Job Discussion Forums

[shazbot]

Firstly, big kudos to Glenski, as a longtime lurker I appreciate your salient and level headed advice to all.

Matko I am also an Interac employee I can vouch for what you say. The website listed is interesting, i have no doubt that some of it is true (the late pay) but that some of it is also personal opinion (the author's opinion on the pay scale differences, for example).

IMHO the pay thing sucks (but hasn't happened to me...yet) but otherwise I have no problems with the staff of the company. And it is a dream job too, all weekends and public holidays free, lots of paid vacation, minimum stress. The kids are fantastic too. I work out of the main branch in Tokyo and on a day to day basis you don't deal with anyone other than your school. Yeah, I know there are other (better) jobs but it depends what you want. At least this gets you a visa too

[ne01]

can someone please clarify this for me, particularly someone currently working for interac. i have just been told by interac that they pay one month late for everyone. eg. i work one month but don't get paid until the end of the next month. (so when i start in april i don't get paid until 2 june) i know they pay monthly wages in japan, but i thought it was paid monthly not bi-monthly. is this normal or is interac up to their old tricks again? also they said i have to hand in a pay sheet at the end of each month, what's this for? isn't my wages automatically calculated and the same each month? this sounds too sus!!

[matko]

Neo1
You get paid every month. However, your first pay is after 2 months. For example, April pay is at the end of June, May pay is at the end of July, June pay is at the end August etc. That's why you NEED to bring alot of money for the first 2 months. The company has not been able to explain to me aGOOD reason for this yet.
Paysheets are no problem. You need to do them, for example, to show your transportation costs (which could be different every month), days you took off and any other expenses that you incurred as a result of your job (ie. school supplies). It is really nothing to worry about! It is a huge company and they need people to do this to just be able to keep track. It works to your benefit in alot of ways. A record of your expenses are never a bad thing.
Take care
PS alot of people received only half their pay again this month with the other half coming on the 10th. Didn't happen to me though. That is actually my biggest complaint about the company. Shazbot is right, I almost never have to deal with them.

[shazbot]

Matko all the ALTs I know this month got half pay on the 31st Jan, and then the rest on Monday 3rd February. Rumour has is that the office takes it in turn with the region they decided to stuff around. One month Saitama, one month Chiba, one month Ibaraki, etc etc. Only conjecture though...The fact that they do it all drives me insane, there is no reason to do it. Plus it is illegal according to Japanese Labour laws http://www.tfemploy.go.jp/en/special/spec_1c.html for example.

As for the monthly submission of paysheets, no big deal, it is merely a record of what you did. The information is often requested by the Boards of Education in your area. Plus my transport varies wildly from month to month depending on my schedule, so submitting it monthly makes sense to me.

[matko]

It happened in my area as well and I know that it happens in other areas at the same time. The thing that was really strange, was that some people(including myself) got all of it while others got half on the 31st and will receive the rest on the 10th.
It is totally illigal. It is unbelievable.
They receive the money on time from the BOE's TWO MONTHS before they have to pay us and they STILL can't pay on time!!!
What are they doing with the money? Any ideas?

[gmat]

Matko,
This is a 'short-term financing' method for the company. For working capital needs, it is much better to get an interest free loan from teachers rather than borrowing money from a bank that you have to pay interest on. Very scummy practice. Can't believe they can get away with this.

BTW, the kid in your picture cracks me up. Where does the photo come from?

[matko]

A scummy practice indeed! I always suspected that it wasn't a cash flow problem. It is just a way to make more money on the backs of their employees. I don't know how they get away with it either!
Glad you like the avatar! I got it at http://www.freeavatars.net/
matko

[ne01]

not having read the posts here for awhile, it's good to know what excitement lay ahead for me regarding interac's "unique" pay scheme. so i'll defintely need every last dollar i can save to bring with me. looks like i'll be sticking to the one year contract only.

[Spiderman]

Ne01,
Let us all know about your experience with them after you've been with them for several months.

[klute]

For those ALTs having payment problems with Interac, or any company, you might like to bear in mind what is written in Article 15 of the Labour Standards Law.

(Clear Statement of Working Conditions)
Article 15. In concluding a labour contract, the employer shall clearly
state the wages, working hours and other working conditions to the
worker. In this case matters concerning wages shall be clearly stated in
the manner prescribed by ordinance.
2. In the event that the working conditions as clearly stated under the
provisions of the preceding paragraph differ from actual fact, the worker
may immediately cancel the labour contract.
3. In a case under the preceding paragraph, in the event a worker who
has changed his or her residence for the work returns home within 14
days from the date of cancellation, the employer shall bear the necessary
travelling expenses for the worker.

This means if your company does not pay your salary on the date stated in your contract you do not have to turn up for work the next day as the company has broken Article 15 para. 1. of the Labor Standards Law. This is not something to do if you work for a generally decent company which is having temporary cash flow problems and which informs you about salary shortfalls in advance. But for a persistent offender, which Interac seems to be judging from the amount of traffic on this and other forums, there is only one way to stop this kind of thing - just don't go to work the day after your salary is short and make sure the school and the BOE where you work know why you are not going to work. You are not breaking the contract as the contract is void (para. 2 above). If Interac believe you will walk, they will pay you. One thing can be guaranteed in Japan. If you are strong you may get buggered in an inconvenient place. If you are weak when dealing with your company the buggering is an absolute certainty.

I doubt if Article 15 para. 3 will get you an air ticket back to your home country (although it's worth a try). However if you have moved from another part of Japan it seems pretty clear that an offending company has to pay for your move.



The URL for the entire Labour Standards Law in English is

http://www.campus.ne.jp/~labor/rootseiri/roukihou.html

[Spiderman]

Another thing to keep in mind about leaving Interac if they are not paying you properly is that your quitting has a chilling effect on the management. The more people quit, the more afraid the management will become. As a result, they will be more hesitant to screw more sucker employees in the future. Of course, if no one has the balls to stand up for themselves, well, let's just say what goes around comes around.

[Jess]

I am thinking of taking an offer with Interac for March next year. Are there still problems with pay? I have been offered 250,000 then in August 60 % pay and December 75% due to holidays. What does everyone think? Would appreciate any comments!

Many many thanks.

[Cactus Rob]

Hey Jess

I've just accepted a job with Interac for March next year. Not so much because of the company itself but because March suited my travel plans perfectly (and the teaching sounds fun too). In the pre-interview seminar we were told about the late-pay problems they'd had in the past but that it hadn't happened much in the last 12 months (I think it was 12 - can't remember exactly). We were also told that if they did need to late pay anyone, they would try to protect employees in their first year in Japan as they understood we were still setting ourselves up. The fact that they admitted this was a problem impressed me although I'll certainly be aware of what could happen.
On the upside the employees we met were genuinely interested in us as people rather than just potential staff, giving me the impression that Interac wasn't yet a faceless corporation.
I too would appreciate any recent experiences people are willing to share about Interac. Positives as well as negatives; I have just committed 12 months of my life to them, don't crush my dreams just yet!

Rob

[Smooth Operator]

Sorry if this has been said but I'm not going to read all of this when I'm never going to work for Interac Anyway, doesn't everyone get paid late? Working for a public institution I get paid 3 weeks in arrears. So for October's work I get paid on 20th November. That's normal anywhere, right?

[lajzar]

I worked for Interac last year (until March 2003). At my interview, they told me that they did have cash flow/late pay problems in the past, but that those days were over now.

During the period I worked for them, my pay was late 3 times (out of 12).

I believe that constitutes a misrepresentation of the facts on their part.