Is the fare fair?
Lisa* regularly took the train to work and was given a transportation allowance in advance to buy a monthly ticket. She unfortunately became ill and wasn’t able to attend work for 2 months. Before returning to work she received her pay slip, but she noticed that the transportation allowance wasn’t included. Lisa contacted her company to point out their oversight only to be told that transportation allowance would now be calculated based on attended days and paid with the following month’s salary. She was upset at the change and contacted the union to ask if her company legally could change the payment. It was determined that there was no specific rule written into her contract and the company could choose to pay as they please.
Note: Although a common practice, companies are not legally required to pay employees transportation fees. Check your contract and working regulations to see how you are covered!
Fun fact: Public transport up to 150,000 yen a month or private transport up to 31,600 yen a month are non-taxable! These routes must be the shortest, most economical route though for this to apply.
We recognize that each workplace is unique and may have different agreements in place. If you have questions about your payslip, ask for a consultation by filling out the form here: https://generalunion.org/consult/
*Name has been changed to protect privacy
Link to Extra Payments – Part 1