How much can an employer charge me?

I really want to quid my job for various reasons. As I was reading my contract it stated I would have to refund the costs of the Visa application (application, legal etc.).

It does not however specify the amount and I have zero confidence this will be a reasonable amount based on the companies track record with skechy practices. (I did not get paid for 4 months, just to name one. This by the way is the reason why I cant just take a hit with this and move on; I have used any and all rainy day money to cover for that period )

So I was just wondering, they can basically charge me ANYthing right?

Do I have any legal leverage here? Is there any organisation that can help me with my situation?

Anything pointing me in the right direction would be much appreciated!

also just FYI I am not involved in anything illegal, its a regular 9 to 5

As long if you have a legal contract you should take action.
I just wonder why you accept 4 months not getting payed.

I do not know your location but often large places have a support center for foreigners .
for example in Nagoya http://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/e/archives/4568

you need to ask them about your salary and then record the conversation.
i dont know how friendly your embassy is to there citizens .. is better to discuss it with your embassy first. is a very serious issue.
before going to labour office . hellowork .
that contract may not be thesame they submitted to th immigration.


1st month salary is still ok but 4months .. how to survive ...

is a very bad company.

Thank you for the replies.

I have found my local international center and the tip about asking for a copy of the contract they submitted to immigration is a really good idea.

The only problem now is that the 2 people that worked in HR have quit and I would have to ask my manager directly for a copy. I like the idea of recording the conversation however I work in a branch office so it will be difficult to have a face to face conversation with someone that could speak on the matter.

I made sure to ask if everything was in order before I arrived in Japan, and they assured me it was. This turned out to be a lie but when you�fre new in a company it�fs difficult to get angry or know who to talk to. I never agreed to not getting paid for 4 months; they just told me next month, next month, every time.

I spoke to a colleague and he informed me they are likely to bill me 200,000 JPY or more for the Visa as that�fs what they charge for visa extensions. So either I miss a paycheck or I have to work of my debt to the company and stay longer.

I feel so stupid for signing the contract, however I was looking forward to working there and the contact did not say how much they were going to charge me. I guess legally they can charge me as much as they want.

I hope the international center can help as I am desperate to leave. Otherwise it looks like I will just work my baito in the evenings and on the weekend to try and save enough money to quit.

Thanks again for the advice!

From my modest experience, extending a visa is free, except for that 4000 yen revenue stamp.
That being said, I doubt they renew visas by themselves, so they probably give that boring part to some other professional figure.

I had to go through some painful crap for my (recent) visa renewal, because my boss' accountant did some mistake (to make it simple, it was like I had earned 200,000 yen in one whole year).
We had to have these people to take care of everything, they basically had immigration stop the renewal process, had me get taxes right, and then gave immigration updated papers.

They gave us a friendship discount, had to pay 80,000 instead of 100,000.
I can guess what this kind of service cost is something between 100,000 and 150,000, anything more than that is a ripoff.

That being said, whatever the case is, they of course need to give your company an official bill.
So, they can't make up a random very high number on the spot.

I'm sorry for your situation, and I hope you can get some legal assistence to make things right with these assholes.

Per Japanese law, it is illegal for your employer to charge you anything at all as a consequence of resignation.

Article 16 of the Labor Standards Act ("Ban on Predetermined Compensation") reads as follows:

Article 16
An employer shall not make a contract which fixes in advance either a sum payable to the employer for breach of contract or an amount of compensation for damages.

Simply put, if the employer put the penalty in the contract, the clause in which the penalty exists is illegal and therefore null and void.

If the employer did not put the penalty in a contract and is merely pulling the penalty out of thin air, you don't have any obligation to adhere to it.

An employer cannot say "you have to give us X amount of money because we said so".

As long as you give the company the required notice of resignation (thirty days for your first contract; two weeks from the start of the second contract, regardless of what the contract may say), you should be safe from any and all damages that the company claims that you owe them.

Should the company wish to extract damages from you, they will have to do so in court (which will cost them more than the damages that they're seeking, and is an option they are unlikely to pursue, especially considering that they would likely lose).

Do not voluntarily give them the money or let them deduct money from your salary (if you still work for them).

In addition, a "compensation" penalty of ��200,000 for immigration paperwork is ludicrous.

Other than the ��4,000 revenue stamp, it costs virtually nothing other than time and effort.

Finally, keep in mind that your status of residence and permission to engage in work-related activities belongs to the Ministry of Justice. It does not belong to your company.

As an aside: it sounds like you didn't get paid for four months because, at the company's behest, you came to Japan and began working on a tourist visa.

As an educated (albeit random) guess, I suspect that the company in question is Heart. Maybe Joytalk. Perhaps neither.

I'm not judging you, however.

If my guess is correct, though, those three months of working on a tourist visa were illegal in a "you could have been arrested and deported" kind of way.

However, this cuts both ways.

Something to keep in mind should they threaten you.