Not Following the contract and has many changes

anonymous
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Good Evening. I would like to seek a advice on what to do regarding my situation. I am currently working in Niigata, Japan as an English Instructor to Kindergarten students. I arrived here last January 30 and was stayed in Ashikaga, Tochigi where I observed how short English classes were conducted. I also did some substitutions for teachers who were absent. I did that for more or less 2 weeks. I was brought to Niigata on February 10 and I started my class o February 15. My concern is this, in my contract (both for POEA and Job Contract), my place of work is in Futagoyama Kindergarten in Maebashi, Gunma, but I am working here in Niigata. They have not given me a new contract for Niigata. I received an email from my company, requesting me to report to the kindergarten, NOT AS A TEACHER, BUT AS A NURSING CAREGIVER (which I never applied for).According to the email, the principal has not been happy with my performance and the company hopes that this will help me improve until the new teacher arrives. I wrote a reply to the letter stating that I never handled children below 1 year old and that I applied as a teacher, as stated in my contract. When I brought this up with the H.R of the company, they sent me a copy of the duties and responsibilities of a teacher which I never signed, nor was included in my contract The owner came the next day and told me that I will be helping out the classes of the 3-5 year old students and teach English to them for 40 minutes during the mentioned time. There were days when I would teach, and there are days when I would not be teaching them. I merely depend on their teachers to tell me when I am to teach English to the class. Last May 16, I reported to my kindergarten, but this time, they asked me to take care of children below 1 years old. I have been doing this for 2 weeks now. Yesterday, the man in charge of the Niigata teachers spoke with me yesterday and informed me that my replacement is arriving around June 20. When the new teacher arrives, I am to go back to Ashikaga, where I will be trained (while being trained, I will be an assistant teacher there). This is also not stated in my contract.

 

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Adelaimar C Arias-Jose
is a Legal expert in the Philippines
What do you want to do?

Hindi maliwanag sa post mo kung ano ang gusto mong mangyari.

It seems to me that, you are right, iyong duties that you have been performing are not the same duties that you signed up for in your contract.

However, if you look at it in another way, even if you do not seem to have the qualifications that your Japanese employer thought that you would have, you were not dismissed outright. Your employer is willing to train you and pay you while you are being trained.

While it is true that you are doing work that was not included in the contract you signed, I think that your employer is not satisfied with your performance. So, since both you and your employer are not satisfied with the arrangement, you can rescind the contract -- you will be repatriated and they will look for another teacher.

It seems that your employer wants you to stay on, even if your initial performance was not satisfactory. And your employer is also willing to train you. So, this is a good thing.

As to the place of work you were performing your duties at, if your employer has hired you, under Philippine Labor laws, mayroong management prerogative to move employees to other sites of work. The only thing that the employer must make sure is that the employee shall not suffer diminution of salary or seniority status. Kung halimbawa'y may pangangailangan ang employer sa ibang branch ng kanilang school, the employer can transfer you. Especially since your performance did not seem to be acceptable to your employer.

So, what do you want to do? If you want to go home, you are certainly well within your rights to rescind that contract since your employer has not fulfilled all his obligations under the contract (according to you). If you come home, you can file an illegal dismissal case against the agency that recruited and deployed you to Japan.

If you want to stay on, then, I don't know what to say: you can ask for a new contract so that your contract will better reflect the actual job you are performing. Kaso, baka naman babaan ang suweldo mo.

I don't quite know what to tell you. Why don't you ask advice from the labor attache at the Philippine Embassy?

About the author

Adelaimar C Arias-Jose

I am a graduate of the UP College of Law. Member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines since 1995. I am currently involved in private practice in criminal, civil and labor law.
Profession: Lawyer
Adelaimar C. Arias-Jose
Office Address: #34 St. Michael Street
Philippines , Manila , Makati
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