On June 25, the first hearing was held at the Tokyo District Court in a lawsuit against Interac over its failure to enroll employees in social insurance. The plaintiff, General Union member Fred Ramos, gave the following statement to the court. The full statement is attached separately.

• “I worked for Interac and its related companies from April 2006 until July 2017 as an ALT, teaching English in public schools in Kanagawa.”
• “Throughout my employment, my contracts and actual working life were not like a short, occasional or casual job. I worked at schools during the regular school day, from Monday to Friday.”
• “I prepared for classes, taught classes, worked with teachers and students, and was expected to remain at school according to the school schedule.”
• “However, despite this reality, I was not enrolled in the proper social insurance system during my employment. The explanation I repeatedly heard was that my weekly working hours were said to be 29.5 hours.”

Fred worked as a full-time ALT from 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. But despite the reality of his work, Interac listed his working hours as 29.5 hours per week in his contract and did not enroll him in social insurance.

This case is not only about Fred Ramos.

At the time, many ALTs employed by Interac were put in the same situation. They worked full-time in practice, but were told they could not be enrolled in social insurance because of the hours written in their contracts.
And this issue is not limited to ALTs.

If you were told by your employer that “you cannot join social insurance,” you may also be able to take action and recover lost pension benefits.

Do you think this might apply to you? Get in touch for a consultation!