Throwaway because boss has admitted to stalking me online prior to hiring me. Unknown if he knows my main account.
For reasons that I don't believe are important to this post, I've decided to quit my job. Against my better judgment, I gave them far more notice than is required in my contract because it felt like the right thing to do. I didn't want to screw them over as it's a small company, and there are many more mouths that this company is feeding than just its employees. My employer has communicated to me multiple times that my role is difficult to replace in Japan, the amount of notice I provided reflected the time it will take to replace me.
Here's what I'm willing to share in case they find this post.
When my probationary contract expired, they took weeks to provide me with a full time contract. At the time, they told me that the contract they provided me with was more-or-less representative of what I can expect, but they needed to have their labour attorney look over it before they would let me sign it. A whole month passes and they finally tell me that I can sign it. My son had gotten into the closet I was keeping it and damaged it, so I informed them and requested a new copy. No replacement contract ever arrived. My understanding is that this contract is likely still binding, especially since they were paying me the increased rate.
Last month is when I gave them my notice. End of day Friday is when they finally talked to me about it. They are asking me to accept an earlier resignation date almost exactly one month from now. I would much rather work out the period which I initially gave them, however during the conversation they had with me this week, they essentially said that me leaving early would be the easy way, and that if I did not accept their "offer" they would be going down the much more difficult route, and mentioned their labour attorney. They gave me until Monday to accept this. I believe this is so that I wouldn't have the opportunity to consult with anyone to ensure that I know my rights.
I'm just curious what they could even be threatening here. No contracts have been signed regarding repayment of any personal development costs they have funded. Nor have there been any concrete verbal agreements. If there are any fuckups that they can pin on me, would they be able to sue me for damages? I don't believe there are, however I won't put it past them for trying.
Given the grey area with my contract, it sounds like they might have an argument for me being "month to month" which, as I understand it would mean that they simply have to give me 30 days notice, which is exactly the same as what they're trying to get me to agree to, so I don't see the difference between accepting their "offer" or not.
Edit: I've also called the Labour standards advisory hotline which is open on weekends, but they weren't able to provide me with much information. Given that the ultimatum they've given me requires an answer on Monday, I turn to here for advice.
by Wonderful_Taste_8614