Re: Hello Institute, Fukui, Japan

To generally warn to others, definitely don't go to work as ESL teacher, or any job, in Japan or any other country foreign to you without a visa for that work. Usually, you'd have to pay for and book your own flight so you can use their refusal to pay up-front for your flight as a way to schedule as you wish (if they ask what's taking so long, blame them for not paying for your flight, demand first-class on your preferred day if you can); then you can schedule and pay once you have the visa. In turn, if they do schedule and pay for your flight, be wary that it could be a manipulation to get you there when they want you and/or to ensure you don't have a visa with you --don't expect them to give it you-- when you arrive so they can use the excuse that they don't have to pay for your work because you're not properly documented as worker. Obviously, you have the choice of boarding or not, but even without a visa, -provided by you, don't expect them to provide it- it might be tempting to take a free flight to a foreign country and easy to think that you'll get a visa. You could lose the job offer by not boarding the flight they gave you, but losing a job offer in a country foreign to you that doesn't come with visa-related cooperation or visa-related truth is not worth the offer anyway.

To publicize and emphasize vulnerability:
In my case, I didn't land without a visa. I started with a student visa, and left university for employment with a student visa intended and promised by employer to be changed to employment visa. I even met my employer before being hired (but got in trouble for being absent from class that day, though I tried to schedule with her for weekend but she preferred monday). Not that she wasn't late for my interview or even absent at least half the time, but it was the first day I met her so I wouldn't know the difference from her normal schedule. I figured that was just a busy day, the kind we all have once in a while. To her credit, she was on time to pick me up at the time of my arrival in her city, then brought me to the work-place, and left for her various "meetings", etc for like… 7 hours until she came back. It's not only sick leave that I was gypped on. It's like this process of first of all demanding to meet her at work-start time to check if I'm actually sick, being an hour late for the meeting while I can't hold my head up, showing up an hour later and agreeing that I'm sick and my hour of waiting was wasted valuable rest time. Then, a few hours later, while I'm at least half-asleep in pajamas, calling, begging me to come back and work in less than 10 minutes, and not paying at all for either the worked or cancelled time.

Again, if it were included in the monthly salary paid in full, it wouldn't so much matter the difference of sick leave or not. But since she didn't pay the monthly salary in full by any means, and deducted not only sick time-- but also cancelled-by-her or cancelled-by-student work-time, and didn't ever pay for the work-time of preparation, or wait-for-her-to-discuss time, or outside-work discussion appointment regarding work practices/policies while she's on the phone wasting the appointment time, still didn't get the discussion regarding work practices/policies/scheduling/training done, never paid overtime whether for teaching or for uselessly waiting for her, it really shows her intent not to pay, and only then as little as she is required by Labour Inspector. I didn't think it was appropriate to ask her to pay, but it got to the point that I was so confused about how she was planning to pay and wanted to set my budget but couldn't understand how, that I did ask. She said that was greedy to ask and if I keep saying "Pay, pay, pay" that shows her that I'm working for the money and I don't have the heart to teach for the kids. Later she said that her husband told her it's an important part of our employment relationship for her to pay, and for me to be paid.

Beyond that, her excuses of not having to pay because she didn't need my native-speaking skill for that level of the class, because it was preparation time so it wasn't paid by the student, because I didn't have an employment visa for which the only blank part was employer forms and I submitted and completed all the other parts-- even with a fever on a bike in the rain, so she can't legally pay me to work without a visa-- because I cleaned the room after the class for a mess she didn't ask me to clean, because the students asked for their class to go longer but didn't request it in advance and didn't pay her for that long of a class, because she is a teacher- not manager- so she doesn't know how, because this student hasn't paid at all for 6 months [and she didn't have an eviction-type policy], among zillions of other excuses.

In the case of student-request for class extension, I could only assume, based on her other practices, that if I don't adhere to their request to extend the class, the consequence will be worse than missing the next class. At least I'm working, and if she overbooked or didn't show up for a class she said she'd be there, it was her fault, not mine. The then-understood-revised hourly pay for the first class is supposed to be higher than the hourly forthe second class, due to her default on her own questionably legal (150,000¥/month salary) monthly salary system, so why should I stop the supposed higher pay-rate class to go teach a lower-pay-rate class?, esp when she is supposed to be there for the next class that she doesn't need my native skills for, and changed the pay system so she doesn't pay for my native skills when she doesn't need them.

Further her threats like "If anyone [government] finds out about this, I could go to jail and you could too" really make it seem like she was trying to shut me up and go along not paying because of the convenient excuse that she was trying to follow of the law of not paying a foreign worker without a visa.

But in general, for the teacher who may consider leaving a visa, yes it is a very big red flag and a good reason not to go. No matter how much pressure they put on you to go or how badly they need a teacher, or how nice they seem, or whatever the excuse, there's no reason to give in if you haven't gotten the visa yet. They don't pay for your flight in advance anyway (they sometimes reimburse after arrival) so it's their own fault for not paying for your flight that you might not be there when they want you. It's pretty easy to not fall for the typical pattern but sometimes, like in my case, it isn't the typical pattern of coming just to teach, or starting with teaching.

And then comes the point of why didn't I complain to Labour Standards Office before leaving Japan. With all due respect, yes, I've learned it's best to make that complaint as soon as you can, or at least before you leave. First of all, I didn't have money for personal expenses because she didn't pay for my work, and i forced whatever groceries and cooking supplies I could onto a credit card. Then I was sick, weather was very cold, I didn't have heavy clothes because of the weight in travelling and couldn't buy because they were too expensive and I didn't have money because she didn't pay. Before I was sick, I was fed lies that she was working on the visa application, will pay for the transportation, housing, etc, will give contract and discuss employment policies/relationship later and we'll discuss it at the meeting, although it seems pretty simple to me. Maybe she needs to get my signature at the meeting or something, otherwise, she can just figure it out and pay, as far as I'm concerned. She didn't show up for the meeting so she postponed to tomorrow. Didn't show up tomorrow, the next day, the next day, never showed up. I certainly thought it was awkward but not clearly statutorily illegal until she didn't pay the full monthly salary by the time she paid 2 months into the employment term.

Further, Japan makes regular things so complicated. I'd have had to had my claims, if I were even to understand the illegality, into Japanese, which may not be impossible. But while the weather was cold and I was hungry and/or sick, I just wanted to freaken survive, and preferably without overstaying the student visa, which was cancelled as of the day I left university. A grace period is given but I was pushing that, while I was trying to sort out the things at work with Mrs. Otani. I wasn't so concerned with translation or reporting as with survival and with avoiding overstaying, and still was under the impression she'd pay within the week from the day that I left. So that was another lie, that she'd pay the rest that she owes, which I assumed to include housing/transportation reimbursement, overtime, sick leave, work-cancellation, etc, within the week of my departure from Fukui.

She insisted to only make the payment to the account in Japan, knowing, as I had told her clearly, I wouldn't be ther and couldn't check it. The account I had did not offer online banking. Even if I had known that I'd have the need to check the balance online and couldn't with the account I already registered by the time I got to Fukui, I wouldn't have been able to establish a bank account in Fukui, one that offers online banking, without her help for interpretation. Fukui has like no English because it's a small town. In Tokyo or Osaka it's ok to come without an interpreting companion.

Why do I think she wouldn't have helped if I never asked or gave her the chance, however moot this point may be? Well she was late by 1 hr + for everything for me, cited that I'm not busy so I can do xyz for her (often off work time) while she goes meets an hour late with ABC-san or answers this or that phone call, etc. When she was late, her first excuse was phone calls, then phone calls, then it was "I couldn't tell you were in here (on time) because the center light was not on," then it was phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, then it was daughter's baby-fetus is sideways, then phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, (never emails), phone calls, phone calls, then it was husband in hospital, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, then it was taxi's fault, then phone calls, then phone calls, then meeting at Office X, then phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, then meeting at Office Y, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, then meeting with B-san, then phone calls. When I was sick, she specifically said "I can't take you to the doctor" which is not far from legal violation. Even if I did ask her to help me set up a bank account, and even if there was a good bank there, and even if we got past that and even if did offer online banking, she would constantly re-arrange the time she's going to go there with me, such that it would waste hours of waiting and never get done.

That's what she did with visa-application parts. Then even if she does take me there, then the tellers would see oh oops employee has a student visa, oh ooops the employment visa is not in passport and is still pending because of the employer pages. They check the ID and visa, while it's not required to be an employee to have an account, presumably it would have been her bank at which that would have happened, if it ever could have happened, and presumably she'd be cautious of them noticing her business-account transfers to my account. That is, if I were to have an account in the same bank as her, ifffff she were to actually pay me adequately, and presumably she'd be cautious of them wondering why she's transferring to a student, as part of her "If anyone finds out, I could go to jail and you could too." SOOOO, it definitely wouldn't have been worth even asking for her help to create a bank account that offers online transfers, even if only because of the waiting to meet her to go to the bank with her, only to be met with excuses for why we can't go at that appointment we set, and to be re-arranged for another time that is constantly rescheduled never delivered.

It took a year for me to get back there and check, and find out that she never paid.

For the "I couldn't tell you were in here because the center light wasn't on" excuse, I was there on time. I didn't think there needed to be a confirmation that I arrived at the appointment on time, other than just arriving there on time. The side lights were on, but the center light was not on. She never said anything like you need to turn on the center light for me to meet you in here, to let me know that you're here. She did say to turn the lights on for the students during our business hours but that meeting was way before the business hours. Although I count that meeting regarding visa, contract, etc, as overtime work, I wouldn't have thought the center lights need to be on prior to work time like they should at work time. For most of the meetings that she came to with me, she'd usually take phone calls the whole time, even after she just arrived an hour late, and talk to me for like maybe a minute after the phone call, and then leave early from me without getting anything done to go to some other meeting.

While it's not illegal to leave someone to go to a meeting or answer a phone call during your appointment with someone, those resulted in her failures, as employer, to discuss/present contract, visa application, employment policies, etc, with employee, which is statutory negligence, which is illegal. She is required by law to discuss and present those things anyway. It doesn't really matter legally why she doesn't fulfill those responsibilities. But in this case, it was statutory negligence, which is yet another way in which it's illegal.

Re: Hello Institute, Fukui, Japan

The problem is that employers like this pray on people trying to come to Japan, and who agree to land without a visa. While some of the claims, such as sick leave, have no legal validity, the teacher was indeed owed the money for working. Despite not having a visa.

The way to resolve this would have been to lodge a complaint to the Labor Standards Office before leaving Japan. or to appoint a third party in Japan who could take action for you while you are outside of Japan. The problem though is as you aren't in Japan, the LSO may well just take the side of the employer.

As hard as it is to hear I think you should just take it as a life lesson and move on. BUT publicize the case as much as you can to forewarn others from falling for her scam. And a scam it is.

(Message Deleted by Poster)

Hello Institute, Fukui, Japan

Hello Institute in Fukui-city, Fukui-prefecture, Japan, presided by Mrs. Kimie Otani, president, principal and employer of Hello Institute, still has not paid for the work I did and other fees I paid for the sake of the “employment” at Hello Institute. In addition to her failure to pay for my work, I expect that Hello Institute pays adequately adjusted for inflation at the time of the payment and interest due according to the Security of Wage Payment Law at 14.6% per year.
Hello Institute may owe for other monies or payments as determined upon investigation and/or prosecution, and such monies will be included in the amount due and required to be paid for this post to be deleted. In the case of partial payment, this post will be updated honestly and promptly, reflecting the situation.

The following is a list of points on Mrs. Otani’s excuses and manipulations involved in her failures to pay adequately or at all.

1. Failed to pay for my transportation to Fukui and hotel first nights in Fukui First I came for an interview from within Japan, and Hello Institute did not pay for any of my transportation to Fukui for the interview, back to my residence in Japan after the interview, or transportation for moving to Fukui to work. I had to spend not only the first night in Fukui in a hotel, since the previous native English speaking teacher was still using the apartment, but I stayed in the hotel for 7 days, because I couldn’t move in everything at once, especially without help from any Hello Institute representative. Hello Institute was contracted to pay for my hotel stay and transportation to and from Fukui, and entirely failed to pay for either one at all whatsoever.

2. Failed to pay for overtime work Every time the employer of Hello Institute, Mrs. Kimie Otani, planned to meet to discuss our business in the employment relationship, sign the contract, and apply for the visa, she would arrive at least an hour late, sometimes 2 hours late. She wouldn’t get anything done, and I certainly couldn’t either without her cooperation, while I waited for her outside of work hours. She consistently postponed the meetings until so much later that they never happened, and if she did miraculously attend, she’d be on her phone the whole time so we couldn’t get anything done, until either she had to leave “for a meeting” or the student came. Not only did she not provide a contract until a month into my employment term or not even begin to apply for my visa until a month into my employment term, but she kept me waiting for hours not designated as working hours and hid that overtime element from me because I hadn’t seen the contract. Ultimately, she never paid me for these overtime wasted meeting hours, and she never completed my visa application.

3. Failed to complete my visa application All along she cited the excuse why she doesn’t have to pay me is that she can’t legally because I don’t have a working visa. Not only did she apply for it late, but she didn’t even complete the application. The reason the visa application wasn’t complete is entirely her fault. She left the “employer” pages blank. I did my part to fill it out as soon as she asked me to, as soon as I found out about each part from her. She had implied that she was submitting before I arrived by requesting that I send her my personal info so she can apply for my visa. I sent that right away and those documents arrived before I arrived in Fukui. (I even had trouble with language, copiers, etc. making copies of some of the documents and putting in extra effort to get them copied so that I could send them to her.) My visa application could and should have been applied for then. It took a few weeks before I found out that all the info I sent her served hardly any purpose, since she still assigned me to fill out the “employee” part of the application and later found out she hadn’t begun to fill out the “employer” part. I’m ok with filling out my own section but not ok with being informed so late in the employment term that it hasn’t even been completed, nevermind submitted. You’d think she requested that info so we could have a complete, submitted work visa application by the time I arrive. Even without my visa application submitted and without me knowing it wasn’t submitted and thinking it was submitted before my arrival, she demands that I work and claims that we’re waiting for the visa to process from the immigration office. Then I can be paid once I have a visa.
Finally, about a month later, she claimed her part of the visa application was done, ready for submission, and she drove me to the Immigration office to submit the application. When I found out she left the pages blank at my second document-submission at the Immigration office the next business day, the immigration officer told me there is a 2-week deadline to submit the documents completed and told me that it would take less than 5 minutes for her to fill out the employer information. Even with 2 weeks to do a 5-minute-or-less task, she never did it. She used that lack of my visa, caused by her failure to completely apply for it, as her excuse for failing to document the amount she paid and for failing to pay the amount she still hasn’t paid.

4. Failed to do any of her employer responsibilities regarding visa application For any document that needed to submitted, she dumped the responsibility to submit it at the Immigration Office entirely on me. She didn’t stay at the office with me, didn’t drive me there in a city new to me except once of four visits, her violations of law. Most of the arriving, submitting, and waiting I had to do with a cold and fever of 100 Fahrenheit or 37celsius. She left long before my name was called, and that departure of hers caused me to have to wait that much longer for her to come back until Immigration Officers gave up that she wouldn’t come back. Meanwhile, I was coughing, sneezing, and struggling to keep my head up.

5. Failed to pay for first month of work Upon seeing my contract in early November for the first time after all her failed meetings to discuss contract or visa, I found out I was expected to work without pay for one month so the visa application would be processing. I had just finished working a month, and never was paid. According to Mrs. Otani herself, Japanese immigration law does allow an employer to pay an employee when the visa application is processing and allows the employee to be paid for his work as long as the visa application is processing. But she took a month while I worked hard to even get the visa application to the point of processing. So she said that legal paying during processing doesn’t apply, since my visa application wasn’t processing yet, by her own faults.

6. Didn’t pay sick leave when I missed work sick She continued scheduling lessons and didn’t cancel them while I was sick. She mandated that I get up from my rest and dismissal that she granted only hours before to go teach the class at the school because the student has arrived or is arriving. Then she later said she doesn’t have to pay when I’m sick because I didn’t teach. The time she granted me off should be paid as sick leave, not completely absent voluntary time off. And the time she paid for when I did teach sick should be paid adequately according to the salary in the contract, not only 1000 ¥ per hour. She never took me to a doctor, helped with or paid for medical treatment, or any other elements of employer’s legal requirement when employee becomes sick.

7. Failed to pay for preparation time She never paid for any preparation time ever, and demanded that I work it. Preparation time is 9.75 hours per week.

8. Failed to pay adequately according to the contracted wage The contract prescribes a monthly salary, but she paid me the only time she ever paid on an hourly basis, citing I missed too much work due to my illness to work the monthly minimum, which actually wasn’t true if she counted preparation time as legally required. The payment for my hourly work wasn’t even the pro-rated hourly rate based on the contracted monthly salary, it was illegally less. She actually paid at 2 different rates, depending on whether the students needed an native English teacher or not, neither rate of which was at least the hourly pro-rated rate. For some of the payment, she didn’t even pay for the full duration of the class or the full duration of my work, and still paid a low hourly rate.

9. Manipulated visa application cancellation When she finally gave me her attention and I could tell her I’d resign, which took 3 weeks of continued postponing of a meeting to get her attention, she said we’d have to cancel the visa application. That sounds like extra work to me because the application was never completely filled out by the failure of hers and hers alone. But that’s ok, especially if she’s going to drive me. She not only fails to drive me, but she also failed to compensate for my not knowing the directions. In my lack of knowledge of the city new to me, I get lost and get there about a half hour late. I call her to ask how to get there, and asking people for directions in Japanese is not an option unless she can talk to them in Japanese on my phone and interpret. But she doesn’t help with directions when I ask her. I need directions to the building or a ride, both of which she failed to provide. But finally I get there late and she’s already told the immigration officer that I’m leaving the job and canceling the visa application because I’m sick. Well, that’s true I’ve been sick for 3 weeks while she demanded I work. But I only claimed my resignation is due to illness for convenience. I only told the students I was leaving because I’ve been so sick, which she and I agreed upon as the reason for that purpose to protect her reputation, and because they don’t really understand what I say or the meaning of lacking a visa by Mrs. Otani’s faults. She took her protection all the way to the next level by not only telling the immigration officer behind my back that I’m leaving because I’ve been sick, but also watching what I wrote on the resignation form, so if I said anything else about her failures she would say it’s not ture, and I made it up, in front of the immigration officers. Also I take note how she managed so well to arrive to the immigration office for the cancellation on time, but she completely failed to arrive for anything else on time.

10. Scheduled additional lessons after visa application cancellation She kept asking me to teach them one more and one more class, to give them goodbyes. But the goodbye lessons were schedule even after the visa application was cancelled, and it was absolutely not possible for me to have a visa, and she knew that.

11. Failed to deposit payment for final weeks of work and everything else she failed to pay Finally, she said before I left that she couldn’t make the final payment yet, because she needs to calculate and figure everything out before she makes the payment. So she will make the payment by the end of 2012, which would have been fine and legal. She insisted she could only make the deposit to my account in Japan, and she could absolutely not pay to an account outside Japan, like one that I’d have access to once I left. Though I couldn’t check or access it, I assumed I’d have that payment when I got back into Japan. I checked the account in December 2013 at the first chance I had when I got back in Japan. To my surprise, there was no deposit from her in my account!

I'd like to thank eslteachersboard.com website for allowing me to post this conveniently and offering credit to "disgruntled teachers with good reason to be disgruntled." Thanks to this website and all readers.