Does anyone know where I can find information about labor laws for sennin teachers (in my case a private high school)?
In particular, I am interested in to what extent sennin teachers have the ability to request/demand a specific day off. For example, if a school wants you to work at an open school event, but you’d rather have that day off, can the school simply deny that request?
(Obviously I am aware that attempting to bring labor law into a holiday dispute basically nukes your good standing at an institution, but I am being pushed to consider my options. I’ve worked at the school for over 10 years, so I won’t be making any rash decisions).
6 comments
I’m guessing you mean seishain?
Basically you’re allowed to ask for any day off but if the company thinks it interferes with business operations they have the right to refuse. At least that’s what I’m sure is the case.
Though if you’ve been working 10 years and can’t even take days off whenever you like then I’d be worried about more than just this.
It’s only my first year as a teacher, but in my experience, asking is not asking, it’s telling.
If you made an official request, in writing, the school may be less likely to deny it. (as the legal requirements to actually deny a day off are not simply “No I think we need you.”)
But at that point it would also be wise to be tracking your hours. Assuming it is like many other private schools, you are quite probably working more than the amount of hours indicated in your contract / work regulations (especially if you are in charge of a busy club).
At that point there is also the possibility that the school technically/legally owes you overtime pay… which is probably not an issue they would want brought up.
If you want more detailed and accurate answers, contact hello work or the general union
Since you’re not working in the public school system, you’re employment is covered under the Labour Standards Act. The laws for taking paid leave are therefore applicable to you. In principle, you can’t be denied from taking PTO.
If the open school falls on a regular day off for you, they should be offering a day off in lieu to compensate for the loss of your regular day off. In this case, if you’re not being offered a day off in lieu, they can not obligate you to work. If the open school falls on a regular work day, you are within your rights to take a PTO day, but as others have pointed out, it won’t win you any favours with your school.
Here is the website for Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare with official information in various languages:
[https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/roudoukijun/foreign/index.html](https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/roudoukijun/foreign/index.html)
You’ll notice that it says, “In case the granting of annual paid leave in the requested period would interfere with normal operation of the enterprise, the employer shall have the right to change the dates of leave.”
So the question will be: is the open school event normal operation or is it something exceptional? My guess is that your school will argue that it is normal and therefore they can deny your request for time off. Whether or not the Labor Bureau will see it that way is impossible to say.