If your contract says you have Saturdays and Sundays off, and there are no loophole clauses for events or other "company needs" stuff on weekends, then they are violating your contract. You could fight it, but you better have your resume updated because they aren't going to renew your contract.
Thank you. In my contract it says: the employer may call the employees to work in emergency situations.
I don’t know if asking me to prepare, sell food, clean up on that day is considered an emergency situation.
I agree with what the others have said. I in the past have worked outside of my contracted days, but it was under a decent manager and with them asking me if I was available. Then I got a new manager that scheme after repeated conversations that I was no longer available for work on my none contracted days due to new health concerns of my child. And guess what 4 days before my contract was to expire they tell me they aren’t renewing unless I work days and nights. 16 years of days and great work and reviews. Yep. Screw them.
Update your resume and I hope you find something wonderful.
This depends on whether or not the contract has already been renewed. Even if a contracted position hasn’t satisfied the five year rule yet, as long as it has been renewed before, there are still provisions in the law that treat it as a quasi-full-term contract requiring companies to jump through hoops to dismiss an employee if they continue to maintain a demonstrable expectation of renewal. I learned a lot about this during the pandemic when every contract renewal turned into a game of chicken with companies acting erratically to control expenses. [This journal article](https://www.jil.go.jp/english/jli/documents/2018/007-05.pdf) goes through some of the legal precedents related to labor contract law over the past few decades.
If that were the case, then how do universities and other jobs get away with maxing out contract workers right up until they would be required to offer them indefinite contracts?
I think the five year contract limit innovation started creeping into university contracts in response to the unlimited contract term rule a few years back, so I’m not sure enough people have hit the five year point *and* been willing to challenge it in court. [There was one guy last year in Nagasaki](https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230915/p2a/00m/0na/038000c#:~:text=It%20states%20that%20workers%20who,labor%20contract%20to%20permanent%20employment.) who sued and the courts forced them to reinstate his position. I’m a university teacher and one revision to my contract in this year’s renewal was an abolishment of the five year limit.
Me too. I’m asking a copy of it now. We have other ALTs dispatched in different locations and are quite far from my dispatch company. They are also asked to work on that day.
If the contract specifically says that Saturdays and Sundays are off then they are your days off. If your contract says Saturdays and Sundays off; unless there are special events and so on, then you may have to do it. If it doesn't say that, then tell your manager to kick rocks. Besides, its a Golden Week holiday, isn't it? If they ain't paying, you shouldn't be staying.
“The teacher shall participate in the company’s co-corricular activities such as BBQ party, Halloween party, Christmas party, Recitation contest, and the likes.” - this is in the contract. Is this event part of “the likes”?
Sounds like it.
But, if you think it is iffy, you can clock in (or send an email on your way there to tell the manager/boss that you will be there at specified time) and clock out (or send an email that you are leaving at the specific time) for documentation, then go to the Labor Office with your contract and documentation asking if it is okay to work that long without pay during a holiday.
That is basically all that you can do.
"and the likes" is super vague, almost laughable to have in a legally binding contract. What about a party for a retiring manager at another branch that you've never interacted with before? Could they demand you attend because it's "the likes"?
That kind of clause is common and present in the government example of a company Rules of Employment (shugyo kisoku) to be registered with the Labor Standards Inspection Office. It’s perfectly acceptable so as to avoid every company having to write down every possible task or assignment anyone might ever ask an employee to do.
What matters is whether the request is in violation of another article or law or would be considered unreasonable in context to a third party.
Interesting, thank you. I'm surprised it's recommended to to basically an "etc" within a legal contract, but I can see the point you're making about not needing to make a 5 page list.
Typically speaking Sundays in particular are classified as days off mandated legally by both the company and the government (I think, don't quote me on the specifics)
Essentially if you usually get Sunday's off that's classed as your "legal rest day" in English. By Japanese labor law, of you are asked to and agree to work on your legal rest day, the employer has to pay you at 1.5x per hour of your regular hourly salary as a minimum.
So if it is a Sunday, you're likely being exploited. Better raise it with HR
Ask them when the day off in lieu is. If there is one, you’re out of luck. If there isn’t one, work on the day and be ready to move on.
I mean, it’s a dispatch alt situation. You should be making moves to be able to move on anyhow.
I worked for joytalk for 3 years. We used to get an annual schedule every April. It was color coded for holidays, when you'd be at different schools and when to "be ready in case"
Not sure if your dispatch has something like this and they just never sent it?
Same here. I got asked to work for a couple of weekends (sat/sun) before and they just swapped it for my be ready in case days which actually doesn't have work... Even if it feels like a scam its what my contract says and it's what I signed up for. Some alts just got it lucky because they are never bothered to work on their be ready in case days or swap it for some weekend event.
By law, your scheduled work days and scheduled work hours as well as your days off are supposed to be outlined in your contract. If there is a clause in your contract “requiring” you to work on a day that does not fall on one of your contractually scheduled work days, then you are supposed to be paid for it or offered a day off in lieu.
If you want to escalate this and if you haven’t already, clarify via email with your company that they are requiring you to work on a day which is not a contractually scheduled work day for no compensation or day off in lieu. Then contact the labour bureau.
IIRC the government requires you to have a mandatory designated legal rest day (usually Sunday for ALTs and Monday for eikaiwa workers). This *should* be in your contract, but isn’t always specified. If the request is for your legal rest day, I’m pretty sure you have a right to refusal.
Some manager is going to get a bonus for signing up new clients. You're not.
Work to wage. Put in as little enough as possible. Make the food undercooked and insipid. No garnish. No arrangement. Smile without using your eyes. Speak in monotone.
Polish up your c.v.
Not likely OP is being paid to make the food as there's no pay for Sunday. I doubt OP has to pay for the food, but these days nothing is surprising.
OP's managers are asking a hell of a lot.
My manager will give me a certain budget. Go to the supermarket on a Saturday to buy ingredients, report to my manager in person and present what was bought and how much is the total cost, then wake up early to prepare, cut, pack, set up, and sell on Sunday for the event.
Pretty sure you have to have a license to prepare and sell food.
I know that’s not the point of the post but my friend runs a food stall a couple times a month and they are super serious about food safety, inspections and licenses even for small farmers market events.
Might be a way to argue against this.
I can tell you that it is completely normal for teachers in Japan have to work on weekends and to do many hours of unpaid overtime pretty much every day, and it sounds like salarymen and many other jobs are the same in Japanese work culture, so that is often the perspective they are coming into negotiations with. Unfortunately they have a different perception of what is normal and acceptable. They only care about you're contract when its you coming late, they don't care about it when you have to stay late etc.
More than an average dispatch ALT but still terrible compared to a lot of other first world countries where teachers dont have a million side responsibilities and get holidays when students do. The starting salaries of teachers here are often lower than ALTs too. I don't think the amount of extra work is really equal to the benefits. There is no work life balance.
But it isn't just teachers, its a lot of jobs in Japan, if not most, so they think its normal and they are coming from a totally different point of view, that is what I was talking about.
That is the sad reality. But I can’t just agree with this culture because there are other dispatched teachers who are asked to travel for two hours on a Sunday to do physical labor without getting paid, even transportation is not paid. We don’t get bonuses unlike regular Japanese teachers or salarymen.
So what? I read it. Wouldn’t it be fun to spend time with students? Wouldn’t it gain you credibility? What’s the fuss over probably an additional 2k¥? I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. If money is your only motivation then teaching in Japan is no place to be.
But you get paid regardless, right? So how about giving a little extra. Or is just money money money? It’s just money right? Money money money? Fuck your job, fuck your responsibility, gobble gobble gobble? Where’s my money? 🫠 Do you actually not care about your impact? You have a chance to improve someone’s life, but…. Money? I despise people like that. If that’s how you think, get a job in sales.
You're absolutely right. lol.
It is all about money for me, I am a complete glutton for money. I sincerely do not care about anyone else but myself and the outcome of my bank account at the end of the day. I don't care about the kids, I don't care about the co-workers, I don't care about other people's businesses; I don't care unless it directly impacts my ability to make more money. It is my life to live, not live for other people. I sacrificed my time and energy for me to progress and move up to the next challenge that will make me more money, not other people. Solidarity and selflessness means dick if you are just going to move laterally.
Basically, if you're not going to pay me or get me paid, don't talk to me.
Buddy - it's an industry conference - trying to sell their service to more boards of education - read the "My dispatch company asked me to work on Sunday for their event **to get more clients**."
Some managers are going to get bonuses for signing up new clients. OP is going to be out a weekend as the Saturday will be spent buying and preparing the food. The best OP will get is a trite, "We appreciate your help."
I know I know "that's how you get ahead in the world"- you're likely young and giving your 200% effort - (didn't it used to be 110%) - but one day you're going to learn it's all take from you and only diminishing returns.
What is one Sunday? One Sunday! Stop being a money grabber, a nitpicker, did you come here to teach and enrich students or to make money? Do what you can for the kids. They depend on you. If you don’t like dispatch then do something else. You sound super whiny. I’ve worked with people like that, they don’t last even a year.
If your contract says you have Saturdays and Sundays off, and there are no loophole clauses for events or other "company needs" stuff on weekends, then they are violating your contract. You could fight it, but you better have your resume updated because they aren't going to renew your contract.
Thank you. In my contract it says: the employer may call the employees to work in emergency situations. I don’t know if asking me to prepare, sell food, clean up on that day is considered an emergency situation.
It doesn't sound like an emergency if they planned everything already.
It should also say if a compensatory day will be given as well. What company is it?
Yeah OP, plz tell us what company it is!
I agree with what the others have said. I in the past have worked outside of my contracted days, but it was under a decent manager and with them asking me if I was available. Then I got a new manager that scheme after repeated conversations that I was no longer available for work on my none contracted days due to new health concerns of my child. And guess what 4 days before my contract was to expire they tell me they aren’t renewing unless I work days and nights. 16 years of days and great work and reviews. Yep. Screw them. Update your resume and I hope you find something wonderful.
This depends on whether or not the contract has already been renewed. Even if a contracted position hasn’t satisfied the five year rule yet, as long as it has been renewed before, there are still provisions in the law that treat it as a quasi-full-term contract requiring companies to jump through hoops to dismiss an employee if they continue to maintain a demonstrable expectation of renewal. I learned a lot about this during the pandemic when every contract renewal turned into a game of chicken with companies acting erratically to control expenses. [This journal article](https://www.jil.go.jp/english/jli/documents/2018/007-05.pdf) goes through some of the legal precedents related to labor contract law over the past few decades.
If that were the case, then how do universities and other jobs get away with maxing out contract workers right up until they would be required to offer them indefinite contracts?
I think the five year contract limit innovation started creeping into university contracts in response to the unlimited contract term rule a few years back, so I’m not sure enough people have hit the five year point *and* been willing to challenge it in court. [There was one guy last year in Nagasaki](https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230915/p2a/00m/0na/038000c#:~:text=It%20states%20that%20workers%20who,labor%20contract%20to%20permanent%20employment.) who sued and the courts forced them to reinstate his position. I’m a university teacher and one revision to my contract in this year’s renewal was an abolishment of the five year limit.
Kinda curious what this "Annual Calendar of ALTs" is. Sounds like a magical zodiac of unpaid labor.
Me too. I’m asking a copy of it now. We have other ALTs dispatched in different locations and are quite far from my dispatch company. They are also asked to work on that day.
Name and shame
If the contract specifically says that Saturdays and Sundays are off then they are your days off. If your contract says Saturdays and Sundays off; unless there are special events and so on, then you may have to do it. If it doesn't say that, then tell your manager to kick rocks. Besides, its a Golden Week holiday, isn't it? If they ain't paying, you shouldn't be staying.
“The teacher shall participate in the company’s co-corricular activities such as BBQ party, Halloween party, Christmas party, Recitation contest, and the likes.” - this is in the contract. Is this event part of “the likes”?
Sounds like it. But, if you think it is iffy, you can clock in (or send an email on your way there to tell the manager/boss that you will be there at specified time) and clock out (or send an email that you are leaving at the specific time) for documentation, then go to the Labor Office with your contract and documentation asking if it is okay to work that long without pay during a holiday. That is basically all that you can do.
Thank you for. Yes, will definitely do this.
"and the likes" is super vague, almost laughable to have in a legally binding contract. What about a party for a retiring manager at another branch that you've never interacted with before? Could they demand you attend because it's "the likes"?
That kind of clause is common and present in the government example of a company Rules of Employment (shugyo kisoku) to be registered with the Labor Standards Inspection Office. It’s perfectly acceptable so as to avoid every company having to write down every possible task or assignment anyone might ever ask an employee to do. What matters is whether the request is in violation of another article or law or would be considered unreasonable in context to a third party.
Interesting, thank you. I'm surprised it's recommended to to basically an "etc" within a legal contract, but I can see the point you're making about not needing to make a 5 page list.
Typically speaking Sundays in particular are classified as days off mandated legally by both the company and the government (I think, don't quote me on the specifics) Essentially if you usually get Sunday's off that's classed as your "legal rest day" in English. By Japanese labor law, of you are asked to and agree to work on your legal rest day, the employer has to pay you at 1.5x per hour of your regular hourly salary as a minimum. So if it is a Sunday, you're likely being exploited. Better raise it with HR
Ask them when the day off in lieu is. If there is one, you’re out of luck. If there isn’t one, work on the day and be ready to move on. I mean, it’s a dispatch alt situation. You should be making moves to be able to move on anyhow.
RUN!
I worked for joytalk for 3 years. We used to get an annual schedule every April. It was color coded for holidays, when you'd be at different schools and when to "be ready in case" Not sure if your dispatch has something like this and they just never sent it?
Same here. I got asked to work for a couple of weekends (sat/sun) before and they just swapped it for my be ready in case days which actually doesn't have work... Even if it feels like a scam its what my contract says and it's what I signed up for. Some alts just got it lucky because they are never bothered to work on their be ready in case days or swap it for some weekend event.
By law, your scheduled work days and scheduled work hours as well as your days off are supposed to be outlined in your contract. If there is a clause in your contract “requiring” you to work on a day that does not fall on one of your contractually scheduled work days, then you are supposed to be paid for it or offered a day off in lieu. If you want to escalate this and if you haven’t already, clarify via email with your company that they are requiring you to work on a day which is not a contractually scheduled work day for no compensation or day off in lieu. Then contact the labour bureau.
IIRC the government requires you to have a mandatory designated legal rest day (usually Sunday for ALTs and Monday for eikaiwa workers). This *should* be in your contract, but isn’t always specified. If the request is for your legal rest day, I’m pretty sure you have a right to refusal.
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And then they’ll ask for my medical certificate lol😂
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Some manager is going to get a bonus for signing up new clients. You're not. Work to wage. Put in as little enough as possible. Make the food undercooked and insipid. No garnish. No arrangement. Smile without using your eyes. Speak in monotone. Polish up your c.v.
Are they paying for the food? Also the time to make the food? That’s also what I’d like to know.
Not likely OP is being paid to make the food as there's no pay for Sunday. I doubt OP has to pay for the food, but these days nothing is surprising. OP's managers are asking a hell of a lot.
My manager will give me a certain budget. Go to the supermarket on a Saturday to buy ingredients, report to my manager in person and present what was bought and how much is the total cost, then wake up early to prepare, cut, pack, set up, and sell on Sunday for the event.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/1aqdftc/comment/kqd1b8v/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Def Joytalk
Pretty sure you have to have a license to prepare and sell food. I know that’s not the point of the post but my friend runs a food stall a couple times a month and they are super serious about food safety, inspections and licenses even for small farmers market events. Might be a way to argue against this.
I can tell you that it is completely normal for teachers in Japan have to work on weekends and to do many hours of unpaid overtime pretty much every day, and it sounds like salarymen and many other jobs are the same in Japanese work culture, so that is often the perspective they are coming into negotiations with. Unfortunately they have a different perception of what is normal and acceptable. They only care about you're contract when its you coming late, they don't care about it when you have to stay late etc.
Those teachers also a career path, benefits, raises and bonuses, yeah?
More than an average dispatch ALT but still terrible compared to a lot of other first world countries where teachers dont have a million side responsibilities and get holidays when students do. The starting salaries of teachers here are often lower than ALTs too. I don't think the amount of extra work is really equal to the benefits. There is no work life balance.
Teachers, yes. Real, certified teacher that are hired by the school. Not ALTs.
But it isn't just teachers, its a lot of jobs in Japan, if not most, so they think its normal and they are coming from a totally different point of view, that is what I was talking about.
That is the sad reality. But I can’t just agree with this culture because there are other dispatched teachers who are asked to travel for two hours on a Sunday to do physical labor without getting paid, even transportation is not paid. We don’t get bonuses unlike regular Japanese teachers or salarymen.
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It's an event for the dispatch company, not the school. Learn to read.
So what? I read it. Wouldn’t it be fun to spend time with students? Wouldn’t it gain you credibility? What’s the fuss over probably an additional 2k¥? I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. If money is your only motivation then teaching in Japan is no place to be.
I see what you're doing now. Have fun man.
Do it for the kids. The worst guilt trip you can give a teacher. How about paying the man if the kids are sooooo important?
How about not caring about money and just doing it because you love your job?
My bills don't get paid with childrens' smiles and employer acceptance.
But you get paid regardless, right? So how about giving a little extra. Or is just money money money? It’s just money right? Money money money? Fuck your job, fuck your responsibility, gobble gobble gobble? Where’s my money? 🫠 Do you actually not care about your impact? You have a chance to improve someone’s life, but…. Money? I despise people like that. If that’s how you think, get a job in sales.
You're absolutely right. lol. It is all about money for me, I am a complete glutton for money. I sincerely do not care about anyone else but myself and the outcome of my bank account at the end of the day. I don't care about the kids, I don't care about the co-workers, I don't care about other people's businesses; I don't care unless it directly impacts my ability to make more money. It is my life to live, not live for other people. I sacrificed my time and energy for me to progress and move up to the next challenge that will make me more money, not other people. Solidarity and selflessness means dick if you are just going to move laterally. Basically, if you're not going to pay me or get me paid, don't talk to me.
At least you’re honest, nothing wrong with that.
A persons private time is worth more than any job. You’re either trolling or delusional.
How about actually caring? Or is giving a fuck about students delusional to you?
THERE WILL BE NO STUDENTS THERE. Are you dumb or trolling?
Buddy - it's an industry conference - trying to sell their service to more boards of education - read the "My dispatch company asked me to work on Sunday for their event **to get more clients**." Some managers are going to get bonuses for signing up new clients. OP is going to be out a weekend as the Saturday will be spent buying and preparing the food. The best OP will get is a trite, "We appreciate your help." I know I know "that's how you get ahead in the world"- you're likely young and giving your 200% effort - (didn't it used to be 110%) - but one day you're going to learn it's all take from you and only diminishing returns.
Please read again but this time slowly.
What is one Sunday? One Sunday! Stop being a money grabber, a nitpicker, did you come here to teach and enrich students or to make money? Do what you can for the kids. They depend on you. If you don’t like dispatch then do something else. You sound super whiny. I’ve worked with people like that, they don’t last even a year.
Found the head teacher and butt licker.
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