Job Discussion Forums

[ifrit]

Hello.

I've been with my English School for one year and eight months now. I'm in my final four months and recently I've been getting some pretty bad treatment from them.

Well not pretty bad, but just different. I don't know very many teachers, but everyone else I know who's made the same mistakes I have, (i.e. come in late, broken dress code) have not been treated in the same way I have.

I've been treated like a necessary evil, I feel very disliked at my school and among my co-workers, and recently something has come up that I need advice on.

The above was just to set up my relationship with the company; it's not a good one.

They screwed up on my paycheck. I moved a while back, and informed them properly, with a fax and letter that I was living in the same town that I teach in, therefore did not need to take the train to work anymore. I told all my bosses that I now bicycled to work, it was common knowledge in the office, and at head office among my bosses.

They were paying me my train fee all that time.

Now they want to take it back.

Now, if this were a company which I was on good terms with, and had treated me well, I would kindly say, 'it's no problem, just a minor mistake'.

But the way they've treated me when I've made minor mistakes leads me to act otherwise.

I want to fight it.

What they, (and anyone who has a healthy dose of common sense) would say, is that the money they gave me is not mine, therefore its of no consequense to take it back. I wasn't entitled to it.

Right, but if we follow the letter of the law, they deposited the money into my bank account, and therefore the money became mine.

There are no clauses in my contract about lending employees money without them knowing, or anything like that.

In taking it back from me, they are holding me responsible for their mistake, and having me fix it for them, by taking money back from me.

We're talking about around $300CAD or 28,000 JPY.

What can I do to fight them (according to the letter of the law), here in Japan. I'm willing to give up the entire amount just to 'beat' them. (Yes I'm that bitter about this company)

Thanks for any advice you may have.

I appreciate you reading this all.

[Doglover]

Im not an expert but here is what I do know.

Companies are not legally obliged to pay transportation allowance. Many do though, even if said employee walks or cycles to work.

Its not only really on to expect you to cycle or walk to work and not pay you transportation even if you could take the train, though you choose not to.

Im not sure about the laws about asking you to pay back allowances. Its not salary but an extra payment for transportation which you do not use. Its a bit like saying someone puts a milllion dollars in your bank account addressed to you it becomes yours. Finders keepers.

My advice probably is to contact a union.

Second if you hate them so much, give them notice and leave. Its only 28,000 yen.

[canuck]

Common...dress appropriately, come to work on time and do your job. You wanted to collect your transportation allowance even though you don't use the train anymore? They have the right for the transportation money back.

You're obviously new to the internet. Here's a hint. You don't have to double space every second line.

Give your notice, find a new job and move on. Sounds like the best situation for your mental health and for them too.

[angrysoba]

So you hate the company you work for and you have given us examples of things you did wrong (come in late, broken dress code).

You haven't given any examples of things the company did wrong, you just said you feel disliked. It's a bit difficult to sympathise with you when you say you don't want to give them their money back.

If you don't give it back to them how do you know they won't just take the money out of your next paycheck?

[ifrit]

hi.

Yeah, I mentioned my little mistakes so as to be objective, and I've received responses which fit that. I've been late to work 3 times - in the year and 8 months i've worked there. I've had to talk to <i dont know her name> Bucho over the phone, write a handwritten apology, and sign and fax back a letter with what is wrong with me to head office. I have several co-workers who are late more often, and actually have had to cancel classes because of it; and they only get a phonecall. And its not even the <idont know her name> Bucho. That is why i feel mistreated and disliked.

If I'm being unfair, then the companies being subjective about who they make examples of is obviously just part of working for a big company.

If theres nothing I can do to make life a little difficult for them, then whatever, this is useless. But if I can make things a bit more difficult for them, without breaking any rules/laws/regulations, I will go to the furthest extent possible.

Quitting and finding a new job is troublesome, because as I said, I live in the same town I work in, and I don't have to travel. The unfair treatment I receive at work is worth the short travel time to me.

The co-workers I've mentioned are of different nationalities than me, and I've heard Japanese people in my office saying things that are predjudice against my nationality, so that could be part of it. But I don't want to cite predjudice or racism as the reason, because that's a little extreme.

And I'm not new to the internet. Thanks for the relevant input.

[PAULH]

You are late for work (which by the way you can lose your job over or be fined) you are the one in the wrong.

You feel victimised and singled out for special treatment and you want to get back at your employers picking on you?

Man, grow up. Dont want them picking on you? Don't be late for work. You are stealing money from the compnay for being late and if classes are cancelled students are paying for a lesson that gets cancelled because of no teacher.

Going to the furthest extent? What will you do? call a union on them? Take them to court?

So because you dont have to travel far the treatment you get is acceptable to you, you turn the other cheek, but you come here bleating about how unfair it is.

[guest of Japan]

Fighting about money you aren't actually entitled too is a very quick way to make sure that you have an unhealthy office environment. You want them to accept your mistakes, but you want to profit from theirs. What a fine human being you are.

[ifrit]

i never had a class cancelled because of my tardiness.

my co-workers class was cancelled because of her tardiness (yet there were no reprucussions in the same vein as mine - only the monetary consequence)

My coworker also told me i was being childish, and maybe I am. But I believe that I was treated in a childish way by the company. They don't treat me as an equal to other workers.

I'm saying that i'll go as far as I can legally to make life difficult for them - just as they've done to me.

I know an eye for an eye only blinds the world, but I've had enough of being pushed around by my company like a second rate worker. The numbers I've posted are good by any standard, but nothing I do can please them. And the three times I was late, yes, they've deducted it from my pay; so yes, I have paid for my mistake, and not repeated it.

I never said i wanted them to accept my little mistakes - I just said I made them.

Should I just smile and say 'no problem' when they make a mistake, AFTER they have made an example out of me for my little mistakes? Like I said earlier, in most cases this wouldn't be a problem for me, I'm a normal, well balanced person. I know the difference between what's right and wrong - what is mine, and what's not mine; that being said, I feel i've been mistreated.

If I'm to listen to everyone who's replied, I should just lay down when someone kicks me.

edit: when I've said I made little mistakes like breaking dress code, and being late once in a while, I expected that most full time employees slip up once in a while. I.E. most of the co workers I have/friends I have. Once in a while you're late. Is it unreasonable to be 15 minutes late once a year?

[angrysoba]

[canuck]

[shuize]

Is it just me or does it seem like there are way more crybabies in the ESL profession than there used to be?

[PAULH]

[ifrit]

I'm fighting for about 30,000 yen, i barely have the resources to go home.

"plotting childish viligante revenge attacks"

I didn't plot anything, and yes it would be nice to have revenge. I wanted to take an advantage of my employer's mistake. I guess thats unacceptable. Whatever. All my life i've tried to treat people like I wanted to be treated. If i accidentally gave someone 30,000yen, I would want them to understand it was a simple accident, and have them give it back. So I'll do just that - I'll "turn the other cheek" and return the money.

It would be nice if my company also treated me like they would like to be treated - but thats asking too much isn't it?

[angrysoba]

I think it makes sense.

It's refreshing to see someone change their mind after getting advice.

I think you should also leave the company and tell them about the problems they've caused you. If you're going to fight back against mistreatment then you should address the main issue. By trying to keep the money they gave you by accident you are just causing more problems for yourself and you will probably seem unreasonable. It's not a good idea to seem unreasonable when you have genuine grievances.

[ifrit]

I don't want to be seen as unreasonable. I always try to keep an open mind. (which is probably why I wanted to take advantage of this situation in the first place).

I've told them before of the one-sided treatment they've been giving me, but it just seems to encourage them to lay it on me even more. I don't want to point directly at my co-workers and show them the obvious difference in treatment, because I'm afraid they'll just start treating my co-workers the same way they're treating me - instead of treating me the same way they treat my co-workers.

I also don't want to break my contract, because I hope to use this company as a reference one day, and if I've broken contract it will probably look really really bad to my future prospective employer.