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Staying for less than a year

 
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Patrique



Joined: 19 Sep 2007
Posts: 16
Location: Toronto, Canada

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 11:55 pm    Post subject: Staying for less than a year Reply with quote

In spite of the Nova meltdown, I'm trying to get a teaching job with one of the bigger English companies. Almost every agency stipulates a commitment of at least a year, but I will have to be back home in Toronto next September for grad school. A friend of mine who worked seven months for Nova, however, tells me that it's quite normal for teachers to leave a company before a year is up. Is this true? Are there any consequences to quitting early? (Besides possible ethical questions it brings up).

Thanks!
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chollimaspeed



Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:33 am    Post subject: Re: Staying for less than a year Reply with quote

Patrique wrote:
In spite of the Nova meltdown, I'm trying to get a teaching job with one of the bigger English companies. Almost every agency stipulates a commitment of at least a year, but I will have to be back home in Toronto next September for grad school. A friend of mine who worked seven months for Nova, however, tells me that it's quite normal for teachers to leave a company before a year is up. Is this true? Are there any consequences to quitting early? (Besides possible ethical questions it brings up).

Thanks!


There is no legal problem with it. If that's what you mean.
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Khyron



Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 291
Location: Tokyo Metro City

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No problem quitting early. Just try to give the required notice for your job.

If your job is shaddy, and you think they might try to cheat you out of your final pay, then just leave the day after you get your last pay and forfeit your last few working days (usually you'll get paid for the last month a week or two into the next month). That means you'd be working a week or two into next August until you can collect your money for July, then just quitting without notice. If you're in a position where you'd be considering such a thing, then you'd be within your ethical right IMO.
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Quibby84



Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why dont you just get a smaller contract? Our company gives different length contracts all the time, one guy did it for 3 months. This will stop you from having to pay the "quitting fee".
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chollimaspeed



Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quibby84 wrote:
Why dont you just get a smaller contract? Our company gives different length contracts all the time, one guy did it for 3 months. This will stop you from having to pay the "quitting fee".


Quitting fee?
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Quibby84



Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our school has a quitting fee....it is 50,000 yen or $500. It really sucks but I guess it may make people think twice about quitting early...
I dont think that a quitting fee is super rare...
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chollimaspeed



Joined: 11 Sep 2007
Posts: 120

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quibby84 wrote:
Our school has a quitting fee....it is 50,000 yen or $500. It really sucks but I guess it may make people think twice about quitting early...
I dont think that a quitting fee is super rare...


I don't know how super legal it is either. What often happens is that eikaiwa companies will offer bonuses to those that do their full contract. If you leave before the end of your contract then you simply don't get a bonus.
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quibby84 wrote:
Our school has a quitting fee....it is 50,000 yen or $500. It really sucks but I guess it may make people think twice about quitting early...
I dont think that a quitting fee is super rare...


http://www.generalunion.org/law/lsl.htm#12

Quote:
Q: I want to quit my job before the end of my contract and now my employer won't pay me this months' wages. He also wants me to pay a fine of one month's salary. Is this allowed?

A: No. Your employer cannot set a predetermined fine for quitting during your contract (Article 16). Furthermore your employer must provide you with all outstanding wages, tax forms and a certificate of employment within seven days of you leaving your job (Article 23).

If this happens, it is very easy to retrieve both the fine and the back wages using the union's expertise and the Labour Standards Office.

If you do quit your job without the proper notice you may be liable for damages, but the company must actually prove business damage in a civil court for you to have to pay any damages regarding your quitting. In the last 15 years we have only seen one employer sue for damages relating to an employees sudden resignation and the employer lost the case.


For answers to further legal questions, see the "Law and Rights" FAQ here:

http://www.generalunion.org/
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

taikibansei,
Thank you for that post. Quibby, you really ought to read up on things!

As for other things to look out for, if you quit early, you forfeit any end-of-contract bonus you thought you were going to get. Some get it for performance, others get it just for completion. Since hardly anyone pays for airfare, a lot of companies offer it as a way to entice people, thinking it is a way to make up for airfare.
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skelonas



Joined: 18 Sep 2007
Posts: 17

PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What about housing? If the school has secured the apartment for you, does that mean that you don't have any financial commitment to stay for the term of the lease?
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Glenski



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

skelonas wrote:
What about housing? If the school has secured the apartment for you, does that mean that you don't have any financial commitment to stay for the term of the lease?
If you give sufficient notice, that is taken care of. Since you seem to know precisely when you will want to leave a whole year in advance, I don't see any problems with you giving a month or two notice.
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Quibby84



Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 643
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a lot of things I should have read up on before coming...but our school gives the 50,000 yen bonus AND the 50,000 quitting fee...but people come here and stay for like two months and leave...so they get paid that 50,000 quite a lot. In fact, my husband and I have seen many rotations of teachers in our 8 months of being here...our school is racking in the yen...
Yes, research!

Our company told us that the only thing you have to do about leaving an apartment lease (for example Leo Palace) is to give the apartment company a month notice. But if you did up and leave then it wouldnt be in your name it would be in theirs and they would probably just put another teacher there...
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