If one was being temporarily relocated overseas for 3 months

[alkemyst]

My wife may be relocated to Japan for 3 months by her company due to originally being from there. What are the responsibilities of an employer (US company) to the employee as far as compensation?

What if the employer puts one in lodging that requires a longer commute time to get to the work location?

*update* This is retarded, she was supposed to leave today and found out Saturday "maybe next week sometime".

The per diem they are allowing is $25/day (she will be in Tokyo, govern't rates state ~$170 + another $180 or so for room). WTF...if it were my job I'd let them know what they could do.

 

[dainthomas]

They are required to provide you a temporary wife for satisfaction of physical needs.

 

[SSSnail]

They are required to obtain any legal documents for her stay, they are required to provide a place to stay, they are required to pay per diem, they are required to pay any and all transportation cost, and you can negotiate for an increase in pay due to being away from family.

Well, I never pay for anything when I left the country for work anyways. Usually I stay at reasonable 5 stars hotels, was issued a no limit AMEX card and had a spending limit, I reimbursed everything.

 

[BoomerD]

The employer has no "responsibility" for anything.

A GOOD one will pay all her costs, put her in a decent living situation close to the worksite, pay transportation costs, etc.

BUT, otherwise, she just has to write all her expenses off on your taxes at the end of the year. AFAIK, there is no law that requires the company to do anything for compensation.

 

[slsmnaz]

wouldn't it be whatever is negotiated before the move?

 

[SSSnail]

Boomer is right, they're not "required" to pay some of the things I wrote, but I'll be damned if I move an inch if any of the things I wrote didn't meet my demands.

 

[buck]

It depends on details, but a decent employer would take care of all the details that SSSnail mentioned. Is her employer trying to screw her over?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
The employer has no "responsibility" for anything.

A GOOD one will pay all her costs, put her in a decent living situation close to the worksite, pay transportation costs, etc.

BUT, otherwise, she just has to write all her expenses off on your taxes at the end of the year. AFAIK, there is no law that requires the company to do anything for compensation.

Actually there are laws that govern work travel. Yes if you don't get reimbursed you can deduct for taxes...

 

[Kirby]

Where in Japan?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: buck
It depends on details, but a decent employer would take care of all the details that SSSnail mentioned. Is her employer trying to screw her over?

not necessarily. We are going to talk about it tonight. There is a huge benefit for her as she gets to see her family and friends (she's only been here for 6 years).

However the last time she was in Bangkok for 10 days, they had them stay pretty far from the jobsite (they claim they didn't realize) and eventually moved them closer...also the per diem they gave was far less than the government printed ones. A 3 month stint has a lot more 'life loss'.

My company and the ones I have worked for paid pretty much by the US per diem rates and covered the hotel so usually we were looking at a nice little chunk of extra pay per week. One tied a raise to the travel along with the above which was really sweet.

For my wife's travel it just seemed to be a cost the last time.

 

[buck]

Is the company based out of the US? Good luck in her not getting screwed over (again). Obviously it sounds like she is more flexible since she gets a chance to visit family and friends.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
They are required to provide you a temporary wife for satisfaction of physical needs.

Of equal or greater attractiveness.

 

[Toonces]

Originally posted by: buck
Is the company based out of the US? Good luck in her not getting screwed over (again). Obviously it sounds like she is more flexible since she gets a chance to visit family and friends.

and me


But seriously, SSSnail is right on the monery.

I dated an American girl here who was over for a year and her company took care of housing, a per diem, transportation, all associated work visas, and health insurance.

Since your wife is Japanese, she won't need the visa (which is a huge benefit to the employer as they're ridiculously stringent here), the three month stay means she'll not have to enroll in the National Health Insurance plan, and will be much better informed about living arrangements, travel, and the cost of living.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: dainthomas
They are required to provide you a temporary wife for satisfaction of physical needs.

Of equal or greater attractiveness.

As long as she takes it like a champ I can dim the lights more.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: toonces

Originally posted by: buck
Is the company based out of the US? Good luck in her not getting screwed over (again). Obviously it sounds like she is more flexible since she gets a chance to visit family and friends.

and me


But seriously, SSSnail is right on the monery.

I dated an American girl here who was over for a year and her company took care of housing, a per diem, transportation, all associated work visas, and health insurance.

Since your wife is Japanese, she won't need the visa (which is a huge benefit to the employer as they're ridiculously stringent here), the three month stay means she'll not have to enroll in the National Health Insurance plan, and will be much better informed about living arrangements, travel, and the cost of living.

The screwed up thing is this company is US-based, they are finding it cheaper to send US people overseas for 3 months at a time because they'd have to pay local employees too much cash. Normally my wife's level would not be part of this...however; since they could not secure any local talent, she has to go over there to train the others now.

The problem is the store in in Harajuku, very expensive area. I just want to talk to my wife realistically about her time is not free especially when a company will profit from it.

I am all about going above and beyond, but one has to pay at least the entry fee.

A three month stint is also a lot more sacrificial than two weeks or so.

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
They are required to provide you a temporary wife for satisfaction of physical needs.

hmmm I wonder why I just got my temp 3 month assignment... I must be the one satisfying her physical needs while she is in Japan. Its a small world!

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: rudder

Originally posted by: dainthomas
They are required to provide you a temporary wife for satisfaction of physical needs.

hmmm I wonder why I just got my temp 3 month assignment... I must be the one satisfying her physical needs while she is in Japan. Its a small world!

Not really, but guys who believe that are the same ones that the phrase,
"Don't worry...size really doesn't matter," was coined for...

The reality is that it's an extra-large world...some guys just don't fit in...

 

[Toonces]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

The screwed up thing is this company is US-based, they are finding it cheaper to send US people overseas for 3 months at a time because they'd have to pay local employees too much cash. Normally my wife's level would not be part of this...however; since they could not secure any local talent, she has to go over there to train the others now.

The problem is the store in in Harajuku, very expensive area. I just want to talk to my wife realistically about her time is not free especially when a company will profit from it.

I am all about going above and beyond, but one has to pay at least the entry fee.

A three month stint is also a lot more sacrificial than two weeks or so.

That's the same reason why this girl was here, the US company can save a lot by bringing over people on temp. working visas in comparison to hiring locally. She worked for one of the big New York investment management firms.

Your wife isn't going to be living in Harajuku. Well, unless the company is *extremely* generous with finding her a place anywhere close to Shibuya/Shinjuku/Harajuku will be incredibly expensive. A cursory look shows a few 1LDK apartments (small) for about $1000-1500 a month about a 20min. commute away.

Yeah, three months is a long commitment which any reasonable company should recognize. Maybe they'll throw in a return ticket for her husband to visit?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: BoomerD

Originally posted by: rudder

Originally posted by: dainthomas
They are required to provide you a temporary wife for satisfaction of physical needs.

hmmm I wonder why I just got my temp 3 month assignment... I must be the one satisfying her physical needs while she is in Japan. Its a small world!

Not really, but guys who believe that are the same ones that the phrase,
"Don't worry...size really doesn't matter," was coined for...

The reality is that it's an extra-large world...some guys just don't fit in...

yeah dude set himself up for that. He should have kept his shortcomings to himself.

My wife has been warned.

 

[alkemyst]

update...$25 is the per diem such bs....

 

[Kirby]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
update...$25 is the per diem such bs....

lol, save up for a couple of weeks, then go to club atom in shibuya.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
update...$25 is the per diem such bs....

$25.. a day in Tokyo? Will that even cover bread and water?



But it could be that low if the food is included at where she is at and transportation is included and/or the walk from place to job is very short.

 

[BoomerD]

$25/day? WTF? Does she work for Wal-Mart?

Hell, I usually got more than that for just working more than 25 miles from the company's office/dispatch yard.
When I got sent someplace where I had to stay overnight, that increased to $50 plus a room, and if I was required to be gone more than a week, they also had to pick up the cost of my meals. (on top of the $50/day)
Many times, I had to go out of state and while that's usually negotiated with the employer, it ALWAYS included a nice room, a minimum of $50/day for food, rental car, gas and other expenses.

Go to Tokyo for $25? "Sorry boss, I think I've come down with a bad case of Take This Job and Shove It."

 

[AstroManLuca]

$25/day sounds like the company wants her to pay to work rather than the other way around. She'll be lucky to make any money doing that. In fact, do a little research and present the company with an Excel spreadsheet proving as much - living expenses (lodging, food, transportation) may very well be greater than her normal salary + $25/day.

Have her refuse on the basis of not wanting to submit to slavery.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
$25/day sounds like the company wants her to pay to work rather than the other way around. She'll be lucky to make any money doing that. In fact, do a little research and present the company with an Excel spreadsheet proving as much - living expenses (lodging, food, transportation) may very well be greater than her normal salary + $25/day.

Have her refuse on the basis of not wanting to submit to slavery.

QFT she's going to be coming out of pocket at that...even the $180 day per diem is more or less a wash when one considers food, incidentals and all the stuff that one still has to pay for back home and gets no use out of.

I told her ultimately it's up to her and at tax time we may be able to benefit a bit (however; I doubt we will have any additional tax liability this year at time of our return).

She will keep a tally of expenses if she goes.

If it were me I'd have said not interested just on the principal they are expecting to let her know 2-3 days ahead of when she'd be flying out. I could accept that for an emergency...but this is a 3 month deal that is a constant rotation with the company.

Lodging is covered, but it's a shared room usually. They book suite type hotels were you have a private bedroom and common living area...usually 3-4 people a suite. Also which would be a deal breaker for me. I have always travelled for business with a private room.