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Exclusivity clauses

 
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haopengyou



Joined: 02 Mar 2009
Posts: 197

PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:02 am    Post subject: Exclusivity clauses Reply with quote

I read a website for ...can't think of the name of the school now...that said that their teachers could not work at any other schools. Is this common? I was hoping to take about any job that came up and moonlight over the next year to find another position to leapfrog to after the first year is up.
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's a clause that comes up from time to time. Hard to say if it's truly common.

Ignore it. It is unenforceable. Just don't advertise you work elsewhere. Employers can't tell you what to do in your off-time unless it hinders the work you do with them.

Even more ridiculous is the clause that you might see which says you can't work within a certain radius of the school or even within Japan for a certain number of months or years after you leave that employer!
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starteacher



Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 237

PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Ignore it. It is unenforceable.....

...Even more ridiculous is the clause that you might see which says you can't work within a certain radius of the school or even within Japan for a certain number of months or years after you leave that employer!
Do you have the legalities of these, such as website link, etc . Thanks.
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not specifically, no. The English version of the labor laws can be found here:
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/documents/llj_law1-rev.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_employment_law
http://www.efl-law.com/Japan.php

The General Union for teachers can be found here:
www.generalunion.org

The Foreign Workers' union can be found here:
http://nambufwc.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Union_of_General_Workers

You may also want to read the Yahoo listserv (or join if they let you) for PALE run by JALT.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PALE_Group/

Or try sifting and searching through Japan's foremost human rights' activist's web site and blog.
www.debito.org

There are also 2 bilingual books I saw at a legal seminar. Available in bookstores, the lawyers told me.
Living With The Japanese Law. A Guide to Foreign Nationals in Japan (3143 yen), and the other is Survival Manual: A Guide to Foreigners� Rights in Japan (2000 yen).
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G Cthulhu



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.

PostPosted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:
It's a clause that comes up from time to time. Hard to say if it's truly common.
Ignore it. It is unenforceable. Just don't advertise you work elsewhere. Employers can't tell you what to do in your off-time unless it hinders the work you do with them.
Even more ridiculous is the clause that you might see which says you can't work within a certain radius of the school or even within Japan for a certain number of months or years after you leave that employer!


Hang on.... they can have a non-competition clause effective while you are employed by them. That's perfectly legal (unless the law's changed in the last few years).

Post employment no-competes are unenforceable, as are "no-other-employment-of-any-kind-while-employed-by-us" clauses.
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 3:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

G Cthulhu wrote:
Hang on.... they can have a non-competition clause effective while you are employed by them. That's perfectly legal (unless the law's changed in the last few years).
Didn't say it was illegal, just unenforceable.

Do you really believe / agree with such clauses for an industry such as EFL? I can see such for pharmaceutical and IT giants, and especially for executives, but for teachers of English in Japan...?

Post employment no-competes are unenforceable, as are "no-other-employment-of-any-kind-while-employed-by-us" clauses.[/quote]
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G Cthulhu



Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.

PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:

Do you really believe / agree with such clauses for an industry such as EFL? I can see such for pharmaceutical and IT giants, and especially for executives, but for teachers of English in Japan...?


During employment? Yes, certainly. I have no problem with the concept or practice in almost any industry.

Post employment? I generally object to them, but can see them having a place from the trade secrets point of view and one or two other aspects.
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firehorseglass



Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Haopengyou,

I had something similar. I think their main objective is that they don't want you teaching and making money with someone who's local when they could be making money too. If you were to give someone some private tuition in a cafe or at your apartment and asked them to keep quiet, who would know? You could do an hour-long session where you ask a student to research a BBC article, say. Obviously you shouldn't use materials belonging to your main employer, but I'm sure you wouldn't anyway.

As for not working in the vicinity after your contract ends, you're often not allowed to teach ex-students for up to one year post leaving. That makes sense though 'cos if you leave yu might take some of the students with you, and an eikawa is till a business, after all.

Keep it quiet and watch how you advertise. Avoid boards - try word-of-mouth.
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

G Cthulhu wrote:
Glenski wrote:

Do you really believe / agree with such clauses for an industry such as EFL? I can see such for pharmaceutical and IT giants, and especially for executives, but for teachers of English in Japan...?


During employment? Yes, certainly. I have no problem with the concept or practice in almost any industry.
Then how are you on the simple concept of part-time work? The majority of uni teachers here are PTers, and if they are told they can't work for another school at the same time, they would be out of business. The same holds for lots of other places.

Quote:
Post employment? I generally object to them, but can see them having a place from the trade secrets point of view and one or two other aspects.
And what trade secrets does the EFL industry have? None. Schools that tell you you can't work in the same area (including city!) for 1-3 years are crazy. (and yes, I've heard reports of all those)
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Mr_Monkey



Joined: 11 Mar 2009
Posts: 661
Location: Kyuuuuuushuuuuuuu

PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

firehorseglass wrote:
As for not working in the vicinity after your contract ends, you're often not allowed to teach ex-students for up to one year post leaving. That makes sense though 'cos if you leave yu might take some of the students with you, and an eikawa is till a business, after all.
This is misleading - a clause like that in a contract is simply not enforceable in any way. If anything, it's there in order to fool the signatory in to a position where they won't compete with the school after they leave.
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cornishmuppet



Joined: 27 Mar 2004
Posts: 642
Location: Nagano, Japan

PostPosted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

They do it everywhere. My contract at the bank I worked at in England said no other employment. I assumed it was because they didn't want me turning up tired from being up half the night serving in a bar or something.

It's a stupid clause but like others have said, unenforceable and ignorable. Practically everyone I know, ALTs at least - with the evenings free - do private classes regardless of what it says in their contract. If you're getting taxed elsewhere it might be a problem but if its cash in hand on the quiet your employer are unlikely to find out unless someone snitches on you.
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wayne432



Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 255

PostPosted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think a lot of places do it because they don't want you stealing students away. If good teachers change to a different school that's close by, a good amount of students could follow.

Same with private lessons... some students might quit if they like what they're getting on the side.
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kojimoji



Joined: 15 Jan 2009
Posts: 13

PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep, mine has the exclusivity clause as well... I don't know how strict Japan is about enforcing it because I haven't left the states yet, but if you make Japanese friends in the city who are willing to pay cash... what's the harm in a few lessons on the side?
I think it's kind of silly to forbid private lessons, but I understand why they need to say that in the contract. I know a woman who taught in Tokyo and made $50 a lesson (one hour)--- it's the best job, she just sat and chatted with people in coffee shops. I think many Japanese people need practice talking to English speakers because they are mainly taught to read and write but not speak it as much.
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 4:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just chatting is not a lesson IMO. It's paid chatting.

A lesson is when someone actually tries teaching something. Want to chat and learn? The teacher should point out vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, etc. as the student speaks (or asks questions).

Just chatting is IMO the worst kind of "lesson". Seen too many "teachers" do this, and they monopolize the "conversation" so that the student is just gaping and listening. Are they actually learning? Nobody knows if you don't somehow test them, and having a real 2-way conversation does exactly that, but just chatting itself is pretty thin.
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Apsara



Joined: 20 Sep 2005
Posts: 2142
Location: Tokyo, Japan

PostPosted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kojimoji wrote:
I know a woman who taught in Tokyo and made $50 a lesson (one hour)--- it's the best job, she just sat and chatted with people in coffee shops. I think many Japanese people need practice talking to English speakers because they are mainly taught to read and write but not speak it as much.


Kojimoji, probably just about everyone on this forum who is/has been in Japan has done this at some point or is still doing it. I used to, but I got tired of it after a few years and also started to feel embarrassed about "teaching" in coffee shops, plus the students can be very fickle as far as cancelling and "forgetting" to pay. It can be useful for some extra change, but I wouldn't call it "the best job" at all.

Also, the whole eikaiwa industry here is based on the idea that Japanese people need practice talking to English speakers because they don't learn communicative skills at school.
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