labor laws please help

[Aho Kun]

Ok so i recently quit my job due to various reasons, But basically it got to the stage i just couldnt stand to be there anymore. So yes that means i didnt do my months notice as it stated i should have on my contract.

Now my ex boss is refusing to pay me 5 weeks of wages, i have been reading various websites about japanese labor laws and im under the impression that even if i do not work my notice its illegal for them to withhold my wages UNLESS they can prove i caused damages to the company.

Basically i need that money and i dont know how i should go about getting it, other than cleaning the moth balls off my ninja suit and start waving a sword around. help please!

[Visitor K]

im under the impression that even if i do not work my notice its illegal for them to withhold my wages UNLESS they can prove i caused damages to the company.

in most cases i believe thats correct. it might depend on how much notice you gave... but generally speaking, they cannot penalize you for breaking a contract.

[Charles]

Couldn't they argue that the sudden quitting without a replacement is harm to the company?

[Behan]

Just repeating what Aho Kun and Visitor K have already said, but, yes, I think they could only withold your wages if you caused them some kind of damage. I think that's in the labor guidelines.
That's your money and not theirs to withhold. Keeping it is thievery.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Read through the labor laws in English: http://www.jil.go.jp/english/laborinfo/library/Laws.htm

[Osakadave]

Contact one of the labor unions ASAP:
http://nambufwc.org/
http://www.generalunion.org/

[TFG]

Did you have any outstanding paid vacations that you can claim you used for the notice?

You can also claim the job made you ill and were unable to continue to work.

[kusai Jijii]

How did your former employer manage to owe you 5 weeks wages in the first place?
The longest peropd you should go without being paid is a month - i.e. 4 weeks, right?

[FG Lurker]

How did your former employer manage to owe you 5 weeks wages in the first place?
The longest peropd you should go without being paid is a month - i.e. 4 weeks, right?

Paid holidays I'm guessing. They are supposed to pay you for them when you leave. (Well, you book all the days off and officially end your time at the company when your holidays run out.)

[kusai Jijii]

Paid holidays I'm guessing. They are supposed to pay you for them when you leave. (Well, you book all the days off and officially end your time at the company when your holidays run out.)

In Japan, paid holidays are usually calculated depending on amount of contract served (e.g. 10 days available after serving the first half of a 12 month contract). If only, say, 2 months of a 12 month contract had been seved, I think it is questionable whether this person is actually "owed" paid holidays. who is to know...

[FG Lurker]

In Japan, paid holidays are usually calculated depending on amount of contract served (e.g. 10 days available after serving the first half of a 12 month contract).

Yes, by law after you work full time for 6 months you get 10 days. 12 months after you get your first 10 you get 11, and then one more each year until you get 20/year. Companies do not have to let you "carry over" vacation days and they do not have to give you more than 20 days/year.

Assuming the OP was owed for a full month of work plus had one week of paid holidays remaining he would then end up being owed salary for 5 weeks. Likewise if he had worked 3 weeks of the pay cycle and used his 10 paid holidays as his notice he would end up with 5 weeks owed.

[kusai Jijii]

Yes, by law after you work full time for 6 months you get 10 days. 12 months after you get your first 10 you get 11, and then one more each year until you get 20/year. Companies do not have to let you "carry over" vacation days and they do not have to give you more than 20 days/year.

Assuming the OP was owed for a full month of work plus had one week of paid holidays remaining he would then end up being owed salary for 5 weeks. Likewise if he had worked 3 weeks of the pay cycle and used his 10 paid holidays as his notice he would end up with 5 weeks owed.

Lurk, we are on the same page about the above. What I wanna know is how long s/he actually worked at the joint before leaving without giving notice (and I am NOT suggesting that that there were no grounds for doing so - I do not know the facts)

[Aho Kun]

Thankyou for the advice, i looked through some of the websites suggested and its seems unless they take me to court to prove damages then they really do have to pay me. The reason they owe me 5 weeks money is we got paid a month in hand and our pay day was the 10th, so they owe me my wage for june and the first week of july.

As some of you have mentioned, it really was making me ill,i guess some of you have had similar experiences. Just a certain place or routine driving you practically insane to the point where you feel ill.

Ill contact some of the unions and see what they advise, thanks again guys.

[Behan]

Just a certain place or routine driving you practically insane to the point where you feel ill.

I'm in the same boat with you there.

Good luck with everything.

[kusai Jijii]

I still wanna know, how long had you been working for them...

[Mike Oxlong]

Your local Labor Standards Office should be able to advise you if you have a reasonable claim against the company, and if you do file a claim, they will instigate procedings to determine whether you should be compensated, and how much that compensation should be.

[kusai Jijii]

... for fuck's sake, how long did you work for them ? Or is that private? If so, why the fuck didn't you call your thread, 'labor issues, but its confidential, sorry...'

[Iraira]

Thankyou for the advice, i looked through some of the websites suggested and its seems unless they take me to court to prove damages then they really do have to pay me. The reason they owe me 5 weeks money is we got paid a month in hand and our pay day was the 10th, so they owe me my wage for june and the first week of july.

As some of you have mentioned, it really was making me ill,i guess some of you have had similar experiences. Just a certain place or routine driving you practically insane to the point where you feel ill.

Ill contact some of the unions and see what they advise, thanks again guys.

I'm honored to be in your sig, but I don't even remember writing that....must have been after a memorable bowel movement....

[Aho Kun]

... for fuck's sake, how long did you work for them ? Or is that private? If so, why the fuck didn't you call your thread, 'labor issues, but its confidential, sorry...'

Jesus bro calm, surprisingly im not online 24/7 I know it was hot today but crack open a beer or someting I was there just under 6months.

Iraira i hope you didnt mind, but that line had me laughing for ages!

[kusai Jijii]

Jesus bro calm, surprisingly im not online 24/7 I know it was hot today but crack open a beer or someting I was there just under 6months.

Cool bro. But forget about the 'owed' paid holidays.

[Aho Kun]

yeah holidays wasnt apart of our contract anyway, i just wanna get the money i worked for >< hmm. Difficult to contact anyone with it being the weekend. Well thankyou everybody for the help and links.