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KnockoutNed
Joined: 03 Dec 2009
Posts: 87
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 Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 2:09 pm Post subject: How much holiday do you get? |
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I'm working at a language school and just discovered I'll only be getting about 17 vacation days for my 1-year contract. These are paid days off but I was expecting much more. Is this pretty common?
Also, when you ask for additional time off and it's granted is it usually paid? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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"Only" 17 days?
The law says you must get 10 days after you have worked 6 months full-time. Anything beyond that is at the employer's discretion. In fact, if you get any paid days off before the first 6 months, it's at his discretion, too.
How many paid days off did you get in your first year back home in any new job? Probably 14, right? I would say you have little to complain about.
Most eikaiwa give roughly 3 weeks off (Golden Week, depending on how it falls in the month; Obon, again roughly a week depending on the calendar; and a week or 10 days around New Year).
| Quote: |
| Also, when you ask for additional time off and it's granted is it usually paid? |
What do you mean by "additional"? Your contract should state just how many days off you get per year. Anything beyond that is probably going to cost you, not the employer, and I think you might find it hard to get anyway. |
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KnockoutNed
Joined: 03 Dec 2009
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
"Only" 17 days?
The law says you must get 10 days after you have worked 6 months full-time. Anything beyond that is at the employer's discretion. In fact, if you get any paid days off before the first 6 months, it's at his discretion, too.
How many paid days off did you get in your first year back home in any new job? Probably 14, right? I would say you have little to complain about.
Most eikaiwa give roughly 3 weeks off (Golden Week, depending on how it falls in the month; Obon, again roughly a week depending on the calendar; and a week or 10 days around New Year). |
Good to know. Thanks for the response Glenski. Was working at a private school in another country prior to this and had about 8 weeks off. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting the shaft. |
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KnockoutNed
Joined: 03 Dec 2009
Posts: 87
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Also, when you ask for additional time off and it's granted is it usually paid? |
What do you mean by "additional"? Your contract should state just how many days off you get per year. Anything beyond that is probably going to cost you, not the employer, and I think you might find it hard to get anyway. |
If I wanted to take extra time off, apart from the 17 days I'm already getting. |
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benhlandau
Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:17 pm Post subject: |
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| A little off topic, but out of curiosity, does anyone know which school offers the most paid vacation time? I believe ECC provides their teachers with 6 weeks. Not bad. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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If you want to take a day off apart from what you're given, don't expect to be paid for it. Also, expect to have a bit of a struggle for it more often than not. You are hired to be present for a scheduled business (teaching assigned classes), and that usually means you can't take off whenever you like it. This will vary with the school's admin and its policy on other teachers covering for you.
| benhlandau wrote: |
| A little off topic, but out of curiosity, does anyone know which school offers the most paid vacation time? |
I don't think people should be asking that at this point in time. Even without the earthquake disaster, people are expected to show up on time when they are scheduled. Get used to a Japanese way of doing things, which means people usually don't ask for time off, and it also means that you might have to take the vacation days that you are scheduled to take instead of being allowed to take what you want.
Choose a school not on the basis of how many vacation days you get. You're here to work. Find out what the duties are and see if that is more to your liking than the paid days off.
Eikaiwa will have fewer days off in general because they cater to a paid clientele. ALTs may have the advantage of getting national holidays off, but dispatch ALTs often/usually don't get paid for any time off. That could mean a whole month or so during summer/spring/winter breaks. |
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benhlandau
Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 10:57 pm Post subject: |
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| benhlandau wrote: |
| A little off topic, but out of curiosity, does anyone know which school offers the most paid vacation time? |
| Glenski wrote: |
I don't think people should be asking that at this point in time. Even without the earthquake disaster, people are expected to show up on time when they are scheduled. Get used to a Japanese way of doing things, which means people usually don't ask for time off, and it also means that you might have to take the vacation days that you are scheduled to take instead of being allowed to take what you want.
Choose a school not on the basis of how many vacation days you get. You're here to work. Find out what the duties are and see if that is more to your liking than the paid days off.
Eikaiwa will have fewer days off in general because they cater to a paid clientele. ALTs may have the advantage of getting national holidays off, but dispatch ALTs often/usually don't get paid for any time off. That could mean a whole month or so during summer/spring/winter breaks. |
Glenski, I think you're misunderstanding my question/motivations.
I've already chosen a school and will begin in July. I'm aware of the "Japanese way of doing things," and obviously made my choice (of eikaiwa) for a variety of reasons.
Just out of curiosity though, I was wondering if anyone knows how much paid vaca time uni-teachers typically get compared to alts, and eikaiwa's. It varies of course, but are there any schools/positions that are particularly notable for paid time time off? |
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sabina
Joined: 11 Nov 2010
Posts: 75
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:35 am Post subject: |
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| I get 3 weeks off (in addition to national holidays) which I think is around the standard amount for a private school teacher. I'd wager that public school teachers get more time off because the students have vacations, correct? But it seems that even during their vacations Japanese students still have to come in for private English lessons. Hence, less vacation for us. I dunno, that's just my reasoning. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 7:12 am Post subject: |
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| benhlandau wrote: |
Glenski, I think you're misunderstanding my question/motivations.
I've already chosen a school and will begin in July. I'm aware of the "Japanese way of doing things," and obviously made my choice (of eikaiwa) for a variety of reasons. |
Help me to understand, then. What was your "motivation"?
By the way, your OP said you were working (present tense) at that language school. Now you say you will (future tense). Can you see why this is making it hard to understand?
[quoteJust out of curiosity though, I was wondering if anyone knows how much paid vaca time uni-teachers typically get compared to alts, and eikaiwa's. It varies of course, but are there any schools/positions that are particularly notable for paid time time off?[/quote]I'll answer you with my uni, but I'm off to class right now. I hope this wasn't part of the OP because it certainly wasn't mentioned until just now!
BTW, are you even eligible for uni work? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| benhlandau wrote: |
Glenski, I think you're misunderstanding my question/motivations.
I've already chosen a school and will begin in July. I'm aware of the "Japanese way of doing things," and obviously made my choice (of eikaiwa) for a variety of reasons. |
Help me to understand, then. What was your "motivation"?
By the way, your OP said you were working (present tense) at that language school. Now you say you will (future tense). Can you see why this is making it hard to understand?
| Quote: |
| Just out of curiosity though, I was wondering if anyone knows how much paid vaca time uni-teachers typically get compared to alts, and eikaiwa's. It varies of course, but are there any schools/positions that are particularly notable for paid time time off? |
I'll answer you with my uni, but I'm off to class right now. I hope this wasn't part of the OP because it certainly wasn't mentioned until just now!
BTW, are you even eligible for uni work?
EDIT: Back from class.
I work at a national uni. Classes are out from early Feb to April 1, from early August to October 1, and for 3-4 weeks for winter break. I have to work on all those days essentially, though. I get 20 days of paid vacation every year that I can take anytime and can carry over some of that up to a limit. |
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benhlandau
Joined: 11 Feb 2011
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm
| Glenski wrote: |
Help me to understand, then. What was your "motivation"?
By the way, your OP said you were working (present tense) at that language school. Now you say you will (future tense). Can you see why this is making it hard to understand? |
This is my OP:
| benhlandau wrote: |
| A little off topic, but out of curiosity, does anyone know which school offers the most paid vacation time? I believe ECC provides their teachers with 6 weeks. Not bad. |
I don't see how that implies in any way that I'm presently working? As I said, I was just curious. Perhaps though, you are confusing me with the original thread starter "KnockoutNed."
To answer your last question, I am eligible to work at a UNI. I have an MA in communications, and have TA'd. That being said, I didn't apply to work at any UNI's in Japan. The advice I was given was that unless my Japanese level was higher (I've been studying JP for fun for almost two years, but am still quite limited), or had EFL experience (I don't), I wouldn't be hired right away. Sounds like a great job though. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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| benhlandau wrote: |
| I don't see how that implies in any way that I'm presently working? As I said, I was just curious. Perhaps though, you are confusing me with the original thread starter "KnockoutNed." |
Yes, I was. Sorry about that.
| benhlandau wrote: |
| To answer your last question, I am eligible to work at a UNI. I have an MA in communications, and have TA'd. That being said, I didn't apply to work at any UNI's in Japan. |
That background alone is not enough to make you eligible for working at a Japanese uni. You will need publications and (usually) some work experience in Japan and (usually) some level of Japanese language ability. Do you have all of those, too? It sounds like you don't.
| benhlandau wrote: |
| Sounds like a great job though. |
It depends. Most FT uni jobs are not tenured, so you will be on the street again in 3 years or so. The number of teaching hours is not all that great compared to HS or eikaiwa (I've worked in all 3), but the classes are usually 90-minutes long, which can be a bit hard if you're only used to 45-minute classes. Also, unless you have the power to limit class size, you might have huge class sections. I used to have 90-120 students in just one section of reading/listening and 50-60 in one section of oral communication! Depending on the uni, you may also be required to attend and participate in all-Japanese-language staff meetings/committees and perform other sundry tasks at no extra pay. Proofreading is usually one of them. At my school luckily we have only one staff meeting per month, but I am copyeditor for an annual scientific conference proceedings, and every so often we have to spend 2 hours or more per week with first-year students on a special field program (tilling gardens, feeding pigs, milking cows, shearing sheep, planting trees, etc.). And, then there are the entrance exams (yes, more than one type) that some teachers are called upon to write, monitor, and correct; fortunately, those get a little extra money, but they eat up one's weekend. And, depending on the school you may be called upon to join the ranks of "publish or perish" something every year. At my school I also manage the English library and its PT student workers.
PT work at unis doesn't have so many responsibilities, of course, but it can be tough in other ways. Gaijinalways is a good source of this information, so I hope he posts here. |
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flyer
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 539
Location: Sapporo Japan
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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| I get 24 days plus national holidays |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 2:47 am Post subject: |
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6 days flexible holiday full pay
all national holidays full pay
last week of July full pay
first week in January full pay
All of August %60 pay
last week of December no pay
last week and a half of March no pay
If i choose to not take my 6 flexible days then they add 6 days pay to my final pay check. |
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Nagoyaguy
Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 425
Location: Aichi, Japan
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| Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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I work part time at a few universities, so I can tell you the situation.
As Glenski said, you need an education related MA/MEd, plus some Japanese ability. Publications and teaching experience in Japan (especially) are a bit plus. The biggest plus is having some connections. If you are "networked", you get notice of available classes, hear about possible openings, learn who is going back to their home country, etc.
Many unis have a limit on the number of classes they will give you to start. In my case, one school had a limit of 3 classes for new teachers in their first year. After that, no limit.
The salary is paid per 'koma'. A koma is one 90 minute class, once a week. For example, Monday first period (910-1040) every week is one koma. Salary is paid monthly, 12 months of the year. Most part timers have from 10 to 18 koma. The max I have heard about is 20.
In my experience, private unis pay more than public. Around here, the range is from 25,000 to 45,000 yen per koma. So, a teacher with a 14 koma schedule can make from 350,000-600,0000 yen per month, depending on where they are working.
The school year is divided into two 15 week terms, spring and fall. For me, spring term started April 8 and finishes July 28. Fall term is September 19 to January 16. The in between times are free. |
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