As a seasoned JET 🧂I understand very well that ESID and I should speak with my CO/BOE, etc.
But I was just wondering for previous JETs who used their saved up nenkyu (and/or summer leave) to go home earlier, how many days were you able use up? Was there a limit placed on you as to what was acceptable in regards to your flight date in relation to your contract end date? I’m wondering if anyone’s successfully used up like 20+ days to fly home early.
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One potential issue I could see arising here is pay. 20 days of nenkyuu is basically a whole month. If you leave so early that there will be a whole paycheck that still has to be paid out, it could be a huge headache logistically. Banks have gotten really strict recently about requiring you to close your bank account before you leave the country (a lot of them will freeze your account if they don’t have a valid residence card on file). This would mean you’d have to close your account before you leave. But then if your account is closed, how will your boe deposit your final paycheck? Since you’ll still technically be ’employed’ for another month, they probably won’t want to give it to you early.
You’d have to talk with them to figure out a logistical solution and decide if going home that early is worth the headache
My BOE said no to an ALT in a similar boat. I’d have that conversation early to avoid winding up like her and losing those days. Were it me, I’d just spend my last few weeks relaxing/traveling/hanging out on nearby beach.
We were told by our BOE that was a no go. We have to be in Japan until the end of our contract date. We can use nenkyuu to take days off.. but we still have to be in Japan.
I did it. But I was at my CO for 5 years and had a really good relationship with the JET ALT supervisor and CO, even then I had to beg and negotiate a little. My CO usually allowed people to get their flight and fly out up to a week early using paid leave to cover their time. You have the right to use all your paid leave so they can’t deny that. It’s getting your flight paid back during the time you use paid leave that is up to their discretion since you still haven’t “completed” your contract.
The BoE I used to work at would say as soon as you left Japan and turned in your residence permit, they will consider the contract to be over at that point and no nenkyu can be taken after. So if your contract ended August 14, and you left Japan on August 1st, they would consider your contract terminated (and technically broken) on the 1st. So, if you had two weeks worth of nenkyu, you wouldn’t have been able to use it to cover the two weeks from leaving until the end date, but you could use it starting mid-July to have two weeks off before the 1st (if that makes sense). They were also quite stingy about reimbursing flights, and made it very difficult to get a reimbursement unless you were leaving as close to the contract end date as possible.
In part, my personal guess is that when you turn in your residence card, you loose your working status and no longer can be on their payroll (or at least, it complicates things), but I don’t know the intricacies of the system, it could just be a stingy BoE. So take my anecdote as just that.
I did this. I looked at my contract and took about a month off to the end date. My supervisor looked surprised when I showed my plan to him but he had no reason to say no. I was also paid for the days I got to take off as they are PTO. I had a good working relationship with my schools and BOE. I really enjoyed working there but also had to go along with my personal plans. Just be nice and cordial when you propose your plan.
I was in your position, I had over 20 days of nenkyuu but I only wanted to take a week off because I had to complete some procedures for my university before the end of July.
My PA communicated my predicament to Shigaku Zaidan (I’m a Tokyo private JET) and they called the school to tell them that as long as I’ve completed my duties there’s no reason to prevent me from leaving slightly earlier with my paid leave.
That said, I don’t think they’re going to allow you over 20 days, but you could negotiate for like 7-10 days maybe? Mainly because of all the procedures you’ll need to finish before leaving (bank, bills etc)
My particular situation I was able to use 25 days of accumulated paid leave in order to leave early but my wife who will leave next month was told she cannot leave prior to the end date of her contract so it is something you should talk to your supervisor or PA about