal this and illegal that, but to me, as one of their employees, it doesn't really affect me at all, so I could care less. I am here in Japan, making the standard salary, and doing what I want to do for the most part.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

[yamanote senbei]

[yamanote senbei]

[TK4Lakers]

[Mark]

yamanote senbei,

I understand your arguments about the Interac arrangement being illegal. I also understand your attempts to let people know about this fact.

But, at the same time, I think you can understand TK4Lakers' position. Lots of people will be perfectly willing to work illegal contract so long as it provides them with what they need. And let's be fair, there aren't a lot of legal ways into the public school system.

I work through an agency and have been placed at a private high school. I know that my position is probably illegal. I know that dispatch companies fudge the visa application documents for their employees.

But what are the options? We should all quit and go home? Many people are only going to be here for a couple of years and they don't want to spend all their time in Japan trying to change this situation.

And, I think the most important thing is that is doesn't seem like anybody really cares about this situation. According to what you say, this situation is blatantly illegal. Right? And yet it's massively widespread throughout the public school system (and private schools as well). The government is well aware of it and is also well aware that BoEs are not participating in the JET programme. This just seems like a law that no one is interested in following or enforcing.

[Glenski]

TK4Lakers,
Are you paid on time, or is part of your salary paid late?

How long have you worked for Interac, and have you lost any bonuses as a result of "funny" accounting practices?

[6810]

I can't speak for Lakers...

However, I have in the past worked for interac (don't now though, parted amicably though) and...

they always paid on time

no strange or suspect deductions

got two pay rises as a result of performance bonus on top of the standard 25man pay.

Interac never pulled any strange things on me.

I took sick days when sick with no problems and received renumeration.

I think, at least according to friends out east in Kanto (I'm in Chubu) where you are with interac has a significant influence on your working conditions. I heard that things in and around Tokyo are atrocious, lower pay, various strict conditions... this is hearsay though.

Interac has its problems, but no more or less than any other eikaiwa or dispatch company. This doesn't necessarily make it good, or better or even more legal than anyone else.

my 2円。

[TK4Lakers]

[TK4Lakers]