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Frequently Asked Questions
Disciplinary actions/Letters of warning
Firings/Non-renewals
Housing
Insurance-Health/Pension
Insurance-Unemployment
Resignations
Taxes
Mobile Phones
Holidays - Annual Paid Leave
Holidays - National
Drug Testing
Sick Leave
Disciplinary actions/Letters of warning
Nova uses
disciplinary letters and employee apologies as a way of building up a record on
an employee for future use as a reason for contract non-renewal. Common issues
that Nova requires written statements of fault by employees about include:
lateness, non-attendance, unprofessional behaviour, improper teaching technique,
improper topic discussion, student complaints, unsatisfactory performance, and
failure to reform any of these issues. If you are requested to sign any document
by Nova concerning your behaviour/performance, you should bear in mind that any
written admission of fault or apology can be (and often is) used to push out
unwanted employees.
If you are a member of a union and you believe you have done nothing wrong, then
the union can lodge a grievance with Nova and support you in your defence and
refusal to sign a document which you consider to be unfair. If, on the
other-hand, you are not a union member, then your refusal to sign a statement
apologising or admitting fault will most likely be recorded and you will be
labelled "uncooperative" by Nova foreign personnel. Such a label will probably
have a greater negative affect on your next evaluation than an admission of
fault in relation to a minor issue.
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Firings/Non-renewals
Coming Soon
Housing
Consensus
among Nova teachers is that Nova housing is a rip off. In a lot of respects this
is true but for people new to Japan it does have some advantages. Once you are
here, we recommend you look for something better and cheaper as soon as you can.
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Pros & Cons of Nova Housing
| Pros |
Cons |
| If you have never travelled, the thought of arranging your own accommodation can be daunting. |
A gaijin house (similar
to backpackers) can be cheaper and ease you into life in Japan until to
you find better accommodation. Living away from company housing will allow
you to meet people other than Nova teachers, widening your experience of
Japan. |
| The apartment comes with a fridge, TV,
video, furniture, toaster over, cook top a futon, a plate, a cup, a
knife, a fork, a spoon, (1 each), pots, pans, frypan etc for each person.
But usually people buy more anyway and leave it there. Plus Air
conditioner & washing machine
so you don't have to worry about spending much money
setting up.
|
Much of the stuff that is
provided can be picked up at 100 yen shops, the rest from Sayonara sales
of people leaving the country.
And the apartments don't come with microwaves, rice
cookers, DVD plavers. No computer. No Cable TV, internet or regular phone.
Most gaijin houses come with all of these |
| Key money (deposit) has
already been paid by Nova. Depending on what part of the country you are
in, this can be anywhere between 1-6 months rent. A large part of this is
often non-refundable.
|
Depending what part of the
country you are in, more and more accommodation is becoming available
without a huge deposit. |
| To rent your own apartment
you usually need a guarantor. This may be difficult to find if you are new
to the country. |
There are more and more
rental companies that target foreigners and do not require a guarantor.
There are also companies that, for a fee, will act as a
guarantor. |
| ¡¡ |
Nova Housing is way
overpriced.
|
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Personal Experiences
| Teacher A |
| As far as Nova housing, my own
personal experience and from almost everyone I knew living in it said it was
a small space and a huge amount of money. In other words a royal rip
off...My partner and I lived in a so called two bedroom apartment......It
was a 1 ldk. We paid 66 000 x 2. It was ridiculous. Struggling along. We
would have gladly stayed if it was less. We now live in a house that is 84
000. We were sent confusing information via email when we were applying to
live in NOVA HOUSE while we were in OZ. We basically felt we had to take it
since we did not know of other options such as banana house, youth hostels,
etc. |
| Teacher B |
| For 1 person, you pay the same
in Fukuoka for a furnished 1DK as you do for a nova apartment, so yeah, move
out when you get settled. But it's only worth it if you can either find a
gaijin building with no key money or will be staying for more than a year,
or find someone else who has a place set up. |
| Teacher C |
| I arrived to a filthy
Nova apartment in the middle of summer. My first steps inside the apartment
were blocked by the discarded shoes of past tenants. There was one
air-conditioner in the apartment, and it was in one of my other flatmate's
rooms. At night, he liked to sleep with the door closed, so we sweated. He
was an embittered individual who was tired of Japan and especially Nova. He
took a while to become friendly, and he didn't make the first few weeks
easy. The balcony -where we dried our clothes- was covered in a thick layer
of moist grime/muck. If any of your clothes fell onto the balcony, they
weren't going to be presentable for at least several washes. After three
weeks of complaining, we finally received a dining table from Nova
accommodation, however, our kitchen/dining room was so small that we
couldn't fit any chairs in the same room. I quickly lost all respect for
Nova when another teacher, who arrived on the same plane as I, was made to
travel near my apartment to teach, and I had to travel beyond the direction
of his apartment to get to my school. I could never work out why Nova didn't
reverse our workplaces. |
| Teacher D |
| Perhaps the worst thing that
happened in our Nova apartment was a visit from six Japanese customs
officers at 8am one morning. One of our flatmates, on a visit home, had
mailed himself a small amount of marijuana. Customs intercepted the parcel
and searched the entire apartment. In the next six months, twelve different
Nova instructors stayed at our apartment. The most amusing part of it all
was asking Nova students where the most dangerous part of the city was, and
having them inevitably name our apartment's location. |
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Government Housing
Another housing
option that many people don't know about is Government Housing. Depending on
what city, or prefecture, you reside in there may be 2 or 3 different types -
City, Prefectural, and Housing & Urban Development Corporation.
These apartments
are often cheaper than market price and come with the benefit of a relatively
low deposit that is often fully refundable.
A link for the UDC can be found
found here. It provides access to offices Japan-wide, with details of locations and prices.
Government Housing Contact Details
| Kyoto |
- Housing and Urban Development Corporation Information Center (Jutaku Toshi Seibi Kodan Kyoto Annai-syo)
075- 255-0499
- City Housing: Kyoto City Housing Service Company (Kyoto-shi Jutaku Service Kosha)
075-681-0541
- Prefectural Housing: Kyoto Prefecture Housing corporation (Kyoto-fu Jutaku
Kyokyu Kosha)
075-432-2011/2018 |
| Kobe |
Hyogo Prefectural government provide a ¡ÈHousing and Residence Guide¡É in five foreign languages, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, & Portuguese. Contact the Kobe International Community Center at (078)291-8441. They will also be able to provide information about the various government housing schemes.¡¡ |
| Osaka |
- Osaka Municipal Housing Corporation (Application Department)
TEL : 06-6882-7024 FAX : 6882-7021
- Municipal Housing Telephone Service (Recorded message in Japanese)
TEL : 06-6945-0031
- JHUD Housing Application Center
Gate Tower Bldg., 5-4-21 Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka
TEL : (06)6346-3456
- Osaka Prefectural Housing Management Center Application Service Section: TEL : 06-4398-5255
- Prefectural Housing Telephone Service: TEL : 06-6945-6000 |
| Nagoya |
- Urban Renaissance Agency - Application Center, Chubu Office, Housing and Urban Development Corp.
1 Fl., Showa Bldg. 4-3-26, Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya 460-0008
Phone: 0120-86-3344 Counseling is available at the counter of any office, at the HUD plaza, and at the Sumai-no Madoguchi counter.
- Municipal Housing and Nagoya Municipal Housing Supply Corporation
Sumai-no Madoguchi counter - Sakae Underground Shopping Mall
3-5-12 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya 460-0008 Phone: (052) 264-4682, 4683
- Aichi Prefectural Housing and Aichi Prefectural Housing Supply Corporation-Nagoya Housing Management Office
5 Fl., Aichi Prefectural Housing Supply Corporation Bldg. 3-19-30 Marunouchi, Naka-ku, Nagoya 460-8566 Phone: (052) 973-1791 |
| Nara |
- The Nara Prefectural Government
website
provides contact details and specific information about vacancies and the best time of year to apply. |
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Housing Resources - Kansai
The following links are provided but do not come with any recommendation or
guarantee.
Classified Ads
Gaijin Houses
Housing Vocabulary
- Guarantor (Hoshonin): A person who
will take responsibility on behalf of the renter if any problems arise, for
instance with regard to rent etc.
- Deposit (Shiki-kin): Generally
equivalent to one to three months rent. Part of the deposit is returned at the
end of the contract.
- Key money (Rei-kin): A
non-refundable fee or ¡Ægift money' paid to the landlord.
- Agent's fee (Tesuryo):
A fee of about one month' rent paid to the agent.
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Insurance - Health /Pension
Under Japanese law, employers of full-time employees and employees who work
around 75% of a full-timer's hours are required to enrol
those employees in "shakai hoken" (Employee's Health Insurance)
and "kosei nenkin" (Employee's Pension Insurance). Under the
relevant provisions of Japanese law, the employer is required to pay half of the
employee's premium on these forms of insurance. All Nova full-time workers
should be automatically enrolled in both of these and Nova is in clear breach of
Japanese law by not enrolling its employees.
Nova's current position - which is a clear violation of law - is that if an employee requests,
in writing, to be enrolled in the insurance and pension programs mentioned
above, then he or she will be enrolled.
In the background
to Nova's "employee's choice" stance on Japanese insurance law is the profit
that Nova makes under its own insurance company: JMA. Nova, in the apparent
interests of its employees, requires all new instructors to have insurance (and
proof thereof) before coming to Japan. Nova also happens to offer its own
insurance in the form of JMA health insurance. The result is that Nova manages
to shirk its legal responsibilities by not paying into a compulsory, government
established insurance system, and is instead having its employees pay Nova for a
private insurance system.
For more
information on the benefits of shakai hoken insurance and kosei nenkin pension insurance,
and why the General Union believes all eligible employees should be enrolled
please
click here.
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Insurance - Employment Insurance
Prior to 2000, Nova refused to enroll its employees in unemployment insurance
as required by Labour Standards Law.
This meant that if your contract was not renewed, you would be without income
until your next job. In 2000, the General Union won a commitment from Nova that
it would enroll all employees who worked more than 20 hours a week in the
unemployment insurance scheme. Instructors at Nova now have a guaranteed income
in the event that they are dismissed or non-renewed.
In the event that an employee resigns from the company, there is a wait of
around 3 months before you can receive unemployment insurance.
Both Nova and the employee make
monthly contributions to the scheme, with your portion being around 2000yen per
month.
Depending on your age and length of
employment you are entitled to between 60-80% of your monthly salary for 90-270
days. For those under 45 years of age and with less than 5 years in the scheme
(majority of Nova instructors) you would be entitled to 60% for 90 days. This
gives you breathing space to either help you find another job in Japan or decide
to return to your home country.
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Resignations
How much notice do you need to give Nova to quit? Can you be fined for not
completing the contract?
It is
illegal for any company to fine you for not completing a contract. Smaller
employers will often try but in this case Nova follows the law.
While there are many rumours on the internet about the length
of notice required to resign, we recommend that first year teachers give one month's
notice as required by the contract. Beyond the first contract, case law shows
that a full month is not always necessary. Members should contact the union for
more details.
Realistically
though, if Nova employees are unable to give the full month's notice there is
little consequence. However, the union recommends teachers give as much notice
as possible. Just as the union expects Nova to play fair and follow the law, it
is also reasonable for the company to expect teachers to play fair and follow
their contracts.
If you resign, Nova cannot have your visa
revoked. You are entitled to stay, and work in Japan until your visa's
expiration date.
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Taxes
There are
a variety of
taxation systems in Japan.
Taxes that apply to NOVA teachers include;
-
Income Tax
-
Resident's Tax
-
Consumption Tax
Nova deducts Income Tax directly from
your salary each month. This tax is deducted at a rate that reflects your
earnings. The following is a simplified table that allows you to calculate your
income tax amount. Don't think you're paying the correct
amount of income tax? Please note that Japan, as with many other countries, sets
a minimum annual wage threshold and personal allowance. Earnings under this
threshold are untaxed. In addition, social welfare premiums are untaxed. Please
contact payroll for more detailed information on how your wages are taxed.
This link
An
outline of Japanese Taxes takes you to Ministry of Finance tax documentation
page. All of the information is in English. All files are in .pdf so you will
need to install a programme like
Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download) to view.
| Taxable Income (i) |
Tax Rate (A) |
Amount Deductible (B) |
Tax = (i) x (A) - (B) |
| ¡ï3,300,000 or less |
10% |
--- |
(i) x 10% |
| ¡ï3,300,000 - ¡ï9,000,000 |
20% |
¡ï330,000 |
(i) x 20% - ¡ï330,000 |
| ¡ï9,000,000 - ¡ï18,000,000 |
30% |
¡ï1,230,000 |
(i) x 30% - ¡ï1,230,000 |
| ¡ï18,000,000 or more |
37% |
¡ï2,490,000 |
(i) x 37% - ¡ï2,490,000 |
For a NOVA teacher earning ¡ï270,000 per month income tax will be about 12,000 yen.
Resident's Tax includes a prefectural residential tax and municipal residential tax
collected by the local
government; you are responsible for paying these yourself or you can request
them to be deducted directly from your monthly salary.
Once you are here for a year or so, expect to receive a
Resident's Tax
bill in the mail. The bill will include a 'paying in book' that allows you to
pay your tax at the post office. It is
based on your previous year's income and is credited
to the local government of the area in which you reside on January 1st of the
year. Payments can be made in one lump sum or quarterly. The lump sum provides a small
discount (about 2,000yen). Expect to pay in the region of 40,000yen - 80,000yen
per year. This amount will increase if you are also working part-time outside of
NOVA.
Consumption tax is
levied on the goods and services you purchase. As of April 2004 all shops and
products should display price tags which include 5% consumption tax in the retail
price. This tax rate may increase in future as part of a 'solution' to help
maintain a healthy balance in the national pension system.
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Mobile Phones
Nova has,
in the past, offered new instructors mobile phones during their first
orientation session at Nova. These phones have been available to credit-card
holding instructors who wished to buy a telephone immediately.
Whilst many
instructors, who wished to be able to contact family and friends, take these
phones, we suggest people shop around before purchasing a mobile from Nova or
any of its agents, including Com Station. Many of the phones that Nova sells to
its instructors can be gotten free of charge with an identical plan simply by
going to one of Nova's competitors.
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Holidays - Annual Paid Leave
Not so very long ago, Nova
openly broke Japanese law over annual paid leave. Full-timers received a number
of days less than the law provides while part-timers were given no days at all.
With the intervention of the General Union, Nova now follows the law. Members,
and non-members alike, receive this benefit.
Nova policy has it that you
must apply for your leave at least one month in advance. This is in direct
violation of the law. If you would like to apply for holidays with less notice
contact the General Union for more information.
Japanese law has no provision
for sick leave. Some companies do provide such leave but Nova is not one of
them. Common practice at Nova, and many other companies, is to use annual paid
leave to cover sick days. You should follow Nova's guidelines on how to apply
for this.
The number of paid holidays granted when you
work 5 days or 35 hours per week is as follows:
| Years of service |
0.5 |
1.5 |
2.5 |
3.5 |
4.5 |
5.5 |
6.5 |
7.5 |
8.5 + |
| Paid holidays |
10 |
11 |
12 |
14 |
16 |
18 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
The number of paid holidays granted when you work less
than 5 days or 35 hours per week is as follows:
| Working days/week |
Working days/year |
Years of service |
| 0.5 |
1.5 |
2.5 |
3.5 |
4.5 |
5.5 |
6.5 |
7.5 |
8.5 + |
| 4 |
169¡Á216 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
12 |
13 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
| 3 |
121¡Á168 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
11 |
| 2 |
73¡Á120 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
| 1 |
48¡Á72 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
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Holidays - National
A very large
majority of Japanese employers recognise public holidays. Many give their
full-time employees those days off with pay, and others compensate their
employees in some way for working those days. Unfortunately, these days
are not guaranteed under Labour Standards Law. Of all the
major language schools in Japan, Nova is the only school that
doesn't give its employees national holidays off or compensate them in some
way. The following is a list of the holidays that most people in Japan receive,
but you will not whilst working for Nova:
Jan 01
Jan 12
Feb 11
Mar 20
Apr 29
May 03
May 04
May 05
Jul 19
Sep 20
Sep 23
Oct 11
Nov 03
Nov 23
Dec 23 |
New Year's Day.
Coming of Age day or Young Adults Day.
National Foundation Day.
Spring Equinox.
Nature Day.
Constitution Day.
People's Day.
Children's Day.
Day of the Sea or Marine Day.
Respect for the Elders Day.
Autumn Equinox.
School Sports Day.
Culture Day.
Labour Thanksgiving Day.
Emperor's Birthday. |
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Drug Testing
Nova has, as part of its standard contract,
a clause requiring instructors to submit to urine analysis drug testing on
demand. Introduced in
1994, Nova attempted to have all of its (foreign) employees sign a letter
consenting to drug testing. The General Union believes it is a violation
of human rights, and discriminatory. This was confirmed by the
Human Rights Committee of the Osaka Bar Association, when
the clause was ruled discriminatory and a violation of
employee's human rights in 1995.
Nova claims to have tested
instructors for drugs in the past, but has not fired anyone based on those
tests.The General Union believes this to be untrue as
there has never been any anecdotal evidence in all these years.
Nova enjoys the threat that the clause contains and wishes
to maintain this intimidation over its employees. Accordingly, Nova fears the
issue going to court and setting any kind of precedent based on a case that it
would surely lose. For this reason, Nova is wary of firing anyone based on such
tests or because an instructor refuses to submit to a drug test.
If you are asked to submit for drug testing
contact the union immediately for information on how to proceed.
See History for further information.
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Sick Leave
Japanese law has no provision
for sick leave. Some companies do provide such leave but Nova is not one of
them. Common practice at Nova, and many other companies, is to use annual paid
leave to cover sick days. You should follow Nova's guidelines on how to apply
for this. If you have been working for 5 days per week for at least 6 months,
you are entitled to 10 days. This number increases yearly.
For those of you who become ill
and are under the care of a physician, Shakai Hoken
(employer based health/pension) provides 60% of your salary for up to 18 months.
See Shakai Hoken.
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