Hey everyone. I heard from most sources that 20 days of PTO is typical. Does anyone know if that will be represented in the contract, or if that is a more informal agreement with COs?
Mine says
“The number of days stipulated by the Labor Standards Act will be granted on the date of the commencement of
employment. 10 days for the first year, will be granted on the date of the commencement of employment.”
It sounds like I have 10, which is okay, but I wondered if the actual PTO ever differs from this official language.
19 comments
I believe mine specifies the 20 days, but I’ll be honest – I haven’t looked at it in quite a while.
I also started with 10 days, but that was just until the next calendar year. I would assume that’s the case for you, but you can ask for clarification.
Looks like 20 days, but they dole it out as your tenure extends.
Article 10
During the appointment stated in Article 3, Section 2 above and with the approval of the Supervisor,
the ALT may use twenty (20) days of yearly paid leave individually or consecutively. This leave
may be used in hourly units.
(2) Regardless of what is written in the earlier part of this Article, in the case that the period of
appointment of the ALT is less than six (6) months, the number of days of paid leave available to
the ALT will be decided based on the length of the appointment as follows:
i. Six (6) days of paid leave will be granted if the period of appointment is greater than three (3)
months and less than six (6) months
i. Three (3) days of paid leave will be granted if the period of appointment is three (3) months or
less
Every contract is different. My placement has 12 days off the first year, with the standard 20 from the second year onward.
It’s not uncommon for some placements to offer a reduced amount the first year.
ESID. I get 15 a year, and can carry over 12 the next year.
Mine was 10 (the legal minimum) first year, with an additional day each year.
My Japanese coworkers were shocked to learn this, because apparently they all start at 20 at the school I worked at. 🥲
We get 20 days at my school. I have heard of less, 10 days for the year. Dunno how they do it. The school I work at rolls over unused days up to 12, so the. You can have 32 days
My BOE only gave us 10 day PTO a year, 5 at the start and 5 after working a month, I believe it said it like this in the contract for that year too. But they we complained……a lot, and not we get 20 days per year. But yeah, 10 days isn’t uncommon.
20 isn’t the standard, it’s on the higher end. 10 is the minimum and most people get something in between. Depends entirely on your CO
Usually your contract date starts in August but the Japanese contract year starts in April. So most times you will receive your employment certificate each April. Therefore when you arrive in summer you will have 10 days until April and then the other 10 will be added. Depending on your contract the second year will renew your PTO each April or August.
When you arrive you can speak to your CO about your PTO
Ours is 20 at my placement. Got lucky too because I arrived in December, and boe still gave me the full 20 days.
I have 10 days
I had twenty days outlined in my contract, but could only take up to ten of those days before November. After that the other ten would be available to me, and then twelve days could roll over into the next year. So from my second year on I usually started out with 32 days of PTO.
It’s an ESID thing, like so many contractual details. And sometimes a BOE might change things up for the new ALT’s contract for whatever reason (such as your pred abusing whatever system was in place).
Back when I was on JET my tiny school gave me 20 days a year with all 20 eligible to carry over into the next year. But they also gave me an additional 10 days to use during summer break so I technically had 30 days a year. My friend was in the prefectural city and I think he only had 15(?) days a year. But he got the entire summer off with no restrictions.
CLAIR recommends 20 days to the BoEs around Japan, but they don’t have to follow that, as the other posters here can attest to.
10 days per year is the minimum, and 20 is the most common. You can get anywhere between those, and in some cases more, if you’re lucky.
Get clarification from your employer, though, because it could be that you get more than 10 after a while. Also, check if you can carry unused days over, or if you lose them when your contract renews, as this can vary, or so I hear.
It varies depending on the BOE (try to find someone who already works there and ask). In Shizuoka, I got 12 days the first year, then it was supposed to add 2 days each year the contract was renewed, but they changed it. I’ve heard of some people getting summer off, but they just had us sit in a conference room instead.
I started in 2022 and I had 20 days for my first year (not including the 3 extra we get for summer to take between July and September so essentially 23).
Considering how much holidays teachers get in other countries, I’m shocked that anyone would be fine with just 10. You’re here for the experience of Japan, not to desk warm, while the schools students and teachers and fellow ALTs colleagues in other prefectures are off exploring / experiencing!
That would’ve been a deal breaker for me / something I would’ve challenged.
Plenty of places have 10 days. It sounds like you have 10 days. It’ll be stipulated in your contract. You might also get work furlough days which are extra days off during breaks. I think with furlough I get 32 days off but I know people in the same prefecture who get 17 days off with furlough
At my placement we get 10 days each year BUT we get summer and winter breaks that the normal teachers do not. So that’s why we get the minimum days. I personally like it cause it gives you time to explore without worrying about nenkyu and running out.
it’s 20 for me, plus 4 summer vacaction leaves.