Self-employed? Say what?

[JustAsking]

Hiya folks, a question or two for you.

My boss informs me suddenly that I am not an employee of the company I work for, he says that I am a self-employed contractor or some such. There was a lot of jargon being thrown about. It boiled down to no paid vacation and no help with health care and such.

Now, seems to me that I am very much an employee. The boss pays my wages, tells me what to do and when to work etc. It's pretty much like any other job I've had before.

Can I really be self-employed just because the guy says so? What rights do I have?

I tried doing a net search but couldn't come up with anything too helpful.

Thanks in advance.

[Name Deleted]

Hiya folks, a question or two for you.

My boss informs me suddenly that I am not an employee of the company I work for, he says that I am a self-employed contractor or some such. There was a lot of jargon being thrown about. It boiled down to no paid vacation and no help with health care and such.

Now, seems to me that I am very much an employee. The boss pays my wages, tells me what to do and when to work etc. It's pretty much like any other job I've had before.

Can I really be self-employed just because the guy says so? What rights do I have?

I tried doing a net search but couldn't come up with anything too helpful.

Thanks in advance.

The guy is FOS (full of ______) and breaking the employment law in many areas. If you are self employed you are no longer an employee and you can negotiate your own contract and salary.

He is trying to get out of paying your health insurance and paid vacations on full time employees. I assume he is still sponsoring your visa.

If you are employed solely by him and he pays your wages then you are by rights an 'employee. You are not self employed unless YOU say so, not him.
How many work hours do you put in at his company? If its over 30 then you are FULL TIME.

[JustAsking]

The guy is FOS (full of ______) and breaking the employment law in many areas. If you are self employed you are no longer an employee and you can negotiate your own contract and salary.

He is trying to get out of paying your health insurance and paid vacations on full time employees. I assume he is still sponsoring your visa.

If you are employed solely by him and he pays your wages then you are by rights an 'employee. You are not self employed unless YOU say so, not him.
How many work hours do you put in at his company? If its over 30 then you are FULL TIME.

Thanks for the reply, Flying_Dutchman.

I do work more than 30 hours a week. I figured the guy was talking crap, but he reckoned he had a lawyer to back him up and I admit I know sweet nothing when it comes to Japanese law.

Do you have any links to this info? Or any more info on what I should do to remedy the situation short of quitting?

[User Name Reset]

To the OP.

You don't happen to work for Gaba by any chance, do you?

[SteadyRollingMan]

Check your contract (You do have a contract?) it might be a contractors contract, specially if you are being dispatched to work somewhere i.e teaching in a company which has contracted with your contractor. Then yes you are self-employed. Seems to be the new thing scumbag companies are pulling.

[smork]

Damn, continually amazed at the stunts shady employers pull. Don't these crappy employers know that if they treat their employees like commodities instead of partners they just get what they pay for?

[Ansony]

Damn, continually amazed at the stunts shady employers pull. Don't these crappy employers know that if they treat their employees like commodities instead of partners they just get what they pay for?

Chicken or the egg, though smork. Did these companies start out shady or did they just learn to protect themselves? I'm all for the employees as partners idea, but half of that burden is on the employee.

Friend of mine runs a little eikawa. Good guy. Every now and then him and I have a beer. The stories he tells me are incredible. One day a teacher walks into her class 15 minutes late, and says "I wasn't told that this was the location of the class, so I'm late". Then she looks around her desk and exclaims "where's the textbook? I can't teach without a textbook". She then walks out of the class, never to be heard from again.

Another time, a guy called in blind. Yes, blind. He called 30 minutes before the class and said "I can't see. My vision is all blury and I won't be able to see the whiteboard". When the owner offered assistance, the teacher refused.

It seems that for every upstanding, responsible teacher there is a fly-by-night drifter looking for nothing more than a few bucks. This makes it tough to create any sort of mutual partnership.

OP, I don't mean to highjack your thread and I'm not directing this at you personally. Your question just raised an interesting issue.

[JustAsking]

I don't work for GABA. I work for a smaller school, and the owner seemed nice enough, which is why I was a little shocked when this came up.

It's not a dispatch company. I work atthe school itself.

Does anyone have any info or contact numbers for somewhere I can get advice? Or any links that can give me a clue how to go on?

[Name Deleted]

I don't work for GABA. I work for a smaller school, and the owner seemed nice enough, which is why I was a little shocked when this came up.

It's not a dispatch company. I work atthe school itself.

Does anyone have any info or contact numbers for somewhere I can get advice? Or any links that can give me a clue how to go on?

Contact the labor standards office near where you live and contacting a union is probably not a bad idea. An employer is not required to enter negotiations with you over your contract if you are not in a union.

PS your employer can not change your contract without your express written permission as the new contract is not what you agreed to when you agree to work for him. He can not arbitrarily make you 'self-employerd'.

[Name Deleted]

Damn, continually amazed at the stunts shady employers pull. Don't these crappy employers know that if they treat their employees like commodities instead of partners they just get what they pay for?

you are not a partner as you are not a co-owner of the company. You are a paid salaried employee. Wher do you get the idea you are a partner or an equal to your employer?

[smork]

you are not a partner as you are not a co-owner of the company. You are a paid salaried employee. Wher do you get the idea you are a partner or an equal to your employer?

I don't mean partner in a legal sense, nor do I mean equal to your employer. But there should be a recognition from both parties that dealing honestly and honorably with each other creates a mutually beneficial environment that helps the company grow. People tend to perform better when they aren't treated as serfs, and companies tend to succeed more when their employees have a strong desire to see the company do well.

I didn't have a contract at all my first 4-5 months in my current position, but I wasn't so worried as my industry is like a little village, even globally, and if someone tried to screw me over on agreed terms of employment it would get around the industry, and reflect badly on both my employer and personally the manager who did the screwing. It's not in anybody's self interest (again, at least in my industry) to do wrong by their employer or employees, nor clients or contractors.

But Ansony's right as well, it's definitely a question of chicken-and-egg, I'm sure alot of these smaller companies especially are weary of being screwed by irresponsible employees.

I also apologize for the threadjacking, JustAsking, and I really hope it all goes well for you.

[Ansony]

you are not a partner as you are not a co-owner of the company. You are a paid salaried employee. Wher do you get the idea you are a partner or an equal to your employer?

I don't think smork was talking about partners on an equity basis, but rather a conceptual one. Or perhaps, a bit of both. There is a lot to be said for building a core competency through human resources.

I believe companies can gain significant competitive advantage through people. And theoretically this would certainly apply to eikaiwa's, where teachers are in fact the ones that deliver the service being offered. Unfortunately, too many bad experiences have left employers in a defensive position. It's unfortunate for those that are actually dedicated teachers...like yourself, I believe.

[JustAsking]

I'm not sure I follow the logic that this situation has been caused by bad teachers, either present or past.

How does refusing employees their legal rights amount to a defensive position?

[Name Deleted]

I don't think smork was talking about partners on an equity basis, but rather a conceptual one. Or perhaps, a bit of both. There is a lot to be said for building a core competency through human resources.

I believe companies can gain significant competitive advantage through people. And theoretically this would certainly apply to eikaiwa's, where teachers are in fact the ones that deliver the service being offered. Unfortunately, too many bad experiences have left employers in a defensive position. It's unfortunate for those that are actually dedicated teachers...like yourself, I believe.

Maybe Im getting old and cynical in my old age but in my 20 years in Japan the numbers of employers who treat their foreign employees as valued members of staff or as one big happy family I can count on one hand. ECC and AEON get rave reviews for treating employees kindly but they are pretty much the best among a bad crop.

90% of the companies here are not interested in coddling employees but in making sure they make money and stay in business. Teachers do the teaching, but for the most part 'teachers here are one or two years out of college. lack proper training and credentials and yet make a big deal about how they are providing a valuable service to their students and schools by working in Japan. Just merely being here makes them good teachers. BS.

Employers provide the schools they work in, the salaries as well as the students. Teachers are the 'face' of the company but with no school or job to go there wouldnt be a job.

The article in the JT today mentions that bidding by BOEs and dispatch companies mean that employers have to shave costs and its usually the teacher who suffers, No paid vacation, no insurance. Miserly wages add up to disgruntled teachers. High wages may mean the difference between whether one has a job or not. Pay a teacher more and the school raises tuition, therefore scaring off students who dont want to pay more for a lesson, or BOEs to mean to pay for quality teachers. Teachers dont want to spend 20 grand on a masters degree as they see teaching as a dead end temporay blip in their careers before they move back home or start their own company.

IMO there are far too many flakey, inexperienced but well meaning people roaming around Japan who call themselves language teachers due to their western looks and native ability and call themselves educators etc.

Language schools here see foreigners as giving students what they want: a white western face and a western-looking education on the cheap. The cheaper the better, just look at NOVA where teachers worked like battery hens to have the company fold underneath them,

Employers have trouble holding down teachers as pay is low, turnover high and many teachers simply seeing working here as part vacation and part OE and paid to speak English. Low motivation and teachers dont even hold their jobs in high regard. Its just something they do to pay the bills, essentialy for lack of aother alternatives.


Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008

THIS FOREIGN LAND
Assistant language teachers in trying times

By KANAKO TAKAHARA
Staff writer
Last of four parts


That and other poor working conditions for Interac employees was enough to convince Bouton and her husband, Greg Diamond, who also works for Interac as an ALT, that it is not worth working in Japan anymore. The couple plan to return to the United States in April.

"I have worked here from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. minimum. And after three years, I still don't have social insurance, I haven't gotten a bonus and I haven't gotten a raise," Diamond lamented.

ALTs are native English language teachers who offer assistance to Japanese teachers to help improve the oral communication skills of students in public and private elementary, junior high and high schools.

In the past, ALTs were recruited through the government-sponsored Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. But as the coffers of local governments began to dwindle in recent years, many switched from JET program ALTs to those cheaper private companies outsource.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of JET program ALTs dropped to 5,057 in fiscal 2006 from 5,676 in fiscal 2002, while non-JET ALTs doubled to 5,951 in fiscal 2006 from 3,090 in fiscal 2002.

Currently, English language is a compulsory subject in junior high schools, but demand for ALTs is expected to increase in the future because English will become mandatory for fifth-graders in elementary schools starting in 2011.

But the lower cost of company ALTs comes at the expense of the teachers' low salaries and lack of benefits, including health insurance, unemployment insurance, pension and less paid leave.

"It makes Nova working conditions look like paradise," said Louis Carlet, deputy secretary general at the National Union of General Workers Tokyo Nambu, referring to Nova Corp., the nation's biggest language school before it went under in October.

Nova teachers who suddenly lost their jobs were left in limbo, with some unable to pay their rent or even able to afford daily necessities. But others found re-employment at G.education Co., which took over part of Nova's business.

But G.education said in December it can only hire 200 more employees in addition to the 1,447 it has so far employed, a reversal of its earlier promise to hire all former teachers and Japanese staff at Nova.

Despite the difficulties Nova teachers went through, Carlet said Nova's working conditions, when it was in business, were much better than those for private company ALTs. The pay of private ALTs is lower, they have contracts of less than a year and they don't get paid during school vacation periods, he said.

Carlet blamed local boards of education, saying they simply want to avoid the responsibility of hiring foreigners by subcontracting the work to private companies. Under the system, the boards sign contracts with private firms that hire foreign teachers as ALTs.

"If they hire them directly, it means they have responsibility for their employment, and if something happens, they have to deal with it directly," Carlet said. "What they want is to have all those problems, especially those hiring foreigners, pushed onto the private companies."

Some boards of education choose private ALT dispatch agencies through a bidding process, forcing them to cut costs further, he said.

The fact that the ALTs are hired as contract workers instead of full-time employees also makes their position insecure.

Companies need to enroll part-time employees in the social insurance system if they work more than three-fourths of full-time employee working hours, or 30 hours a week.

But since the firms want to avoid shouldering additional benefit costs, they ask ALTs to work less than 30 hours or count the working hours by the number of lessons they teach instead of the number of hours they spend in the workplace.

Some ALTs who just want to work for a year or two in Japan prefer not being enrolled in the social insurance system to avoid paying insurance premiums and have higher take-home wages. But those seeking a longer stay tend to seek better benefits.

David Ashton, president of the Nambu Foreign Workers Caucus of the Tokyo Nambu Union, said ALTs' limited Japanese language ability makes it hard for them to realize their rights or take action.

"If they get fired for some invalid reason, they go from one low-paid, poor-condition ALT job to another one," Ashton said. "There are always more (teachers) ready to take the job because they just left another job."

The working conditions of company ALTs are in sharp contrast with JET program teachers. The government-sponsored exchange program was launched in 1987 to boost relationships at the grassroots level amid fierce trade friction between Japan and the U.S.

[Name Deleted]

The JET program offers generous working conditions to encourage foreigners to apply. They are given a monthly salary of \300,000, are covered by social insurance and given up to 20 days of paid holidays in addition to sick leave.

"The condition in Kamagaya is really, really good," said James Chenery, 29, a JET program teacher in Kamagaya, Chiba Prefecture, who came from Northern Ireland to Japan three years ago.

Wages and benefits are not the only thing Chenery is talking about.

The overall working conditions have allowed him to become part of the local community. In his spare time, he teaches English at community centers and is given Japanese lessons by volunteers.

Because he only covers three schools in the district, he gets to know students better.

Private company ALTs, however, tend to be dispatched to dozens of schools, hopping from one school to another. This makes it hard for teachers to become attached to students they teach.

Asked what his plans are after the maximum five years as an ALT in the JET program are up, Chenery said he hopes his Japanese will have improved well enough by then for him to find another job here.

Meanwhile, local boards of education have started to realize they cannot get competent, experienced teachers either by subcontracting to private firms or through the JET program because many of them come to Japan just out of college without any background in education.

Taito Ward in Tokyo said it plans to stop outsourcing ALTs to private companies. It is considering advertising for candidates on its Web site and asking them to give a presentation on the kind of lessons they plan to offer as part of its screening process.

The city of Musashino on the outskirts of Tokyo plans to seek applicants among native English speakers who live in the area instead of subcontracting from private companies.

Ashton of the Nambu union said the best way to improve the quality of English teachers and subsequently the standards of English in Japanese schools is to stop outsourcing to private companies.

Ashton noted that the standard of English language education will not improve if the dispatching companies keep sending people who have just arrived in the country with no teaching experience.

"If (the government) wants to improve the quality of language in the public and private school system, the best thing is to hire qualified teachers, compensate them well, give them opportunities for training and give them job security so they'll want to keep working here," Ashton said.

[Name Deleted]

PS some foreigners here have the idea that employers have a self interest in developing the talent in their teachers. If that were the case you would have NOVA and AEON paying for CELTA courses for all its staff.

Interac I believe hires teachers on 50 week contracts so it means it doesnt have to hire them permanently. Use them up and throw them away like used diapers. Foreigners here have convinced themselves they are valuable to their school where employers see them as cheap temporary labor and who will be gone in 6 months to be replaced by someone else

Working your butt off so you can build up someone elses company and put money in their pocket defies common sense. What do i get out of making someone else successful, unless i own shares in the company or Im a part owner? Absolutely nothing except a gold watch at retirement or a pink slip after a couple of years. NOVA teachers supposedly built built up the school but it no longer exists anymore, and former teachers are now back home, out of teaching or jobless.

One thing I have learnt from all my time in japan is that you have to look out for No1. because no one else will do it for you. Ive been telling teachers this for years. Get experience, get qualified and get out of the eikaiwa markets AFAP as its a bottom feeder profession.

Pretty hard to tell that tp someone who has just arrived and is an ALT at Interac but the alternatives are longer there. the rules of the game have changed and most eikaiwa teachers are now simply cannon fodder for dispatch companies, the BOEs and big language chains. the sooner their realise that the better and they should forget about forging symbolic links with their employers as its just not going to happen.

I have seen several people on here form partnerships with Japanese owners and in two cases the foreigner got taken to the cleaners and had nothing to fall back on except his so called teaching expertise, and they ended up working almost for free in their chase after a bite of the pie.

Foreign teachers need to get out of the idea that they are valuable or really mean anything to their employers, except as cheap transient labor. The employer is sure as hell not going to spend a lot of time and money training you so you can quit in 6 months.

[Morton]

My daughter goes to Yamaha for piano lessons. The teachers there are all self-employed. My daughter's teacher works exclusively for Yamaha and for six days a week. She frequently loses her day off because of events and the like. She has to do her own tax, pay her own pension and will receive practically nothing from Yamaha on retirement.

I also know hair dressers, aerobic/gym instructors and English teachers in the same self-employed situation. Indeed I was once offered such a job myself. I would get a guaranteed minimum every month then depending on student numbers I could get much more.

I don't think the OP's situation is that uncommon and his boss may genuinely consider him to have been self-employed right from the start.

One upside is that you should end up paying much less for tax, health care and everything else that is tied to income, if you play your cards right. You don't really want to be paying into the Japanese pension system anyway.

[Name Deleted]

One upside is that you should end up paying much less for tax, health care and everything else that is tied to income, if you play your cards right. You don't really want to be paying into the Japanese pension system anyway.

If you are self employed then by law you will pay 100% of health and insurance premiums yourself and instead of 50% chipped in by your employers, Foriegners here complain about the health insurance and pension as they dont benefit from it but its the LAW. currently I fork out about 70,000 yen a month in city tax insurance and pension. I dont like it but I dont have a hell of a lot of choice in the matter.


You want to be a resident here then you have to play by the rules.

[JustAsking]

My daughter goes to Yamaha for piano lessons. The teachers there are all self-employed. My daughter's teacher works exclusively for Yamaha and for six days a week. She frequently loses her day off because of events and the like. She has to do her own tax, pay her own pension and will receive practically nothing from Yamaha on retirement.

Here's an interesting question (for me anyway). I was talking to a Japanese friend about my situation, (as he really is self-employed) and happened to mention that at the end of last year, my employer did my taxes for me.

My friend thought this was odd, and reckoned that self-employed people usually have to file their own taxes around April time.

Thoughts?

[ChrisElliot2000]

How long have you been working there?

Do not quit, they cannot fire you. You should go to the Labour Standards office in your area, as FD mentioned, and present the situation to them and get advice. Take a Japanese speaker along with you to avoid problems.

Legally you have a lot of options and the company is obviously in the wrong.

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=3272

[Ansony]

Here's an interesting question (for me anyway). I was talking to a Japanese friend about my situation, (as he really is self-employed) and happened to mention that at the end of last year, my employer did my taxes for me.

My friend thought this was odd, and reckoned that self-employed people usually have to file their own taxes around April time.

Thoughts?

Not odd. Self-employed do there own tax filing, because they generally have multiple sources of income. Further, they have expenses that can be deducted. Similar to a company. Employees (full-time) normally have all the calculation and filings done by their employer. Generally, they have no operating expenses to deduct and only one source of income.

Now that I re-read your original post, it would in fact seem that your boss is calling you self-employed but treating you as an employee, at least for tax purposes.

But as Morton points out, there are some advantages to being self-employed. There are expenses that can be written off. The major downfall you are facing, it would seem, is the lack of paid holidays, not unfair taxation.

[JustAsking]

So I get the schedule this week, and find that my hours have dropped significantly. To just below 30, oddly enough.

I'm certain that this is in direct response to my enquiries.

I`m undecided on what to at the moment. Stubborness tells me to see it through. After all, I think my boss is in the wrong.

On the other hand, I'm not sure the job is worth the hassle.

[Name Deleted]

So I get the schedule this week, and find that my hours have dropped significantly. To just below 30, oddly enough.

I'm certain that this is in direct response to my enquiries.

I`m undecided on what to at the moment. Stubborness tells me to see it through. After all, I think my boss is in the wrong.

On the other hand, I'm not sure the job is worth the hassle.

If your boss has cut your hours it means you are not in control of your own income and work schedule and he has left you to swing in the wind as a result. You are entirely dependent on him for any work that you get and he knows that.

Just shows that you cant believe everything that you are told.

[J_T]

PS some foreigners here have the idea that employers have a self interest in developing the talent in their teachers. If that were the case you would have NOVA and AEON paying for CELTA courses for all its staff.

Interac I believe hires teachers on 50 week contracts so it means it doesnt have to hire them permanently. Use them up and throw them away like used diapers. Foreigners here have convinced themselves they are valuable to their school where employers see them as cheap temporary labor and who will be gone in 6 months to be replaced by someone else

Working your butt off so you can build up someone elses company and put money in their pocket defies common sense. What do i get out of making someone else successful, unless i own shares in the company or Im a part owner? Absolutely nothing except a gold watch at retirement or a pink slip after a couple of years. NOVA teachers supposedly built built up the school but it no longer exists anymore, and former teachers are now back home, out of teaching or jobless.

One thing I have learnt from all my time in japan is that you have to look out for No1. because no one else will do it for you. Ive been telling teachers this for years. Get experience, get qualified and get out of the eikaiwa markets AFAP as its a bottom feeder profession.

Pretty hard to tell that tp someone who has just arrived and is an ALT at Interac but the alternatives are longer there. the rules of the game have changed and most eikaiwa teachers are now simply cannon fodder for dispatch companies, the BOEs and big language chains. the sooner their realise that the better and they should forget about forging symbolic links with their employers as its just not going to happen.

I have seen several people on here form partnerships with Japanese owners and in two cases the foreigner got taken to the cleaners and had nothing to fall back on except his so called teaching expertise, and they ended up working almost for free in their chase after a bite of the pie.

Foreign teachers need to get out of the idea that they are valuable or really mean anything to their employers, except as cheap transient labor. The employer is sure as hell not going to spend a lot of time and money training you so you can quit in 6 months.

Excellent post Haughts. You do actually occasionally post stuff of value, and this is one of those occasions.

[koreamtl]

off subjet,

Some part of this thread reminds me of the book King Rat a lot from a different perspective.

[honey]

So I get the schedule this week, and find that my hours have dropped significantly. To just below 30, oddly enough.

I'm certain that this is in direct response to my enquiries.

I`m undecided on what to at the moment. Stubborness tells me to see it through. After all, I think my boss is in the wrong.

On the other hand, I'm not sure the job is worth the hassle.

The longer you have been working there, the more it's worth it. My short answer is that they are bluffing and they never went to a lawyer--and they are not expecting you to call their bluff, either. This does not sound to me, in any way, shape, or form, to be "self-employment".

It would appear to me that this company is trying to get away with tax fraud by claiming you are both self-employed and a company employee. Why you would mess with a company like this is anyone's guess.

If it's really worth it, you should march yourself down to the Labor Standards Office AND have a consultation with a lawyer. If not, the best thing to do is to move on.