So at my pretty traditional Japanese company we get paid for the month on the 20th of the month, and bonuses are paid twice a year in June and Dec, pretty standard stuff. I’m thinking about quitting soon, and my last day will be sometime in early Dec and my questions are:
1) I assume I will still get my regular pay on 20th Dec pro-rata for the number of days in Dec I worked, but if my account has been closed by then how will this be done usually? Do I give them a bank account from my home country?
2) Would I be able to take out my pension? I was a private-school JET for a while so I know I can get 80% back through lump sum withdrawal, plus the other 20% through a tax agent. Would the process be the same for this office job?
3) Any chance they pay any bonus for the second half of the year along my regular pay in Dec? Or do I have to be employed as at the date of bonus to get it. I only ask because bonus in Japan is more like a deferred salary rather than a true “bonus”
8 comments
3. You just need to check your company’s documents. In my case, you have to still be technically employed as of the bonus grant date to receive it. You can have already passed your last working day, but the last day of employment needs to be after the grant date.
1. Don’t close the bank account. It will get close automatically anyway when bank sends you the verification letter.
2. Yes you can take out your pension. Contact the pension office in your municipality.
3. Why don’t you use the paid leaves for remaining days in December?
On what day did you receive the bonus last year? My company pays at 10th of December every year so I’m leaving japan on 15th.
1) when exactly do you leave Japan? If you leave Japan before the payment, you need to tell your employer so they can withhold 20.42% non-resident tax at source.
If say your final employment date is December 4th (for example) then you can utilize Article 23 of the labor standards act:
“If a worker dies or is separated from employment and the employer is requested to do so by a right holder, the employer must pay the wages and return reserve funds, security deposits, savings, and any other money or goods to which the worker is entitled, regardless of what it may be called, within 7 days.”
https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3567/en
This means from the request they must pay you within 7 days. But the 7 days only count once your contact has ended. So if say you’re using annual leave for December 4th to December 31st then you’re still employed… so in that hypothetical you can’t initiate Article 23 until December 31st. If that makes sense?
As for banks, I’d advise speaking to your bank to explain your circumstance.
2) Yea you just need to calculate your ASR. Which means adding all your SMR brackets together for every month paid into Shakai Hoken (this includes your time in JET and your current job) and then divide it by the number of months you contributed to Shakai Hoken (again include your time of JET and current job etc). Once you have your ASR you multiple it by your “multiplier” (multiplier = a calculation based on total months contributed to Shakai Hoken) and then bob’s your uncle…. You get your pension lump sum withdraw amount. I made a post here to help explain this: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/m1n77s/updated_information_of_the_pension_lumpsum/gqn1wsp/
Only you can calculate your ASR as it’s so variable.
3) speak to your employer. The thing about bonus is your employer is under no requirement to give you a bonus.
In general you will not get a bonus unless you are working there on the day the bonuses are handed out, even if you worked for the entire evaluation period. I learned this the hard way and talked to an employment law expert and was told that’s just the way it is.
You’re supposed to resign the day after the bonus hits your bank account
1. One thing to keep in mind is that your social insurance will not be prorated. It’s better to leave at the end of the month. What you could do is make your last day at work some day at the beginning of December but your last day of employment December 31st by using up your paid leave (obviously depends on how many days you got left).
2. That depends on your company rules. There are companies that deny you your bonus (or even commission if you are in sales) as soon as you confirmed your intention to leave the company.
It should be stipulated in your company regulations, but a bonus is only paid to employees who are still with the company at the time it is paid out. If you are not an employee, you don’t get a bonus. Simple as that.
Japanese companies have a company manual that sets out the rules/regulations of the company. All of this should be set out in the manual. If you can’t read it, you can ask, but that may raise some eyebrows so you might want to get a friend’s help.
Also, are you in a union?
Generally speaking you would see some wording that says you need to be employed and not under resignation notice in order to be eligible for your bonus. So you would give your notice the day after you receive your bonus.
WRT your company pension, again you would have to read the manual because what you receive may depend on your length of service. If it is the 401k type of plan, that is totally portable.
TL;DR – just wait.