Working for a living is one of the necessary evils things we need to go through to survive but this man in Japan is one hardworking guy. For the past seven years, this 31-year-old man had been working hard for six days a week and 12 hours every day. Yet, he did not receive the appropriate compensation for his work. That’s super long working hours!
Source: Chinapress
According to Chinapress, this man was working at an Internet cafe chain from 2009 to 2016. Six days a week, he would clock in at 10am and clock out at 10pm but he did not receive any overtime pay as he wasn’t aware that he could get extra money for the additional hours. So, he decided to sue his employers and ask for compensation of 25 million Yen (approx. RM938,000) for his underpaid labour. Wow, that’s a lot of money!
After a battle in court, the judge ruled in his favour and instructed the company to pay the man 12 million Yen (RM450,285) as they said that the company did not make it clear that he could receive overtime pay. It appears that his salary was supposed to be half basic and half fixed overtime pay but the company did not inform him about this.
Source: Business Insider
The judge also said that from 2014 to 2016 onwards, the overtime rates had increased but they did not do anything about it either. Apparently, the man had worked an extra 82 to 123 hours every month for the company but they tried to avoid increasing his salary for the excess hours. Eh, pretend don’t know!
The man’s lawyer said, “This is a very common way for companies to try and get the most out of their workers.”
Check your employment contract and labour laws, everyone! Make sure you know your rights so you don’t get cheated like this man. Remember to maintain a healthy work-life balance too; your health is more important than anything else. 🙂
Also read: 31-Year-Old Reporter Clocks in 159 Hours of Overtime, Dies From Heart Failure
