Job Discussion Forums

[musicmunky]

Is it quite standard in a contract to be liable for charges if you don't work to standard. And to have to give a months notice?
Also, to get charged if you're late for work?

[Glenski]

The word "standard" implies that it is generally done and generally accepted and on the up and up. I don't consider the insertion of certain clauses to be on the up and up. Here are the labor laws.
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/documents/llj_law1-rev.pdf

Read what it says about imposing penalties:
(Ban on Predetermined Indemnity)
Article 16. An employer shall not make a contract
which fixes in advance either a sum payable to the employer
for breach of contract or an amount of indemnity for
damages.

Working "up to standard" can have its penalties, according to whatever provisions employers consider (and make clear) are acceptable. That's what is behind the concept of performance reviews.
Article 89. An employer who continuously employs 10
or more workers shall draw up rules of employment
covering the following matters and shall notify those rules
of employment to the administrative office.
(snip)
(9) In the event that there are stipulations concerning
commendations and/or sanctions, matters pertaining
to their kinds and limits;

and

(Restrictions on Sanction Provisions)
Article 91. In the event that the rules of employment
provide for a decrease in wages as a sanction to a worker,
the amount of decrease for a single occasion shall not exceed
50 percent of the daily average wage, and also the total
amount of decrease shall not exceed 10 percent of the total
wages for a single pay period.

As for giving notice, an employer only has to give you 30 days notice or pay in lieu thereof. How much notice you have to give depends on the type of contract and whether you are in your first year of it or later. Read the link for better description. Also, read this from the union. Not elating, but at least it shows you should be on your toes.
http://www.generalunion.org/law/lsl#11
Q: I want to quit my job. How much notice do I have to give?
A: This question is not covered under the Labour Standards Law but is based on precedents set in civil courts. It all depends on whether you have a limited or an unlimited term contract, and if you have a limited term contract what contract year you are in.

Unlimited Term Contract --- two weeks notice is sufficient.

First year of a one year contract --- you can quit at either the end of the contract or quit by following the procedures laid out in the contract for quitting. If you don't follow these rules your company has a theoretical claim against you but can only act on this by using civil court procedures.

Second year (plus) of a renewed one year contract --- two weeks notice could be sufficient in most cases.

The union recommends that you try to follow your employment contract as much as possible, as this is what we expect from employers.

[Apsara]

A month's notice is common, and I think it's polite. Four months, like some posters recently have been saying they were required to give, is just ridiculous.

Many schools will dock your pay if you are late, as a deterrent. If you are late you have a class full of students sitting waiting for you, and Japanese people are fairly big on punctuality- it looks really, really bad to be late. You are wasting everyone's time and money, and it puts the Japanese staff (if it's an eikaiwa) in a difficult situation so there are often penalties.

I haven't come across penalties for not working to a particular standard, only lack of increases in pay.