First time posting. Im working as a piano teacher here in Japan. Basically at my company there will be a student recital held every year in February. So the recital takes up four days of the month of February and 3 out of 4 days are public holidays.
To be honest I love teaching and all but with the low pay and stuff Im just not willing to spend my vacation time for the student recital. But since Im new to this country Im not that familiar with the rules here.
Would it be weird for me to say no to work on the public holidays? Is it legal? Or is it rude to do so?
Thanks in advance ~~
11 comments
Given that that’s probably the only time parents get to see where their money is going… not good for business, but who knows, maybe you, personally, can be excused, or get overtime pay since it’s Sunday or whatnot.
You know about overtime, don’t you?
Employers in Japan are not obliged to give public holidays off – period. Your entitlement under the law is 1 day off per 7 day period. And they don’t have to let you choose which day.
Ask them about daikyu.
Are you being paid/are the public holidays work days? I assume that if you are required to come to work you’ll be paid or you’ll get some other days off in return. If that is the case then yeah, it would be rude for you to work but perfectly legal for the company to ask.
If you are required to come to work without pay or any make up time, then you might justified in not going. But, it will look bad on you, and may result in your not having your contract renewed.
Either way, you can’t win.
Are you being paid for those days? Then you gotta work ’em. Simple. Unless you’re working in government, then public holidays don’t mean much for you.
Working when others aren’t is part and parcel of any role that caters to leisure activity. You’re in the same boat as every single person working in the entire *eikaiwa* industry here, not to mention hospitality.
So long as your employers compensate you by giving you days off on other days, they are entitled to stipulate the days on which you work.
A Japanese court is likely to say that because of the nature of your job (teaching students), overseeing student recitals is part and parcel of your job, even if they were to fall on inconvenient days.
It is thus not unreasonable for your employers to expect that you will sacrifice Sundays and Saturdays in the discharge of your responsibilities.
Even if we were to put the legal stuff to one side, saying no here is a surefire way of destroying whatever relationship you currently enjoy with your employers.
So you want to take days off during the once a year recital.
I would assume it’s possible, but probably not the wisest choice career wise.
Those recitals are a big deal for everyone involved: students, teachers and parents. It would be weird and rude if you refused to work.
There’s a chance that you’ll have a day or two off after the recitals. The recital may count as a lesson day.
I dont understand why this simple question is being downvoted. You gotta be so proud of your labor rights over there.
I think the other comments do a fine job summing up the situation esp surrounding the labor laws.
But if I may, I would look at finding yourself a psychological solution to this problem. (This isn’t discounting the fact that understanding your obligations is important – but just offering another angle)
As a former music teacher myself, one of the best parts about the job was being recognized for the growth in my students, especially by the parents.
As a parent myself, seeing my child grow and acquire new skills is motivating and inspiring. It still gives me goosebumps.
If my child has a good relationship with their teachers, I would love to see them and get to spend a little bit of time with them just to say thanks and how much I appreciate what they do.
I know working all the time is no fun so I get what you’re going through. But I hope, if you do end up having to go anyways, that you can find a way to view this as something you would rather be doing than not.