The requirements for Unemployment Insurance are equally straightforward: if you work for at least 20 hours per week, and are expected to be employed for at least 31 days, your employer has a legal responsibility (via the Employment Insurance Act) to enroll you in the unemployment insurance system.

However, for whatever reason, we’ve been told that teachers who work for James English School (who we’ve talked about before) might not be getting enrolled in unemployment insurance at all.

Huh.

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It’s safe to say that the ability to survive without an income (while you’re looking for a job) is one of the most vital parts of living in a foreign country (or any country) – especially considering the irregular nature of the limited-term contracts that plague Japan.

That’s why the Unemployment Insurance system exists: to act as a buffer when you’re between jobs so you don’t, you know, starve to death (or something) before you find a new employer to work for.

Suffice to say, we’re quite concerned to have heard from some of our members that James English School isn’t enrolling people in this essential (and legally mandated) social insurance system.

There’s no excuse for not enrolling people in this system – and we’ve previously held other companies (such as AEON, Berlitz, ECC, GABA, Interac, and NOVA, to name but a few) accountable for breaking the law to prove this point.

To that end, we’d like to investigate this matter further.

If you happen to work for James English School, or if you know someone who does (or did), and you’re NOT enrolled in unemployment insurance, please let us know and we’ll get to the bottom of it.

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