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Illegal, or just unprofessional?

 
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rxk22



Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629

PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 2:09 pm    Post subject: Illegal, or just unprofessional? Reply with quote

My company sends out our monthly schedules the last day of the month. For instance my Nov schedule was sent to me the afternoon of the 31st of Oct. Basically, I am not sure what I am doing the nest day, and am unable to plan anything.

Question, is this legal, or just super unprofessional? I'm thinking the later, but hoping for the former.
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seklarwia



Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano

PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the latter, too.

Are you working dispatch? I'm going to assume so since there is no way this should be happening in an eikawa... so how many schools?

This often happens to dispatch ALTs. Normally the schools/BOE are only submitting the info at the last minute, which in turn is passed on to you last minute. The dispatchers don't want to upset the schools/BOE by seeming difficult to work with because the BOE might give the contracts to someone else the following year. So they rarely do much in the way of chasing missing schedules until often too late to send a schedule to the ALTs in good time.
Only very rarely is there a real reason as to why schedules are submitted to the dispatchers later (but not as late as the last day of the month!) but 9/10 times it is due to unprofessional arse-licking.

For many of us in a single school this isn't a problem since we often know our schedules way before the our dispatcher does. Like I already know my schedule for December. Although I tend to get the schedule from my dispatcher at least a few days before the end of the month now (I used to get them late morning on the first day of the month i.e. often on a school day after the first couple of scheduled classes for the month!)

Obviously, the same issue could cause a real nightmare for ALTs who have more than one school.
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Legality may also depend on how your contract was written and how immigration decides (if at all) to interpret it. AFAIK, the number of hours and amount of pay cannot change without both parties agreeing to it.

See article 15 of the labor laws:
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/documents/llj_law1-rev.pdf
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rxk22



Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

seklarwia wrote:
I think the latter, too.

Are you working dispatch? I'm going to assume so since there is no way this should be happening in an eikawa... so how many schools?

This often happens to dispatch ALTs. Normally the schools/BOE are only submitting the info at the last minute, which in turn is passed on to you last minute. The dispatchers don't want to upset the schools/BOE by seeming difficult to work with because the BOE might give the contracts to someone else the following year. So they rarely do much in the way of chasing missing schedules until often too late to send a schedule to the ALTs in good time.
Only very rarely is there a real reason as to why schedules are submitted to the dispatchers later (but not as late as the last day of the month!) but 9/10 times it is due to unprofessional arse-licking.

For many of us in a single school this isn't a problem since we often know our schedules way before the our dispatcher does. Like I already know my schedule for December. Although I tend to get the schedule from my dispatcher at least a few days before the end of the month now (I used to get them late morning on the first day of the month i.e. often on a school day after the first couple of scheduled classes for the month!)

Obviously, the same issue could cause a real nightmare for ALTs who have more than one school.


Nope, Eikaiwa. So many days, like 30th of this month, I will have no idea if I am even working the next day.

While I was an ALT last year, I got my schd months in advance.
So it's not about what school, it's about what school and if I have a day off or not Crying or Very sad
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rxk22



Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 12:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:
Legality may also depend on how your contract was written and how immigration decides (if at all) to interpret it. AFAIK, the number of hours and amount of pay cannot change without both parties agreeing to it.

See article 15 of the labor laws:
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/documents/llj_law1-rev.pdf


My contract is poorly written, and doesn't cover all that much. I'm going to have to see if I can get them on a technicality.
Thanks Glen
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Glenski



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

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 4:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What do the other teachers there have to say about this loose scheduling? Strength in numbers.
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Shonai Ben



Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

very unprofessional........I ran into the same problem with an eikaiwa that even would call me on Mon.morning with schedule changes for a schedule that I had just received.......needless to say......I left the co.
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rxk22



Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glenski wrote:
What do the other teachers there have to say about this loose scheduling? Strength in numbers.



We don't meet each other all that often. Which I am sure is on purpose. I maybe see another foreign teacher once a month. Most of them seem beaten and don't seem to care. Not about this or about our no holidays off policy, or 6 day work weeks. Just me, and one other guy care.
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rxk22



Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629

PostPosted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shonai Ben wrote:
very unprofessional........I ran into the same problem with an eikaiwa that even would call me on Mon.morning with schedule changes for a schedule that I had just received.......needless to say......I left the co.


I am looking for another job right now. Wish the market wasn't trending down as we speak.
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Shonai Ben



Joined: 15 Feb 2003
Posts: 617

PostPosted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 1:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

rxk22 wrote: