Please watch the full video on my YouTube channel for all of the details that led to me quitting my job. Ths blog post will leave you with a ton of questions and won't make a lot of sense without seeing the video. There is way too much to cover here so I won't explain much. This blog post is just a brief summary with added screenshots that were not included in my YouTube video.
Watch The Full Video on YouTube Here...
How I Found This Job
After quitting my job last year I became desperate and started searching for a position at just about any and every school that was hiring. I began scouring both Craigslist and GaijinPot for any full-time English teaching job available in Japan. As a young female native English speaker from America with both a degree in education and certificates, I honestly wouldn't usually apply to a chain school or any company that mass hires. I was familiar with KDI years ago and had applied before. They are basically the NOVA, Gaba, Shane, and AEON of the international school world.
Now that I was experienced and better educated (and had a valid work visa) I was practically handed the job after interviewing which made me happy at the time, although I was disappointed to be offered less than ¥270,000 a month for my salary. I understood my situation and I knew that beggars can't be choosers. The year was coming to an end and I was behind on my rent and was in the process of going through a rather messy break up that I hadn't publicly shared at the time. I was truly in desperate need of a job as I had no other income at the time. I was not receiving money from YouTube and I didn't have a Saturday job at this time.
What Happened
I applied for this job and interviewed for it online in September of 2020. I was offered a second interview later that month and was shown the contract and given a tour a month later in October. My official (first and only) start date was set for mid November. This process took a lot longer than I had expected. I never applied for a job as a teacher from within Japan that required me to wait months to start.
I arrived early and left late. I helped clean the school, supported the students during class time, and taught a small lesson.
At the end of my shift I asked my boss for a small pay advance or for a train pass to get to and from work. He became angry (passively) and refused initially. He decided to humiliate me by asking the Japanese office staff what he should do about this situation. They all laughed at me. He asked for unnecessary documents such as my "My Number Card" and asked me why my boyfriend couldn't pay for my transportation. He did all of this just to give me ¥1000 (about $10 USD). I knew in my heart that I would not return after I received enough money to get back home so I removed the nametags from my lockers and packed my bags to go home for good.
After I got home I messaged my boss via LINE explaining my situation again and asked for a pay advance again. He expressed that he was "disappointed" and I left the chat and blocked him. I later on messaged my recruiter from Yaruki Switch explaining what happened and asking if I could receive my salary for the day of work that i completed. I should have received a little more than ¥10,000 ($100 USD) for my work.
In a nutshell I worked for them for free and was never compensated. Regardless of what I did or how they believed I should have resigned there was no excuse to not pay me. I have quit jobs before and I have even quit without any warning or notice and still received my salary.
While I understand that not all companies offer pay advances there is no excuse to have been so unprofessional about declining my request. Telling everyone my business and laughing at me and then refusing to pay me to add insult to injury was uncalled for. They are not obligated to pay me in advance but they are obligated to pay me for the work that I did for them. Because they did not pay me I don't mind sharing the school name and location or disclosing their names. I will enjoy the ad revenue that I am making from sharing my bad experience which will be much more than KDI would have ever paid me.
Names to Know
Kids Duo International School
Toyonaka Osaka Campus
Principal (Franchise Owner): Naoki Kamide
Personal Recruiter (Yaruki Switch Representative): Pia Rinninsland
Screenshots or It Didn't Happen
I attached screenshots of the emails that I exchanged with my recruiter from Yaruki Switch. My Name is Sharon incase you didn't know. I also numbered the email to make it easier to follow. These messages were sent after I quit my job. I never sought legal action as it would be more costly and time consuming to sue them and because Japan is a racist country I would likely lose by default especially since the culture here looks down on people who put themselves above their job. I hoped that I could reason with them to at least pay me for the work that I did but they refused and instead blamed me for taking home materials that were literally just photocopied and made in batches as well as employee polos of no value that were purchased in bulk. Keep in mind that this is a chain company. They are making millions of dollars a year between their many schools across the country so the excuse that they couldn't pay me because I had their polo and employee packet was a load of crap. Notice how this excuse was made up towards the end of our conversation. I never received a health insurance card and never completed my paperwork to sign up for that or enroll in their employee pension program. I made some mistake in my emails due to autocorrect and tring to quickly type from my cellphone but I am sure you can figure it out.
My locker that I empted upon leaving.
LNE Messages with Naoki Kamide and I
In the end, now nearly a year later, Kids Duo International School in Toyonaka Osaka, Japan (Naoki Kamide) refused to pay me any salary. They didn't contact me again, not by phone, LINE, email, or mail after I sent this last email. I blocked the owner on LINE later on and Yaruki Switch stopped replying after my last email.
I literally got scammed into working for them for a day for free. I obviously didn't return the shirt or his funky ¥1000 because they never paid me.
Regardless of how much they believe their polo shirts or a printed of packet was worth, it is not legal or morally right for your employer to blackmail you or withhold wages that you have worked for. Quitting a job doesn't justify not paying your employer. I am not the first and I won't be the last to quit their job without notice.
I explained my situation and why I wouldn't be able to continue with them. I didn't cause any damage to their school and until now I never made a review or bad mouthed anyone at this company.
Thank you for reading! If you have any advice that you would like to share or complaints or problems that you encountered working at KDI or a similar international school please feel free to share your experience and please leave a comment below!
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