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Bread
Joined: 24 May 2009
Posts: 318
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 Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
Bread,
From the labor laws:
(Annual Paid Leave)
Article 39. An employer shall grant annual paid leave
of 10 working days, either consecutive or divided into
portions, to workers who have been employed continuously
for 6 months calculated from the day of their being hired
and who have reported for work on at least 80 percent of the
total working days.
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/documents/llj_law1-rev.pdf
Read the whole Article, though, ok? Some situations may yield different results.
Don't expect to get paid for the days you don't take, though. |
Thanks, I'll read over this. I only have a week left so I can't take any vacation anyway, but I'll know for my next contract. |
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Kaitou
Joined: 30 Apr 2009
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 11:51 pm Post subject: |
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I actually have a question regarding the labour laws and Japanese culture. From what I've heard, it's apparently difficult for the average Japanese person to take time off from work, due to some fear of backlash from superiors or coworkers? Taking 5 days off in a row is practically unheard of in many companies (although I may be overgeneralizing here). An exception to this may be foreign companies, or maybe other more "globalized" companies.
I've also read somewhere that workers cannot be persecuted for taking time off, but this is apparently not so strictly enforced. Any thoughts on this? |
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ShioriEigoKyoushi
Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 364
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 2:05 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by ShioriEigoKyoushi on Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 3:54 am Post subject: |
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| ShioriEigoKyoushi wrote: |
Article 38-4 is particularly interesting, because if I've understood it correctly it suggests that once a committee has agreed the hours required to complete a task, then they are accepted as the correct working hours according to the act. So if you work for any organisation that has such a committee, your ability to challenge working hours must be somewhat compromised. They can say "but our committee agreed it would take only 15 minutes a day to solve world hunger", and you essentially have no come-back.
I've never voted for a committee member nor have I ever seen any minutes of committee meetings (38-4 2.(2)) but I have no doubt that they are making decisions on my behalf. |
No committee is probably fairly common, and that's when the union comes into play.
You'll notice that if such a committee exists it is "limited to committees
comprising employer and representatives of workers at the
workplace", which means some of the teachers must be on it. If you are so sure someone is making decisions on your behalf, ask (tactfully) who they are. I suspect you'll get a blank stare and an answer like "why, we management alone are!"
| Quote: |
| Does this [Article 91] mean that if an employee is sick and loses more than 10% of workable days due to sickness, only 10% of the salary can be withheld? As an employee that'd be great news, but potentially painful for employers who have to pay extra for cover staff on the days the regular employee is sick after that initial 10%. |
Sick days are nonexistent as you might consider them from back home. Here, if you are sick you go to work unless it's physically impossible. If you don't go to work, you have to use your paid vacation days in lieu thereof.
Some employers will still want to penalize teachers for that. Article 91 helps to protect you a bit. If an employer wants to penalize you for any amount of sick time (that is not attributable to causes from work), then Article 91 says they can't fine you more than half of your daily average wage (presumably for each day taken) and more than 10% of what you make in a month (presumably for taking more than one day.
Let's assume you are FT and make 250,000 yen/month. If the employer calculates for a 40-hour work week, that means:
250,000 / 40 / 4 = 1562 yen/hour
1562 x 8 hr/day = 12,496 yen per day.
Based on these figures, he cannot fine you more than half that (6248 yen) for each "infraction", whatever it may be (sickness, lateness, drunkenness, untidiness, etc.).
If, however, he says he is only counting your hours in a classroom as your work hours, you have to adjust the math. For the more commonly considered 29.5 hours/week, that comes to 2118 yen/hr or 16,944 yen/day (half of which is 8472 yen).
I have seen or heard of contracts where they fine teachers a nice round figure of 10,000 yen for each infraction, and that is clearly illegal according to the above situations.
If you are sick 10 times in a month, they might want to fine you 10 x 6248 or 10 x 8472 (yielding 62,480 or 84,720 yen), but those figures are more than 10% of your monthly 250,000, so they can't fine you more than 25,000 yen/month total.
But they try, and they count on people not knowing/using the labor laws.
If you are actually sick for more than 10% of your monthly work period, that's a lot of time.
40 hr/wk x 4 wk/month = 160 hours per month on average x 10% = 16 hours or 2 full working days.
So, if you are sick more than 2 days, they can't charge you a fine more than 25,000 yen that month. Just don't get sick and stay home very much, because aside from the monetary issue, you may have to make up the class later, or they may not want to renew your contract because you inconvenienced students. |
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ShioriEigoKyoushi
Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 364
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 4:27 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by ShioriEigoKyoushi on Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 6:37 am Post subject: |
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| ShioriEigoKyoushi wrote: |
| Quote: |
You'll notice that if such a committee exists it is "limited to committees comprising employer and representatives of workers at the
workplace", which means some of the teachers must be on it. |
Some of the teachers are on it, but I don't know who they are. I also don't know the process for electing them. Although I could probably find out both these things if I put in the leg work |
Won't be much "leg work". Just ask a few teachers.
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| Is there anything in Japanese law about how long you can be sick before requiring doctor's notes? |
Not that I know of. It may be something contract by contract.
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| I wonder what they would claim if they were challenged. |
They might back down, but some people have reported bullying tactics such as "It's in the contract", as if that's valid. It is often not. Illegal clauses mean the whole contract is invalid.
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| And presumably, someone wishing to challenge them would speak to their local labour office. I wonder how quickly you have to do that. |
As quickly as the situation warrants. |
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ShioriEigoKyoushi
Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 364
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 7:41 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by ShioriEigoKyoushi on Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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starteacher
Joined: 25 Feb 2009
Posts: 237
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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Regardless of how well you know or not know your contracts, how legal or illegal it is, in the end, an employer has the ultmate say and can sack you. That is the bottom line, you are simply a dispensable unit or cost (and income).
So go ahead folks, analyse your contracts, for I am sure employers are looking at this forum and will very well know who they want to sack. They would sack you the moment you have a quibble with them. If YOU were the employer you'd do the same, right ?
An employer can simply say that they are not satisfied with your work, and terminate your contract, regardless of how well you think you are doing with them, during anytime of the year. Given the flooded teachers market, that is even easier. It is not your call in most cases. Employee rights anywhere have always been weak since Rome, and whilst unions and labour offices and citizen rights have always been fighting, there are only employees if there are employers, so who do you think comes first ?
So go ahead, get sick, they'll just sack you. Since you'd do the same wouldn't you, if you were the employer. Don't think employers can't go to court, yes some can't be bothered and let it go. But I have a feeling one day more will take teachers to court just to make them as examples. Employers ALSO have rights.
Yes, whilst the conditions are never always wonderful, and vary from position to position, how very infrequent do we hear of the teacher being thankful for the employer for giving them the opportunity to work in another country and experience something different in the first place. Is it an inherent talent of teachers to complain ? So many teachers grumble over a few dollars here and there and a few minutes here and there, which are peanuts when it comes to their overall life experience, heck some teachers are already on the defense before they even left the boat. And then some teachers take these grudges with them then away with them, and hold onto them forever, choosing that for their life.
If you are not happy with the contract, then write one yourself and give it to your employer. As I posted elsewhere, has anyone got such a "perfect" contract, after all this forum has been going on for years ?
End of another sermon
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ShioriEigoKyoushi
Joined: 21 Aug 2009
Posts: 364
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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Last edited by ShioriEigoKyoushi on Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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| starteacher wrote: |
| Don't think employers can't go to court, yes some can't be bothered and let it go. But I have a feeling one day more will take teachers to court just to make them as examples. Employers ALSO have rights. |
Not if they fire you with undue cause or with an illegal contract or (as in some cases) with zero notice or proper pay.
| Quote: |
| Is it an inherent talent of teachers to complain ? |
I don't believe so, but it is pretty common for foreign teachers to complain. Many do so with just cause, and others are just unaware/naive about the way business is being done overseas.
| Quote: |
| So many teachers grumble over a few dollars here and there and a few minutes here and there |
I don't know about that. Having been on these forums for 12-13 years, I have seen quite a few serious complaints, not the trivial things you seem to think happen.
| ShioriEigoKyoushi wrote: |
| Nobody has to be "thankful" in an employment agreement. The employer gets the work done for them, and the employee gets paid. It's a simple transaction. |
Actually, I think people should feel thankful for landing a job where practically no experience is needed, where housing is often provided, and where teaching format to rely on is set up in advance. There are a lot of people who treat TEFL as a holiday to fund their pleasures and sightseeing, instead of a job.
The reason people don't see such thankful posts is that those people are relatively happy (naive or otherwise) and have no need to complain (one of the 2 main reasons to post on these forums, the other being to ask questions). Some don't post their good situations because they don't want others to compete with them for the contract renewal! |
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