Quitting a Contract for Health Purposes

I signed a two year contract at an international preschool and found that the working conditions were much different than what I had expected. Due to the stress and anxiety from the workplace I have developed some severe depression and have had several anxiety attacks, and illnesses in the past 8 months I have been working there.
The contract is only one page and states four of the duties that I would be doing. These duties include: lesson planning, event participation, progress reports (which I am not doing due to the nature of the position, yet it is in my contract), and shared cleaning duties. Yet, after my classes are finished I am doing child care work such as: supervising extended after school students, feeding children -who's parents can't pick them up until later- lunch, giving medicine to children when they are sick, changing diapers, etc. I also was never told that I had an after school course and what they job entails. I am still on working time but I did not know these working conditions before I signed thinking I would teach and the students that I teach will get picked up by parents and go home. I did not think this was a daycare position as well otherwise I would not have signed.

At the bottom of the contract it states, I am not allowed to quit and if I do legal action may be taken. It also states, I am allowed to quit for medical purposes.
I have struggled with depression and anxiety before when I was in middle school. I have extreme anxiety which has caused some sleepless nights but my parents never believed in medication to fix mental issues so I never went for help and to be honest I don't believe in or want to take medication but I now do agree that I need some form of help for my anxiety. Yet, my anxiety needs a trigger and the workplace is my trigger so I am currently looking for doctors but because I work long hours, I am unable to go to doctors because she told me I can't take a day off.

I talked with my employer and told her my situation and how I have been feeling health wise. She threatened to take me to court and also asked for 90,000 yen in advertisement fees to find someone new. She let me go but said I need to work a month and a half so until the 20th. I didn't really understand the law in Japan so out of fear and anxiousness, I said ok. Yet, I would like to leave earlier than that but after asking her, she refused. I know I am causing difficulties for my employer but my condition has become worse and very scary. I don't even have time to see a lawyer and go to consultations so I thought I would start here and get some advice.

She also gave us personal holidays but only during certain times that she chose for us...so i can't take a personal paid day.

I just want to get better...and this has caused my anxiety to worsen. Is it true that she can sue me and put that in the contract? My reason is health but there are no amount of days that I can give for notice. What is the legal amount of notice to give for medical purposes because she didn't have one for me...

Hello Kelbel08,

You are free to quit - is the short answer.
She can sue you, but she would almost certainly lose.
She will most likely become a real pain in the arse and withhold your last paycheck, which would require you to get equally as aggressive and threaten legal action against her to recover this paycheck (and tax documentation). There should be a labor standards office in your city/ward that can hopefully help you sort this out.
Check out the site here for more info
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/employ-labour/labour-standards/index.html

At the bottom of the contract it states, I am not allowed to quit and if I do legal action may be taken.

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A blatant lie, probably inserted to bully you into thinking you have an obligation to stay the whole 2 years. Ignore it. Besides...It also states, I am allowed to quit for medical purposes.

my parents never believed in medication to fix mental issues so I never went for help and to be honest I don't believe in or want to take medication

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Don't ever tell this to your employer, especially because...but I now do agree that I need some form of help for my anxiety. In fact, I urge you to get it if for no other reason than to show due diligence on your part to remedy the situation before any legal action on your part or the employer's. You might lose without taking such diligent action, although I think a judge would clearly be able to see the illegality of the duties you have which are not stated clearly in the contract. Yes, illegality, which also make me think that the threat your employer has made to take you to court is also an empty one, but only along those lines, not the medical one.

I am unable to go to doctors because she told me I can't take a day off.

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Bullshit and illegal. You have a certain number of paid days off given to you by law after working there for 6 months (10 days in the subsequent 12 months), and although Japan doesn't recognize "sick days" officially, you can use the time off anyway you choose. Another bully tactic and illegal lie by your employer. Makes me think this is one of those international schools that is not a real one, but in name only. They exist, in case you didn't know.

She also gave us personal holidays but only during certain times that she chose for us

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And what are employees supposed to do when they have influenza, appendicitis, a car accident, etc.? Bullshit clause that can probably be found illegal. You really need to talk to the Labor Standards Office near you to consult on this contract. Here's the one in Tokyo; you can ask them for contact info for others that might be closer to you: Tokyo English Life Line - Labor Standards Inspection Office Also, beforehand, take a look at the labor laws:
Japan.- Labour Standards Law

My reason is health but there are no amount of days that I can give for notice.

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Why do you say that? The law says that in the first year of your contract, you should give 30 days' notice. Same if the employer wants to terminate you (although they may fire you sooner than that as long as they pay you for 30 days in compensation). The law is on your side here. After working there a year, civil code says 2 weeks' notice is sufficient. In either case you're probably going to need some sort of official medical proof, which brings us back to getting treatment.

She threatened to take me to court and also asked for 90,000 yen in advertisement fees to find someone new.

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More bullshit scare tactics. She will lose on this one because she can't prove any sort of ill will or outright malice on your part which would force her to spend that.. She'd have to spend some money anyway even if you left on time! Moreover, I suspect she pulled this number out of her arse, and a judge would require that she prove how she came to that amount. Ignore this threat anyway for reasons stated above.

She let me go but said I need to work a month and a half so until the 20th. I didn't really understand the law in Japan so out of fear and anxiousness, I said ok. Yet, I would like to leave earlier than that but after asking her, she refused.

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Just suck it up for that 6 weeks. It's only 2 weeks longer than legal obligations, and you have a light at the end of the tunnel. That should make you feel less anxious and more relieved. Make it do that! Bear in mind one important thing from now to then:
It's highly likely that she will try to make your life unbearable in an attempt to make you break down and do something against the contract and this promise to stay. Another common tactic among unscrupulous employers like her.

And don't sign ANYTHING, especially if there is no English translation.

Now, contact the LSO and feel better.

I don't see where all I need to give is 2 weeks. I thought that was for workers that do not have a contract like mine. I also don't see 30 days to quit in the law either? Also a friend told me that she shouldn't be allowed to threaten taking legal action in the contract in advanced but maybe I am wrong?...

I gave you the short answer, but I can see you are curious about the long answer.

None of us are lawyers (I don't think), so please understand that all of this fabulous free advice is coming from amateurs who do not know all of the particulars of your situation, or all of the precedents in the Japanese labor law. It is easy for us to give you advice based on our experiences, but doing that could lead to disastrous results for you if there are some things about your employment history or conditions that we don't know.

Having thus cleared my throat...

Your employer has already demonstrated a disregard for the law by prohibiting you from taking a day off (among other things). She is violating the law while at the same time threatening you with legal action. It's no longer a polite conversation. It is now a knife fight.

You are correct about restrictions placed on contract employees, but you are permitted to terminate your contract for "unavoidable circumstances". The civil code does not explicitly state what unavoidable circumstances are, but I can say with confidence that your deteriorating health would be an unavoidable circumstance. And since health is mentioned in your contract as a valid reason for leaving, you have a bulletproof argument. The relevant civil code is 628.

有期雇用契約を破って退職したいのですが…
期間契約者の途中退職
http://www.sraf.info/index.php?民法第628条（やむを得ない事由による雇用の解除）

Regarding the period of time to notify your employer: civil law states 14 days, labor law states 30 days. Labor law takes precedence over civil law. However, labor contracts are covered by the labor contract law section of the civil code (627), which states the time required to notify varies depending upon whether you get paid an hourly wage, monthly wage, or annual wage. Check out the site here for more info. I assume you get paid a monthly wage, so 30 days should suffice.

http://www13.plala.or.jp/S-Kawamura/roudo/taisyoku.html < determination of time needed to notify termination of contract.

Regarding the potential of your employer suing you for leaving the contract early; as mentioned above, the law allows for you to leave your contractual obligation in the case of unavoidable circumstances. This does not safeguard you from being sued by your former employer. She has the right to sue for damages, but the majority of sites I have seen say that the likelihood of her winning such a suit is remote. The law doesn't like to see employers punishing their former employees. Plus, she would have a difficult time proving that you damaged her business. In any such suit, her labor practices would come to light, and I think that would be very inconvenient for her. But the fact remains, it is within her rights to sue you for damages, regardless of how weak her case seems to be. My guess is that she will not dare to do this, but I put the possibility here because many people mistakenly think that it is somehow forbidden for her to do this. The thing she is not able to do is to put a pre-determined amount of damages in your labor contract. If she just says that she might sue you for damages if you leave your contract early, that is OK and doesn't violate any laws.

http://j-net21.smrj.go.jp/well/law/column/post_181.html
退職と手続きのルール | 労働基準法違反を許すな！労働者 < 会社側に損害賠償などを求める権利が発生する事もある

But, like I said, who cares about the law during a knife fight? I refer you back to my original post. Do you have the stamina or the resources to fight her in court? If yes, give thirty days notice, take as many days off as you have accrued, and get ready to fight. See the labor standards people or a labor lawyer as you see fit. Note that it has been my experience that both labor standards people and labor lawyers are nowhere nearly as aggressive as we would expect them to be. In fact, the overwhelming impulse seems to be to find an amicable situation, rather than to get aggressive. If you don't have the stamina or the resources to fight, work until the 20th.

Majestic said:

You are correct about restrictions placed on contract employees, but you are permitted to terminate your contract for "unavoidable circumstances". The civil code does not explicitly state what unavoidable circumstances are, but I can say with confidence that your deteriorating health would be an unavoidable circumstance. And since health is mentioned in your contract as a valid reason for leaving, you have a bulletproof argument.

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As I mentioned earlier, I would hesitate to state this unequivocally if the OP has not done anything to get medical treatment.

Regarding the potential of your employer suing you for leaving the contract early; as mentioned above, the law allows for you to leave your contractual obligation in the case of unavoidable circumstances. This does not safeguard you from being sued by your former employer. She has the right to sue for damages, but the majority of sites I have seen say that the likelihood of her winning such a suit is remote. The law doesn't like to see employers punishing their former employees.

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Having been here 15 years and seen quite a few of these exact situations on the Internet, I can state that nobody ever got sued, or sued and lost. Judges aren't that stupid.

Plus, she would have a difficult time proving that you damaged her business.

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As with the remarks immediately above, I have never heard that anyone won such a claim. Itemizing such damages is impossible to pin on an employee, and since you are providing 30 days to 6 weeks time, that's plenty to advertise and snag any of a plethora of gullible foreigners who are waiting in line to take your place.

In any such suit, her labor practices would come to light, and I think that would be very inconvenient for her.

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Turn the tables on her, without even taking her to court. One call from the Labour Standards Office often gives positive results. I've only heard of one situation where the employer disregarded that. And that employer lost in court. The LSO doesn't have to be "aggressive" as Majestic put it, just flex their muscles on explaining (in Japanese) to the employer why it would be bad for them to go to court. They may also suggest that the reverse may happen, without you ever needing to do more. Fear of embarrassment is a good weapon here.