Job Discussion Forums

[Brooks]

I found out something strange yesterday.
My housing allowance was cut by 6,000 yen.

My wife registered as the head of the household at city hall in March because she was told she has to since she is Japanese.
She makes much less money than I do. I support her financially.

So I was told that I owe my school money from the time I was married.
I used to get 15,000 a month for housing.

Any way to fight this?

[Glenski]

Your school wants you to pay 15,000-6,000 = 9,000 yen x however many months since they reduced your housing allowance?

Who gives you this allowance? When did they officially notify you that it was cut? Why? Is this part of some contract?

I have never heard of such a thing happening, and I don't understand the relationship between an employer giving a housing allowance and you registering at city hall.

[Brooks]

I just found out yesterday.

I got married in August but notified my school in September.
For single teachers, they get 15,000 a month as a housing allowance and I think married teachers who are not head of the household get 9,000 a month. So I owe my school 18,000 yen.

My pay includes a housing allowance, pay for having a MA, and money for transportation.

It is just discrimination that at my ward office I can`t be the head of a household since I am foreign.

In March my wife and I started living together. I moved to a new place so we both registered. Later we got married. Maybe my school checked with the ward office to check my marital status.

[Mike L.]

[Brooks]

commuting allowance.
In Tokyo lots of people commute for long distances and many companies pay for commuting expenses as an incentive.

[Shonai Ben]

You receive a housing allowance?
I never received such a thing for any of the eikaiwa that I worked for.
Is the house owned by the school?
How does this work?

[Glenski]

I agree that it sounds like discrimination. Have you tried to reason with your administration that, financially speaking, you ARE the head of the household?

[Brooks]

I live in a "mansion", not a house. All teachers at my high school get a housing allowance.
Like all the teachers, we get to choose where we live, pay the key money, etc.

my wife called up my school today but was told that since she is considered the head of our household by our ward ofice, I am not allowed to get the full 15,000 yen a month, which is reserved for single people or head of households.
She said that she makes about 20% of my salary, but to no avail.

[homersimpson]

Brooks,
Sounds like your ward office screwed you. I'm not married, but what if you change your visa status to a spousal visa, would that make any difference in your head of household status? Or is your ward claiming that under no circumstances can a married foreigner be head of household? Also, what is the wording of your employment contract regarding your housing allowance. There may be some loophole in there (after all Japan is a country of loopholes). Another option, albeit costly and inconvenient, would be to move to a ward where you could be granted head of household status. Good luck!

[Iwantmyrightsnow]

This really is why people should join a union before they get a problem. Beaucracy at its best.

[Brooks]

no union at my school. I work at a private institution.
Well my wife will give it a go today. See what happens.
Thanks for the help.

It just seems to me that in the country, if a foreigner makes an "unusual" request, it gets turned down because it is considered mendokusai.
Probably at my ward office they have simply never heard of what I requested.
There is a law from 1967 that says a foreigner can be a head of a household. I think it is from the Debito site.