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Private High School Working Conditions
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Sweetsee



Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 2302
Location: ) is everything
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 3:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Unless I am missing something, you are non-Japanese and airing grievances at work in your third year of employment and you believe you will be promoted in April?
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Yona Yona



Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 4:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes, you are missing something.
Obviously I will not be "promoted" in April.
Hopefully, I will live at least another 5 or 6 years so securing some kind of job security/clarification of contract/fairness of working conditions seems
somewhat reasonable.
Just because you are in Japan, doesn't mean you should suffer in silence ALL the time. Most of the time yes, but not all of the time.
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Sweetsee



Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 2302
Location: ) is everything
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 4:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I see. Yes, life is suffering, isn't it? But if it is as bad as all that, why do you want to stay? And also, have you ever heard of the 3-year rule, Yona Yona?
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 4:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yona Yona wrote:
It says "johshu" on the paper but they said they would like me to consider myself as "johkin". I was not able to get an answer as to the difference between johkin and johshu. Is their a difference ?


Joukin (常勤) signifies your employment status, while joshu (助手) signifies your rank. I.e., if you are joukin who is also a joshu, you are full-time assistant teacher.

sidjameson wrote:
I am surprised by the many posts that were unequivical in their belief that the OP should quit though. From what I can see around me there is as much chance for the OP to end up back in a language school as there is in him finding something better. I figure his gross salary is in the region of 5 million a year. Really, what percentage of teachers in Japan are doing better than that? A good number of holidays too.


And I'm surprised so many people would consider staying in a crap job rather than working on improving their credentials (and Japanese ability) and getting the heck out! There are much better jobs out there, particularly at the university-level. I've posted repeatedly on how to get them--why not start working on doing it?

Yona Yona wrote:
Yes, you are missing something.


Before you waste your time discussing anything with Sweetsee, read this thread:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=43261
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sweetsee wrote:
And also, have you ever heard of the 3-year rule, Yona Yona?


Ah, the "3-year rule"!

Hey Sweetsee, do me a favor and point me to some Japanese sites that make this rule clear. This should be fun....

While we're waiting, the law as I understand it:
1) There is no 3-year rule.
2) In cases of contract non-renewals after the second contract has been signed, the employer must give a reason for the non-renewal if asked.
3) Employers should give 30 days notice for non-renewal prior to the end of such a contract
4) Past civil rulings have said that a one-year contract worker who has been renewed several times should be treated like a worker on an unlimited term contract and therefore an employer must have proper reasons for dismissal (non-renewal).

However, regarding #4, as I've posted here before, the definition of "several" is not fixed and left up to the interpretation of the individual courts; furthermore, the sad reality is that Japanese courts tend to accept almost any reason for nonrenewal when the employees in question are foreign ALTs or university faculty. Still, if you do sue, have a good case (e.g., didn't get fired for, say, a physical assault on a student) and are persistent, you can often win at least a percentage of your yearly salary in a one-time payment. I've known people who've done this, actually.

Good luck!
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Yona Yona



Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Takibansei, thanks. I was fairly certain that is what the differences were, and was slightly perplexed that the school did not know how to explain that.
Actually as of January I will have been there 3 years.
I am pretty certain I will be continuing in April. (They want me to continue)
Why do I stay ? Well, as I stated before, I do, for the most part, really enjoy the job. If I didn't care at all about the job I would have just packed my bags and left. It would be nice to secure a better work contract not only for myself but teachers who may work there in the future. The school actually did seem to respect that sentiment somewhat. We shall see what happens.
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Sweetsee



Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 2302
Location: ) is everything
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
That's great! Job satisfaction is the most important thing, isn't it? It makes all the difference in the world when you can enjoy going to work and feel good about what you are doing. You must be a very fine teacher and your school is lucky to have you. I wish you the best of luck with the contract extension.
As for the 3-year rule, it is an unofficial rule schools use to keep us from being around too long and to keep a revolving door of fresh teachers. I was quite surprised when the principal at my old school uttered the words in a meeting when they told me I was gone. He couldn't speak a word of English but had no trouble pronouncing those three. After which, the only other person there (son of the owners) told him to pipe down.
Again, good luck to you and let us know how things work out.
Enjoy,
s
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taikibansei



Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Posts: 811
Location: Japan
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sweetsee wrote:
As for the 3-year rule, it is an unofficial rule schools use to keep us from being around too long and to keep a revolving door of fresh teachers.


How long ago did this happen? You know, if they did not inform you of this rule when you were hired, you may have grounds to sue them for damages. Have you talked to a lawyer?

The bottom line is that no nationwide "three years and you're out" law exists. Furthermore, while individual schools (and in the case of public schools, even school districts) may have such a policy, they're supposed to notify employees at the start of their employment of the existence of this. I.e., springing it on the employee later--even if that employee is a foreigner--just doesn't work.

In these kinds of cases, I'd speak to either the union or a lawyer about your situation--maybe both!
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Yona Yona



Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 6:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Vice Principal here did in fact mention that he
had heard of Universities where they have a policy
of changing their foreign lecturers every 3 years, and assured me that
they had no such rule or system in place at this school.
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Sweetsee



Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 2302
Location: ) is everything
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yeah, that's right. Schools that are on the up and up would tell you from the beginning how many times you can extend the contract. Universities generally post such information in their ads. But remember, your school lied to the BoE, right? That was the first red flag at my school.

Last edited by Sweetsee on Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:46 am; edited 1 time in total
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Yona Yona



Joined: 20 Jul 2007
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Contract already extended (renewed).
Up to me whether I choose to continue or not.
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