It’s not unusual for companies to change with the times. In the language education industry, it’s essential to update pedagogy and develop materials that reflect both the interests and needs of students.

AEON, like many companies, has adapted its lesson delivery, transforming its former telephone lessons into a full-fledged Online department. Since the pandemic, online learning has become a standard option across the industry. But while lesson styles have progressed, AEON’s treatment of its online instructors has regressed.

In the past year, AEON Online instructors have seen their working conditions deteriorate. The most pressing concern is the planned removal of base pay, a key component of income for instructors whose availability is often under booked.

Compounding the problem, the company has rapidly expanded its roster, drastically reducing the number of lessons available per instructor. Many long-term instructors, some with ten or even twenty years of experience, have found their wages shrinking despite doing the same job they’ve always done.

This is not a new trend. In the past, AEON covered telephone and internet line costs and provided essential peripherals such as headsets to ensure classes could run smoothly. Those benefits have quietly disappeared over time, shifting both the financial and technical burden onto instructors.

So why don’t these instructors have access to the protections that other workers in the industry enjoy? The reason is simple: AEON designates them as freelancers.

This classification stands in stark contrast to the reality of their jobs. They teach pre-structured lessons, submit reports, and work fixed schedules week after week. Their working conditions mirror those of AEON’s branch school instructors; yet they receive none of the protections, benefits, or long-term stability.

Instructors with five or more years of service would typically be eligible for an unlimited term contract, which offers job security under Japan’s labor laws. But AEON Online instructors are excluded from this entirely due to their so-called freelance status.

AEON must do better. Online instructors deserve recognition for their labor, fair wages, and the basic security that comes with a proper employment contract.

The eikaiwa industry has modernized its classrooms. Now it’s time for AEON to modernize how it treats its workers.

Are you working for AEON Online, or know someone who is? Apply for a consultation, and join us in the fight for fair working conditions!