Contractual Obligations.

[Kilt]

A small disclaimer - Been in Japan for nearly 7 years. I know alot about Japan and the culture and do my best to fit in. I have many likes and dislikes about Japan. I do try to look at things with an open mind.

Warning to Foreigners seeking a Job in Japan.

I came to Japan just over five years ago. After completing a Masters degree, my Supervisors suggested I apply at a well know Japan Research Institute. They mentioned it as being a nice new Institute with a lot of funding. I suspect they put in a good word for me, as I got an interview soon after I applied. The interview process was fairly simple, and having visited Japan on two previous occasions, once on holiday, the other on a working holiday visa, I had a good idea of what to expect and how to behave. Everything went smoothly and a few months later I was offered a job. I was also given the details about my contract. They would fund my moving expenses to Japan, including airfare and shipping of personal belongings. Once in Japan, they would pay for my “Key” money and support my housing. There were other benefits and they also promised to pay for my return to my home country after completion of my contract. The contract was a 1 year contract, renewable for up to 5 years. At the completion of the 5 years, you could then reapply for another contract.
During my 5 years in Japan I got married to a wonderful Japanese girl, and we had a son. Soon after his birth I started to realize that Japan was probably not the best place to raise a child. I was also unhappy with my housing and couldn’t change housing (Company Rules) or I would otherwise lose housing support. My salary wasn’t bad, but the cost of moving and having to pay rent would make saving for the future impossible. There were also rumors of cutting our housing support altogether, which was another reason I thought it might be time to leave. All the other foreigners who had worked at the Institute had already left to other jobs, and I was about the last one to leave. It seemed that the longer you stayed the more problems you had when it came to contractual obligations. Although I had it in writing that they were obligated to pay for moving expenses for myself, spouse and dependents, they initially refused to cover any costs. They then indicated they would cover the costs of my airfare and a set amount of my shipping costs (about 4 cubic meters).
Some might say I should be happy that the company would even pay some of the shipping fee and cover my airfare, since it was no longer in their regulations to pay for anything. But I see it differently. When you move 6000 km away from your home, family and friends, with a certain set of expectations, those expectations should be met. Prior to moving to Japan I understood that I would not have to worry about the costs of moving to and from Japan. And while staying in Japan I did purchase some items that I probably would not have purchased if I had of know I would be paying to ship them back to my home country.
I also understand their point of view. When they first started hiring foreigners, their budget was much bigger. Since then there have been cutbacks. The rules as indicated made it rather expensive to send people back home, and some workers might have abused the system. But after hearing arguments from them giving reasons why they shouldn’t have to pay for my moving expenses, I kind of lost all sympathy.
Arguments for not covering my costs included –
1) It is no longer part of our Regulations.
2) The Japanese wording is different from the English I was given.
3) The person who wrote me the email about the initial contract details no longer works for the company.
4) The last several researchers who returned home got either no funding or a similar package. These people were friends and colleagues of mine and were treated in a similar manner as myself. Fortunately for them, they were moving to other research centers which were covering there moving expenses. In my case, I wasn’t moving onto another job and I knew that would be the case when I first got hired.
5) Because I got married and had a kid while in Japan, they won’t pay for my family’s costs. Sure, this seems reasonable to me, even though it contradicts what I was given in writing (the writing wasn’t overly clear on this one). I did have a problem with this because it was more a personal decision on account of the directors, rather than a Regulation, as there really is no Regulation for this specific situation. Plus, previous researchers who had already left and had children born in Japan (so basically gaining dependents while in Japan), had all their expenses covered including those of their dependents.

Financially, I can afford the move. I have saved up some money while working in Japan. But then I also think what if I couldn’t afford it, what if I had lived from paycheck to paycheck.
So, a warning to those who want to move to Japan to work, especially technical and skilled people. I suggest before you sign any contract, make sure all the details are on the contract you sign. Get them to confirm that all the obligations are guaranteed regardless and changes that might take place in company rules or personnel. Previously, I had always considered Japanese people to be reasonably honest. And I would never have expected this type of behavior from a well known research institute.
Like most of you, I have read horror stories of how some foreigners are treated in Japan, the old “The Japanese translation is different” and stuff like that. But I would never have thought a well known international research institute would try to pull the stuff that the English schools do.
A side note: Legally I don’t have a case. Although they initially promised to pay for my return trip when the job started, at some point, the fine print of the contract stated than no moving costs are covered (after the 4th or 5th year).
Another sore point, many of the researchers that came here left after less than 2 or 3 years and had all their expenses covered. And yet someone who stays the course and puts in his 5 years isn’t rewarded, but is basically punished. I was even one of the very few Foreigners who received an extension to their original 5 year contract, so I find it unlikely that they were unhappy with my work performance.
After 5+ years I was hoping to leave Japan on a good note and it seems that won't be the case as I will now be paying expenses that I figured I wouldn't have to worry about.
There is a lot of things I have learned about Japan in the past 7 years. If you do plan on moving here to work, I suggest you do your research. I also suggest you inquire in detail about living arrangements, and fees, as another surprise we received is that we are responsible for a rather large cleaning fee after we move out of our premises. We had always assumed that the substantial key money was used to cover any and all remodelling of the mansion after we left.
Live and Learn.

I would be interested to know if there is some place I can make a formal complaint to.

Kilt.

[Ewok85]

Having read only the first and last paragraph I'll say this (and come back later to read it properly)

1) Always read the contract from end to end and understand everything. Questions anything you don't understand, and make sure it is not too vague.

2) Ask for both the Japanese and English copies of the contract. It is a legal requirement that both exist, and they both match. If you sign the English copy, it is the "main" copy, so to speak.

3) Ensure you have a contract, that it is dated correctly.

4) Read the labor laws and contract laws (available in English) from the Labor office. I'll get the link later

5) If you do have trouble, try talking to the Labor Office, or if you are in a union, talk to them.

6) Never roll over and give up, don't sign anything you don't understand or do not agree with. As is with most countries, the employees hold the power legally, the employers hold the power mentally. Don't be bullied.

[Mikawa Ossan]

This will sound harsh, but if the fine print of the contract that you first received said that they will not cover your moving expenses if you stay for more than 4 or 5 years and you did indeed stay above that time, then you deserve no sympathy. It may be a strange system, but it was in place from that start, and if you had read your contract thoroughly (which you should always do) you would have been aware of that fact.

[Glenski]

I suggest before you sign any contract, make sure all the details are on the contract you sign. Get them to confirm that all the obligations are guaranteed regardless and changes that might take place in company rules or personnel.

I don't think you can ask this of any employer anywhere. You will certainly come off sounding like an arrogant, pushy person, or someone who has serious doubts about the trustworthiness of the employer from day one. Not a good way to start a job. Besides, who can guarantee that a policy will not change?

I agree with the others. You start by trying to tell people you got shafted, but in essence, they went by the letter of the original contract. I'm sorry that things worked out this way, but you were warned, so to speak.

BTW, was that "famous institute" RIKEN or Tsukuba?

[Kilt]

Think a couple of you got confused (not surprising, my english isnt good).

There was no fine print in the original contract and they certainly didnt follow the original contract. The original contract states that they have to pay all the moving expenses of myself and dependents to my home country including airfare. End of story.
There rules and regulations changed after 3 or 4 years due to budget cutbacks. And that is fine by me, but people who came prior to these cutbacks should still be bound by their original contract, or at least given some compensation. We were also not really informed of these changes. Maybe some of us were thinking of leaving, and had we know they were going to change the system, we might have left earlier to be covered under the old system.
Legally, I could probably fight it because the original contract states this very clearly. However, I also feel that it would be kind of pointless as any costs that I might recover would simply be used in legal fees. I think a better and cheaper way of going about things is simply bad publicity. I know alot of people in the research community and I can basically trash this Institutes name through contacts and media. The downside is that I might be seen as simply a bitter x-employee.
Kilt.

[Glenski]

There was no fine print in the original contract

Really? Then why did you write the following?

Legally I don’t have a case. Although they initially promised to pay for my return trip when the job started, at some point, the fine print of the contract stated than no moving costs are covered (after the 4th or 5th year).

The original contract states that they have to pay all the moving expenses of myself and dependents to my home country including airfare. End of story.

Sigh. You really do have a problem with writing, because you just wrote (above) that they have no obligation after a certain time has passed. It passed. THAT is the end of story.

There[sic] rules and regulations changed after 3 or 4 years due to budget cutbacks.

That's not what you wrote earlier.

Legally, I could probably fight it because the original contract states this very clearly.

States what? Look at what I have cut/pasted from your OP. Either you have a very poor way of expressing yourself clearly, or something here is terribly amiss. The following is all you wrote about your original contract:

I was also given the details about my contract. They would fund my moving expenses to Japan, including airfare and shipping of personal belongings. Once in Japan, they would pay for my “Key” money and support my housing. There were other benefits and they also promised to pay for my return to my home country after completion of my contract. The contract was a 1 year contract, renewable for up to 5 years. At the completion of the 5 years, you could then reapply for another contract.

And, then you wrote this:

Although I had it in writing that they were obligated to pay for moving expenses for myself, spouse and dependents, they initially refused to cover any costs.

(At this point, you have not mentioned any 4-5 year exemption, but you did later.)

they won’t pay for my family’s costs. Sure, this seems reasonable to me, even though it contradicts what I was given in writing (the writing wasn’t overly clear on this one).

So, now the contract wasn't clear? C'mon. Which is it here? I am having a very hard time following your reasoning.

At the risk of being redundant, let me requote with different emphasis:

Legally I don’t have a case. Although they initially promised to pay for my return trip when the job started, at some point, the fine print of the contract stated than no moving costs are covered (after the 4th or 5th year).

What do you mean by "at some point"?

Did the original contract have a clause exempting them from paying your expenses after 4-5 years? Yes or no?

[Mike Cash]

I find it difficult to follow the woes of primadona expats.

[Ewok85]

Originally Posted by Kilt

There was no fine print in the original contract and they certainly didnt follow the original contract. The original contract states that they have to pay all the moving expenses of myself and dependents to my home country including airfare. End of story.

If the rules/regulations/conditions change, they need to be changed in the contract, and you need to agree and sign new a new contract. My contact has changed 3 times in the last year (once to match with new laws regarding my area of work, once when my start time changed from 8:40 to 8:30) and each time I was given an English explanation and Japanese contract, time to check and sign it. In both cases it was with no loss or ill effect for me, so I didn't have a problem.

If you were to fight it, you would win and be compensated. But I would contact the labor office to see how to go about this first.

And the promised links!

Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/

[PDF] Labour Standards Law - worth a read
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborin...j_law1-rev.pdf

[Mikawa Ossan]

Could you just write what your contract stipulated word by word? (In other words post the relevant parts of your original contract. ) That would be the easiest way to ascertain "the truth".

[Kilt]

Glenski
Maybe an example will help.

Original contract.
$50,000 a year. 1 year contract, renewable.
Airfare to Japan paid in full (for oneself and dependents)
Moving expenses paid in full (except car, pet and furniture)
Housing support, key money to a maximum $6000.
Monthly support to a maximum $1500.
And a few other benefits and a few other fees.
Return to home country covered same as moving to Japan expenses.
Moving to 3rd Country may or may not be covered.

The actual contract page that you sign only contains - salary, duties, and time period the contract is in force. Everything else is contained in a seperate document.

2nd year, Contract is renewed, salary $55000,
Contract contains, duties, salary and time period contract is in force.
3rd year, 4th year, pretty much same.
Every contract clearly states that it is a renewal of the original contract.

5th year, Contract renewed, $60,000, duties and contract period.
Seperate piece of paper with the details now states that Company X no longer covers moving expenses back to one's home country. To be honest, I don't believe they gives us the "Rules" until about 1 month after we have already signed the contract.

There was no warning of this change. There was no financial compensation. The change was brought about because management decided it was too costly to cover moving expenses to and from Japan, especially considering many foreign employees would work for less than 3 years and leave.
So, I understant the reason for the change in rules. But it is still a dirty thing to pull.

Ewok
Originally I thought I could fight it. Now I don't. For one, my paper trail is incomplete. I am missing the original contract details, all I have is an email stating these details from a company employee, who no longer works for the company. Also, there is a note in the contract for year #5 basically saying that
"the employment may be continued in accordance with terms and conditions of new contract under the new personnel system, subject to mutual agreement by company X and employee".
Now this contract contains alot of details, but it doesn't state the company will cover moving expenses. However, it also doesn't state that they won't cover these expenses. Again, we or I got this in a seperate document well after signing the contract.
If it still isn't clear, oh well, I guess I should invest in a technical writing course.
Kilt.

[Glenski]

Finally, some hard details!

Thank you for that.

Although you seem to have lost your original contract, I will trust your memory for what you have written here.

Still, from your original post, the following point stands out:

at some point, the fine print of the contract stated than no moving costs are covered (after the 4th or 5th year).

Can you be more specific about this "at some point" time?

Also, do I understand you right in thinking that your "friends and colleagues" had already been given this treatment, so in essence you were forewarned? I'm referring to this quote in your OP:

The last several researchers who returned home got either no funding or a similar package. These people were friends and colleagues of mine and were treated in a similar manner as myself.

If the above is true, then I know that having lost my first year's contract paperwork and having seen my friends and colleagues get this treatment, I wouldn't have assumed anything in the second 5-year contract. I know hindsight is 20-20, but can you see my point?

[Kilt]

Originally Posted by Glenski

Finally, some hard details!
Also, do I understand you right in thinking that your "friends and colleagues" had already been given this treatment, so in essence you were forewarned?

Here is where some confusion comes into play. They had hinted around year 3 that would not fund moving expenses. They also hinted that they would set a limit to the costs. Nothing was given in writing. They also treated researchers differently. Someone they basically feared they covered their costs. Others they didn't.
Of the last 4 that left (1) - covered in full (2) - not covered at all (3) partial coverage (4) - partial coverage.
With the flip-flopping it was hard to actually guage whether they would cover my expenses or not. If I was a senior researcher or director, you can be damn sure they would cover all my costs. So yes, I was forwarned that there might be some problems. But nothing is concrete.
Take a recent possible change. Our housing (rent) is supported. They plan on cutting this support. The reason is to save money. To compensate us, they plan to give us a pay increase. They have talked about this for a year, but no concrete details were given. I was concerned about this because the housing support is the best part of the contract. I was also suspicious because I didn't see how cutting housing funding and then paying us more money to compensate would save them any money. For my position there is also pay limits, so I also couldn't see they compensating me enough to make up for the housing support especially when you factor in taxes and pension. And they wouldn't give me details on how much the compensation would be (not even a ball park number). So when I signed my latest contract they guaranteed ME that my housing support would not be cut for another year. Nothing is written down, this is just a personal guarantee. And other people were not given this guarantee. Now this is an example of how they CAN negotiate outside the regular rules.
Currently the rules state they don't pay moving expense and yet they are covering some of my moving expenses. But if the difference between covering some and covering all the expenses is say only $1000, then why not cover all of them and stick to the original contract and make me happy. I mean, they are already bending the rules. I suspect one reason why is they decided on a new system and they don't want to flex that system because others might want the same package as me. But from my knowledge, I am pretty much the last gaijin under that original system. Another reason is they might feel this is a fair deal.

Ok - other explanation now.
More specifically - the 5th year contract indicated that we would be under a "new personnel system" at the end of that contract year. No details on this system were given.
The 6th year contract that I have signed is supposed to be a NEW contract on a new system, but I just looked over the piece that I signed and it is simply a renewal of the old one, which are renewals of the original. But it does state on page 2 or 3 that they don't cover moving expenses.
So contact 5 and 6 basically indicate I can't fight it legally. But I can fight it morally.

Although I mention CONTRACT and sh*t like that alot, I really don't care about the contract or the details. I am a person people. If you make a promise, you keep it, simple as that. And if for some reason you can't keep that promise, you try to make up for. In my case, they couldn't keep their promise and rather than being the least bit sympathetic, they basically denied they had made a promise in the first place and they looked at me as if I was completely in the wrong by asking them to live up to the original agreement. I would expect this at ECC or NOVA (no offence to you english teachers or the companies), but not at a government research lab.

I still work for the company and can't give any detailed contact information otherwise I could be sued for any damages that might result from publishing that information.
I do plan on sending a letter to the Labor Standards Bureau and the CLRC (Central Labor Relations Commission). But I will probably send these shortly before or after leaving the country. I suspect if I cause any problems they will not fund any part of my expenses, and they would probably cause other problems like holding back my pension and salary for the remainder of my contract.
But, I might not even complain to the LSB or CLRC. My impression of reading the comments of jref is that they will likely not be overly sympathetic. And I can't find any information saying that it violates a law if a promised benifit is not honored. But maybe the message will get across that some educated foreigners are leaving Japan with bad feelings and this won't do good for Japans image.
Thanks for sharing your opinions.

Kilt.

[craftsman]

Originally Posted by Mike Cash

I find it difficult to follow the woes of primadona expats.

Quite. I live amongst Japanese people struggling just to put food on their tables day by day. I really can't believe how anyone can be sympathetic to this poster.

[Kilt]

Originally Posted by craftsman

Quite. I live amongst Japanese people struggling just to put food on their tables day by day. I really can't believe how anyone can be sympathetic to this poster.

Sorry for them. I grew up in a very poor family and I know what it is like to be hungry. But I worked hard, made the right decisions and was fortunate enough to be able to borrow enough money to get myself through university with honors, while working as a pizza delivery man and gas jockey on the side. I was very fortunate to be born in a country where there are many opportunities to better ones life if you work hard and make some sacrifices.
I don't see Japan as a third world country. It is almost too easy to make money here. It is unfortunate that not everyone can drag themselves out of the poverty level. Hard to judge unless you are them.
I don't give to any Charities in Japan (don't really know any), but I do give to overseas charities. I hope to help out people who really didn't have the opportunities I had.

In reply to Mike Cash. If you are going to insult, try to get the spelling right. Prima donna isn't how I would describe myself. I am not an unpleasant nor conceited person. I can be unpleasant and a complete @sshole at times, but who isn't. Sure, I think that I can basically do anything. But I also think you or anyone else can. Like my Japanese Nike shirts say "Impossible is nothing". Or maybe it should "Nothing is Impossible".
I suspect the reasons I suceed at basically everything I do is likely the same reason I have a hard time dealing with getting shafted.

Kilt.

[Kilt]

PS -Ewok, thanks for those links. I didnt know about JIL

Kilt.