Job Discussion Forums

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[furiousmilksheikali]

[jademonkey]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[sethness]

Here's a mirror-site for those downloadable files about Nova.
Use these links if the Original Poster's links don't work:

http://www.mitsuko3.com/nova/application-guide.pdf
http://www.mitsuko3.com/nova/hanko-application.pdf
http://www.mitsuko3.com/nova/introduction-to-nova.pdf
http://www.mitsuko3.com/nova/jma.pdf
http://www.mitsuko3.com/nova/nova-advantage.pdf
http://www.mitsuko3.com/nova/nova-appointment-contract.pdf
http://www.mitsuko3.com/nova/nova-intro-information.pdf

(left-clicking with your mouse will open the documents in a separate browser window, if you have Adobe Acrobat reader. Or, if you right-click on the links with your mouse and choose "save target" from the small pop-up menu that appears near your cursor, you can simply save the file onto your PC for viewing/sharing later.)

[sethness]

As for whether it's illegal for NOVA (or other schools) to keep employees off of the national gov't health insurance if they're truly part-time workers-- dunno about that. It certainly merits putting in front of a government worker and seeing how high his eyebrows shoot up.

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As for whether it's in any way beneficial to be off the national health insurance program-- nuts to that. Get on the program, and stay on the program, especially if you're in your first or second year in Japan. I make that last stipulation because the membership fee you pay is based on your last two years' salaries IN JAPAN. So, if you've been working in Japan for less than two years, your health insurance fees are trivially small.

And the benefits of being on the plan are absolutely immeasurable.

frankly, based on Nova's track record in "taking care of" its employees and watching out for its own profits, I would not trust the company to choose an insurance company FOR you. It's horrific to me that they ask, in the contract, for you to give them the right to approve/deny a health plan "for you". That's like letting the fox choose the health plan for the chickenhouse.

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As for these schools that say you're "not working" while taking 20 minute breaks between classes, or doing mandatory commuting, or doing mandatory office hours-- bollocks to that. I'm dying to hear what a lawyer or applicable government department's employee would say about that.

In my opinion, any time that you can't be spending (in theory) on your own couch watching TV, or at least lunching in the nearest restuarant to the school, is frikkin' work hours. The wage may be less than classtime, but I certainly expect to get paid for all those hours, and have those hours recognized as worktime.

Imo, NOVA (and other mistreated workers) should search for better employers as soon as they get off the plane in Japan.

[japolak]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]