Job Discussion Forums

[Sadebugo]

Some of you may recall that I was excited about a job possibility in Japan a few weeks ago. Specifically, I was pleased with the professionalism of the interviewer and how the preliminaries had been handled. However, I just received a copy of the contract and have some concerns. This being my first foray into Japanese EFL, I need some advice as to what is usual/acceptable in Japan. Here are the specifics that I'm concerned about:

*Duties

There is a comprehensive list of duties to include distributing flyers, cleaning the facilities and recruiting students. Now, I come from a blue collar background and am not too proud, but I still think some of these duties are outside the zone of a teacher's responsibilities. Are these duties typical in the Japanese workplace?

*Penalties

Geez, when reading the contract I felt like I was reading a list of rules for new prisoners rather than an employment contract. There was a monetary penalty for every infraction even if the first time. The biggest penalty though would be a payment of $1,000 dollars for leaving the position prior to completion of the contract. If the visa is yours, isn't such a penalty for leaving a violation of the labor law? I could see if they had paid your plane ticket over and wanted to pursue a civil action for this money, but they do not.

For the record, I am professional and my employment history demonstrates this. However, I wonder if this contract is a reflection of the general atmosphere at this school, a school I might better avoid.

I hope you can give me your take on things based on your experiences in Japan.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Glenski]

[Sadebugo]

I would think that if you gave proper notice (you didn't say how much was required), you would be well within your bounds of legality.[/quote]

Glenski:

How are you? As to your point above, the issue of notice was not addressed in the contract. It only stated that if you left before completion of the contract, you would be subject to the aforementioned penalty. No procedure for leaving early was addressed. Presumably, if you got ill you could leave your job at the owner's discretion, but the contract itself does not allow for this.

Thanks!

[J-Pop]

I would pay close attention to Glenski's comments.
In particular, the phrase:

[Sherri]

Sadebugo
I think you have answered your own question...

You wrote:
"However, I wonder if this contract is a reflection of the general atmosphere at this school, a school I might better avoid. "

That is exactly what I would have told you. Keep looking, you will find a place that you deserve. Japan is a big country--or at least there are a lot of people here!

J-Pop
I always appreciate your positive and encouraging posts.

Sherri

[J-Pop]

[PAULH]

[shmooj]

There is wisdom here in the above replies.

For the record, flyer distribution was mentioned in my contract when I arrived at my present job. Cleaning wasn't and I was expected to do it. To be honest, I didn't know better and didn't have this forum so I just got on with it.

The flyer distribution I must have done ooooohhhhh... .maybe twice in nearly 6 years. I don't mind being paid to talk a walk round the neighbourhood though. Cleaning became an issue as the school grew and we got more teachers. This still isn't really settled but we are all pretty laid back here so it works out fine and no one gets too rattled.

The list of penalties is unusual. What this signals to me is that you have a management team who have no idea how to manage the school in a reasonable way. It smacks of cross cultural communication issues that have never been resolved and have been common in this school's employee histories. Of course there are inept management teams everywhere but a lot are open to change and improvement. Having a list of penalties shows me that, far from being able to resolve these issues and adapt the school to employee needs, the school has simply come down hard on these issues and imposed penalties.

I would expect that, if you were to work for them and have an issue over something (e.g. cleaning) and voiced it, you would be unlikely to find any sympathy. They would probably get very defensive and blow the whole thing out of proportion. You would feel they are psycho and negative vibes would abound. Any other teachers there would side with you and the whole thing would leave a bad taste in your mouth. Eventually, you would want to quit but would be trapped by the penalties. THe whole thing would spiral to destruction. Not worth it.

But then hey, I could be wrong

[PAULH]

[ryuro]

Sadebugo,

"Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson, Danger!!!"

Aside from seconding everyone's advice here- that's my two yen's worth.

Also, any place that has a laundry list of infractions with monetary penalities- some of them clearly violations of labor laws and practices- is best avoided.

Cheers,
ryuro

[PAULH]

Just thought you might like to know- I found a link to the Japanese Labor Standards law, which details the rights and obligations of employers with respect to their employees

http://www.novaunion.com/zet/Archive/Laws/jlsl.pdf

Near the bottom it talks about sanctions on employees- the Gist of it is that a 'fine' on an employee may not be more than 50% of an average daily wage, or 10% of the total wage in one pay period, so having your employer hit you for $1000 or 110,000 yen for leaving a contract early is ILLEGAL and UNENFORCEABLE in Japan.

[Mike L.]

Hey Sadebugo I would say after all that plus what your instincts tell you, you won't be taking a job with this outfit.

That being you could make a copy of the contract. Wait a few months, and mail it into the Lanour Standards Office.

They might actually give them a ring and say something to managment about their flagrantly illegal contract.

Though I doubt it. I still can't believe Gabba is still in business aftyer they were caught forging degress.

Also you could mail a copy to the General Union's Osaka office. If this place is a bad as their contract then there might be a legal action(s) against them already. A copy the contract might be useful to them.

Lastly, post this information, maybe a copy of the contract, anywhere you can to warn other job seekers.

Good luck in your job search!

[Sadebugo]

Believe it or not, I have decided not to accept this position. I am only speculating here, but I think I can do better in Japan. I notified the employer yesterday that I had looked at the contract and disagreed with some of the provisions. I offered them the option of discussing this with me and possibly reaching a compromise. So far, they have not gotten back to me. I expected more since we had such a good rapport during the two telephone interviews. Oh well, life goes on.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions and information.


"There is no honor in suffering when one is capable of changing his situation." --An Occidental View--

[shmooj]

[cafebleu]

Sadebugo - when I first came to Japan some time ago my contract was strict. It talked about this and that kind of behaviour leading to `Dismissal` etc. However, much of this was written for Immigration`s eyes apparently and the grounds for dismissal were not unreasonable.

The contract also specified a three month notice period if I wanted to quit. I believe Japanese labor law says differently - according to some posters the period can be 1 month or even 2 weeks. I am not sure - I would still like to see the definitive statement on this. However, the contract made no mention of penalties, financial or otherwise, for giving less notice.

I believe your contract is unneccessarily harsh and although you made reasonable points to your prospective employer, the employer is unlikely to change it for you. Write this off to experience in dealing with possible employers in Japan - don`t follow through with a school that presents you with this kind of contract. Keep searching for better opportunities.