Schedule

Please read your contract’s guidelines for work hours, holidays, and paid leave carefully. A **CO’s contract guidelines may differ from other JETs**, so make sure that you fully understand the terms of your individual contract as presented to you in English. Keep a copy of this contract in your desk at all times. If you have not received a contract in English from your supervisor or your school is unwilling to legibly translate your Japanese contract into English, please contact your PA immediately.

## Work Hours

**Public school JETs are contracted to work 16 days each month.** A typical work schedule starts at 8:30am and ends at 5pm. Working days will be negotiated by the CO and JET participant. Please provide plenty of notice if you would like to change your schedule.

**Private school JETS may have a very different schedule from a public school JET.** Your contract should state your full time work hours that you need to follow. It should also state clauses for scheduled work events or other special situations where you may have to work outside of your normal work hours, along with flexible compensation for that amount of time.

### Teaching Hours

Keep a weekly schedule near you at all times, including the start and end times of each period. Make sure that you capitalize the free time you have at work, no matter how much or little you receive.

**The amount of hours you teach at your school will greatly vary between JETs.** Schools have been notified about the amount of hours a JET should be teaching in class per week. However, **it is up to the school**, as well as your supervisor to decide how effectively their JET is being used. Every situation is different. It is important to speak with your supervisor about your work hours if you are teaching too few, or too many classes a week.

## School Year

* Informal opening ceremonies are held
* Formal Entrance ceremonies are held for incoming first year students
 May
 June
 July
 August
 September
 October
 November
 December
 January
* Informal opening ceremonies are held
* The national standardized university entrance exam ("Center Exam") and other private university entrance exams are held
 February
 March
* Informal closing ceremonies are held
* Formal graduation ceremonies are held
	+ You will be expected to wear a suit

## Tardiness

**Do not be late for work or your classes**, as tardiness is frowned upon. However, there are situations in which a train delay might prevent you from getting to work on time. When a train is delayed in Japan, the staff at each station where a delayed train stops will distribute a 電車遅延証明書 (densha chien shoumeisho) or **train delay certificate** which can be provided to a boss, a teacher, school administrator, or another person in authority as an acceptable excuse for being late.

**If your train is late,** a station attendant will often be standing on the platform or else at the ticket gate handing out the certificates to exiting passengers. If not, go to the counter by the ticket gate and say: Chien shoumeishou onegai shimasu. (May I please have a chien shoumeishou?)

## Overtime

JET does **not require** for you to work overtime. Working overtime is a cultural norm in Japan, but you are not obligated to work past your normal work hours. It is your own decision to stay later than your normal work hours; do not expect compensation.

## Yearly Paid Leave

All first year public and private school JETs receive at least **10 days of paid leave** (*nenkyuu*, 年休) January after working at least 80% of work days between their contract start date and January (a period of 6 months).

JETs who recontract will earn at least 11 more days of leave in the following January provided they have worked 80% of work days that year. JETs will receive a 11 days in their second year, 12 in their third, and 14 days in their fourth. (See figure below). Private School JETs may be given more paid leave and/or sick leave depending on the school and should contact their supervisors for details.

Leave expires if it is not used **within 2 years** of it being granted.

### How to Use

**Speak with your supervisor first** before making any concrete travel and leave decisions, and keep detailed records of your paid leave requests. **Please notify all of your JTEs** of your future absence as well. Try not to take paid leave during busy periods in the school year, or on days in which you have classes. In a Japanese school year, you can expect to be at your busiest in April-June, Sept-Nov, and Jan-Feb.

Paid leave may be used by the day or by the hour. For example, you can use 3 hours of paid leave in order to leave work early if you have some business to attend to (unless otherwise instructed by your supervisor).

Leave replaces your working hours and does not affect any time that you would have usually had off. For example, Public School JETs who work a maximum of 16 days a month may use a day of paid leave to reduce that number to 15 while maintaining the usual 4-5 days off.

## Sick & Special leave

**Public school JETs do not receive separate paid sick days** and will need to use regular paid leave (nenkyuu) in the event of illness or injury. Please speak to your supervisor if you will need to miss a scheduled work day.

**Private school JETs may or may not receive a fixed amount of paid sick days** to take separate from your annual paid leave. Each school decides their own sick leave standards since sick leave is not set out in the labor law. Please contact your supervisor for details specific to your school.

If you receive sick leave, use good judgment on how to spend these sick days. Many employees still come into work with a mask on if they are experiencing a common cold or in some cases, a fever. Try not to use your sick days unless it is a medical emergency.

Special leave would normally be provided in cases of the death of a parent, spouse, maternity/ paternity leave, or when the supervisor grants permission. Please see the contract provided to you by your school for more information.