Hello everyone,
Today I was informed by HR that the company has decided to lay me off. I have been working here for 11 years as a 正社員 (full-time employee). The company is offering 12 months of salary as compensation, and I would like to know if this is the standard amount in Japan.
by tokyoer
32 comments
1 month per year worked sounds very reasonable.
Following
One year of comp is pretty good but I would suggest to not accept anything until after you secure a new job. They cannot fire you outright.
If I may ask. Why were you fired after 11 years of hardwork and dedication?
That sounds fair without knowing much else. Why are they doing this? You can consult a lawyer for about ¥10,000 or so initially to see if you have case. They’ll ask you if you want to stay or just get a better deal. Understand that they take a cut of your severance, so you need to consider the extra time and cost of involving legal counsel.
I’ve heard of much worse. Sounds like they aren’t experiencing financial difficulties or don’t have a very good reason to let you go if they’re offering this much. It’ll be easier to find your next job while still employed, so you might want to negotiate to let you stay for as long as possible, even on gardening leave.
I knew a Japanese guy a few years back who was laid off due to company financial problems and he was paid 12 months salary as compensation.
Wow. I always assumed people just got like 2 weeks notice or something… I worked for a company for 15 years. I was even told that their finding me had “built the company”. Then, when AI translation and some Indian native checkers got good enough to make me redundant, jobs just stopped coming, and my last payday was literally 1,000 yen, followed by 0. Not so much as a “by your leave’.
I guess that’s the price freelancers pay for the benefit of getting to work in your pajamas every day for 15 years… And become a mentally ill hermit from lack of human contact. Still worth it maybe…
On the surface, and based on your comments below, sounds really reasonable. I’ve had friends who’ve out in 7-10 years of service and get offered six months.
Obviously, it’s easier to find another job if you are employed, so work with HR to see if a garden leave exit is available.
If you want to fight it, as mentioned in another comment, go to a lawyer. Might be a good idea anyway, just to explore options and educate yourself some. You may possibly get a better offer if you play hardball, but, again investigate with a lawyer.
Woahh 12 months? My girlfriend was laid off earlier this year and she only got 1.5 months… 🙁
Edit: why the downvotes? I only shared what my girlfriend got when she was laid off?
A whole year. That is good.
12 months + probably 3 months of unemployment insurance (not sure you can get 6 after so many years or only if you get actually fired). Sounds pretty sweet IMHO!
A year is a long time to do what you want while still get paid. I would take it
The company has decided to offer you a buyout. You don’t have to take it. Remember the requirements for a layoff for financial reasons are pretty severe.
My company offered
6 months standard.
9 month early signing bonus
13 month via 1 month for every year employed
2 months via PTO cashout
No tax on severance So thats 30 months of salary tax free, so it was the equivalent 50 month of pay nearly.
Only a handful of employees were offered. All took the severance.
Depending on the company, you can get 24 months or more.
Also, the company cannot fire you if you’re a seishain. You’d have to have given them several reasons by underperforming and even then it would be difficult for them to get rid of you.
As others have mentioned, lawyer up. You can either get more, or not get fired at all. The least it would result in, is you staying employed until your next job is lined up.
May I ask what reasons HR have brought up for letting you go?
which industry is this ? and is it a Japanese company?
What are u happy with?
Is the company profitable?
Are u losing a bonus?
Are they paying your bonus and pto?
Are they still hiring graduates or others?
Relax
I recommend to ask for 15-18 months especially if a profitable foreign company.
You have nothing to lose. Otherwise lawyer
i’d take that deal. even after lawyering up you won’t be looking at much better honestly.
1 month compensation per year worked is very fair actually…
Usually you have 2 options regarding the payout 1. Bulk pay , reduced tax as it’s seen as a retirement pay BUT you’ll be responsible for health insurance and pension contributions yourself. 2. So called “garden leave” , you stay on the books for the duration they offer the payout for and company keeps paying health insurance and pension contributions… this gives you time to search for another job without creating a gap between employment on the resume … something else Japanese employers don’t like to see on someone’s resume. Usually after finding a new position elsewhere the remainder of the offered pay will be paid as bulk.
Talk to HR and ask them to put things in writing , consult with a HR layer if you are uncertain before signing anything.
You can have a consultation with the General Union (GU); the consultation is free, and if you want their help, you only have to pay your monthly union fees.
In Japan, union rights are protected by the constitution, and the company has the legal obligation to negotiate with them, even for one worker. Therefore, you might be able to either stay in your current job (if you have an unlimited time contract and they can’t prove you have performance issues, that they tried to train you, and followed all the legal process) or negotiate a better deal for you. They were able to make my company give me back a school close to my house for me. Be aware it could take a couple of weeks to get the consultation; they send the notification of new members to your company and then negotiate with the company. In the meantime, refuse to quit.
Try to stay on the payroll as long as possible so u can get your next job in a relaxed manner and without having to worry about visa etc (if that’s an issue in your case)
Years spent is great for a comparison, but what’s probably more important were you of high level in the company, is the company completely shutting down, and do you expect them to have cash flow to pay out whatever value they agree to?
I would take it. One year is generous. There will be a deadline on the severance package. Worse case is you don’t accept by the deadline, lose the severance and then, as your role is eliminated, they assign you to a position you don’t want to do or a location you don’t want to be in.
We had a coworker who worked for 2 years and they let her go after that. As a union we demanded 6 months of pay and they had to accept it.
No, I don’t think that’s the standard. I think the standard is much less.
That’s actually a pretty generous package by Japan standards.
A lot of companies follow the rough rule of 1 month per year worked, so getting 12 months for 11 years is solid.
I’d still double-check the details and make sure you don’t sign anything until you’ve lined up your next step, but overall the amount sounds reasonable for Japan.
A year ago you moved to Japan for a new job and now you have 11 years experience? Call me confused.
Are you the only person being laid off or is your entire team/department being laid off. If it is just you then it doesn’t appear your company is experience financial difficulty rather they just want to get rid of you.
I’d say that one month per year of service is the standard. I’ve seen some people get more and I’ve seen some people get less. This will come with a slip for taxes and it’ll be categorized as.退職金. That is taxed at a lower rate I think around 20%.
Take your time with this and ideally put off the end date as far into the future as possible. If they have a strict target, they may alternatively offer you a bonus to sign quicker.
Ask them to include your vacation days converted to their cash value. Also ask about health insurance if you don’t want to move to the public plan. Basically it’s a contract so make sure you read every detail and understand it.
Have they shown you a total figure? You should check if it’s your salary plus deemed overtime or just the salary? I’ve seen people get cheated with that.
That’s a fair offer, but it is also their first offer. I’m lazy so I would probably take it. If you are willing to put in the time and energy and pay for a lawyer, you might get more.
With the limited information here, and an OP who isn’t even sure what he’s dealing with, the best move is to spend ¥10,000–20,000 on a consultation and find out if he actually has a case; whether it’s worth fighting, bargaining, or just walking away with settlement in hand.
A competent labor lawyer can weigh age, circumstances, money involved, and the specific conditions and help OP make the correct decision.
Everyone here (myself included) is guessing in the dark, and OP is overwhelmed. A seasoned labor attorney will get to the core issue quickly, which is exactly what OP needs.
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