Administrative Issues Your Contract Rules Administrative Issues

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT between YOU and your Contracting Organization (CO) For all other JETs working for a municipality or private high school, your CO and host institution are usually the same;  i.e. the BOE in the town or village that you work at/your private high school Contact point – Peter and Uno San For ALTs who have entered into a contract with Gifu Prefecture, the official CO is the Gifu Prefectural Board Of Education; Your school is your host institution. Contact point  Meryl and Hayano Sensei Your host institution is responsible for your basic needs and your salary!

Employment Conditions Statement of Agreement – please read thoroughly and understand this document Know your obligations and entitlements Duties; working hours; paid leave; sick leave; bereavement leave etc If you do not understand something, please talk to your host institution for clarification Keep a copy of your contract at work & at home You may re-contract if your host institution agrees (in some cases, up to 4-5 years) Re-contracting intention is usually required by November the year BEFORE (keep your eye out for this paperwork), and your final decision by the first week of February the SAME year This means you will be asked in November if you wish to recontract. This is not binding. If you say yes, you will be asked in February for your final decision. PLEASE FULFIL YOUR CONTRACT WHERE POSSIBLE

Your payslip

Example salary increase if reappointed 3rd year gross annual salary will increase to 3.9 million yen, and if a 4th and 5th year contract is entered into, 3.96 million yen.

Remittances Go Remit – 2000 yen https://www.goremit.jp/index/en (Plus intermediate bank fees) Western Union http://www.westernunion.co.jp/en/index.php Fees are based on the amount you send 1-10,000yen (990yen) 10,001-50,000 (1500) 50,000 – 97,000 (3,000) Your Personal Bank Varies based on your bank (My bank about 3500) Plus intermediary fees Japan Post Bank 2500yen (plus intermediary fees)

Residency (inhabitant) tax Tax in Japan for JETS Income tax Not always automatically deducted from your salary – check with your CO US and Irish tax exemptions are only for 2 years only and still require you to submit a tax return to your home country All JETs should be in the practice of checking whether they are free from home country income tax payments while abroad Residency (inhabitant) tax Not always automatically deducted from your salary – check with your CO. If you seem to be receiving more ‘take home pay’ than your JET colleagues, it could be because the CO is not deducting your inhabitant taxes. If so, you might need to save this money each month for when the bill comes in June Calculated in June each year by the municipality in which you live, based on your previous year’s salary (calendar year) If you change prefectures / jobs on JET on your own volition (ie. You have a partner in Tokyo / ask for transfer), you may be required to pay all of your residency tax yourself

Your JET number 2016******* Write it down somewhere where you will NOT lose it. This number is required for important occasions such as: Making claims under your accident insurance Applying and submitting tests for the JET Japanese course Recording your attendance at conferences Voting in AJET elections

HEALTH INSURANCE Compulsory participation - you pay half the premium, CO pays half　（appearing on your paycheck is the half that you pay) When you go to the doctor/hospital, you only have to pay 30% of the cost for most treatments Does not cover preventative medicine, unnecessary checkups For overseas treatment, pay upfront and bring all paperwork and receipts back to claim This covers your dependants too Carry health insurance card with you at all times

Jet Programme Accident Insurance Policy Covers illness or injury in Japan caused by accident, not pre-existing conditions. The remaining 30% of your medical bill can be claimed back (remember 70% is paid by the national health insurance) Your host institution pays the premium Can also be used as travel insurance for up to 30 days whilst travelling back to your home country But electing to travel overseas for treatment, you may not be covered (read notes) You need to know your JET number to make a claim A deductable of 5000 yen applies Does not include things like damaged / lost luggage, dental, treatment received more than 180 days after accident, family member’s treatment

Employment Insurance You are also enrolled in this by your CO (required by law) Entitles you to unemployment benefits if you are deemed eligible after completion of the JET Programme and remain in Japan on a valid visa status (requires registration at Hello Work) See the Gifu Jets blog for more on this (Search “unemployment”) Pension Your CO pays into a pension as you work. There is also an insurance component to this pension, which can be accessed if you sustain serious injury or death whilst paying into the scheme. Also required by law

Overtime – no official monetary compensation. It is possible to get *daikyu in some circumstances; *If you are asked to work outside normal hours, please discuss the issue of compensatory time off beforehand! Keep written record of extra work & get it signed by supervisor. Salary – please keep in mind that our salary conditions as JETs are considerably better than that of the average Japanese citizen – be gracious if approached by colleagues about this delicate issue. It is best to avoid discussing actual salary figures. Sick leave – depending on your host institution/CO, you may need a medical certificate (shindansho); Please use your holidays before the end of your contract – leaving early can significantly inconvenience your employer. Try to save some of your holidays for an emergency – in case you have to fly home for some unexpected reason

Japanese people (regardless of vocation) tend to take time off at three times each year. End of year / New Year (up to about 1 week) Golden Week (late April, early May, grouping of Children’s Day, Greenery Day, other public holidays) Obon (commemoration of deceased ancestors) Aug 13 – 17 (M-F)