I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks. The first thing I did was search up ways to tell my company my situation as well as how advice on how long I should wait to notify them. I was really nervous and just hoping everything would be ok. Being a foreigner its always nerve wrecking to think about if you will be able to keep your job or not. I have had negative experiences in this country therefore I am so very grateful that now I have an amazing employer that I really respect and admire. My advice for new moms working for dispatch or independant teaching companies in Japan is to read up on laws and regulations concerning preganancy and Maternity leave. READ UP ON THESE LAWS as this will help you a great deal to understand the system and what you need to do to prepare yourself for this journey you are now on.

I told my boss at 6-8weeks as I was starting to show early. My employer was very supportive and encouraging. I enjoyed working until the last minute by choice. I was never treated different or made to feel useless. I am very fortunate and blessed to have gone through my pregnancy in a company that gave me so much support.

That was work! As for socials I announced at 6 or 7months using my 4months picture. I was skeptical about sharing my pregnancy but I tried to stay positive and shared my journey. Im really grateful I did because I learned a lot and usually asked for advice on socials. It was also comforting for me as I lived away from home far from friends to share my story to so socials kept my spirit up and helped me through some very trying times in my journey!

Legally! Maternity leave in Japan starts 6weeks before your due date and 8 weeks after you give birth. As mentioned before I chose to work until 30 plus weeks by choice as I wanted to keep myself busy. I did not want to stop moving or stay at home because this did not help my mental, emotional and physical state at the time. When I chose this my employer was quite worried about me! They kept asking me if Im ok! That was very comforting to know they supported my journey and they cared. Of course this meant I wouldnt get compensated for 6weeks of leave before, however I was still getting my monthly income from work. That was fine for me!

After 8 weeks after giving birth, you are also allowed to take CHILD CARE LEAVE. Child care leave is a year long. Now depending on the day you give birth it could get tricky. I gave birth in November 2021 so my leave would probably end at around November 2022 which is right in the middle of the school year! I did not want to come back to work in the middle of the school year so I made a choice to go back to work 5months post birth. I have to say GOD has been good because in Japan it could take a while getting your child into a school/daycare. My husand is also very supportive so we made adjustments to make our family work and to keep living in this country. It hasnt been easy and we work at it everyday. However so far our family has thrived!

Before I left work I submitted a piece of paper that my employer gave me indicating the start date of my leave and the date I decided to come back to work. That was the only form I had to fill and sign when I left for my maternity leave. Other than this paper I did not have to fill any other forms.

If you are a working expectant Mum I urge you to carefully plan your finances well. I decided to work until 38weeks as I could not prepare financially. The stress of not knowing when the next pay check would come in was too daunting. Although my husband was working it still bothered me not knowing when my pay would come in. I also love working and keeping busy so I decided to stay on until the very last trimester. My company was very supportive of me and that also made me feel comfortable going to work everyday. That was less stressful for me. Im the type that cannot stay still at home. I have to move to keep myself sane!

When you go on maternity leave please note "YOUR PAY DOES NOT COME IN MONTHLY". It may come in two or three months depending on how early your company lodges the paperwork. Therefore it is also crucial that your communicate with your HR and do as they tell you. Your pay does not come monthly but when you do receive it "ITS CHRISTMAS FOR YOU" you get two months pay.

If you prepare well enough to have enough cash till your next paycheck then Mama know that legally you can take 6weeks of leave before your due date. Its a great time to rest and relax before baby comes!

When I was released from the hospital I then visited my place of employment to submit the post birth documents along with my babys birth certificate so that my employer could lodge the paper work to upper officals to ensure I received my maternity payment. I was on leave but I was still being paid by both the government and the health insuarance I was registered under in my company.

In Japan getting Shakai Hoken is convinient. Personally it is of great importance! Whenever I had a job interview I always asked if the offer included "Shakai Hoken". If it diddnt I would always turn down the offer! ALWAYS!

When I gave birth I stayed a week in the hospital. My husband did all the post birth paper work. He needed to take the birth notification from the hospital to the local city office where we reside. From the city office he then visited the Immigration office with the given paper work from the local city office to obtain our babys resident status. Along with the given documents we also needed our Juminhyo which is the resident certificate outlining the details of where we reside. We also needed both of our resident card to submit with the other documents.

I gave Birth in Novemember and I lodged my papers with my company a week after I gave birth. As mentioned previously your allowance does not come monthly. It comes in two months or three months intervals. I have to mention again that ENROLLING IN SHAKAI HOKEN (COMPANY INSUARANCE) enables you to get all these benefits so be sure next time you interview for employment ask if you will be enrolled in the company health insuarance plan. I qualified for the 420 000Yen birth allowance that all women in Japan receive when giving birth if they are enrolled in the SHAKAI HOKEN plan. This money was sent directly to the hospital where I gave birth.

Your allowance depends on your monthly salary and is calculated according to your leave days. That is 42days before your due date and 56days after. In total 98days. Here are 3 circumstances which could affect the calculation SHUSSANTEATEKIN:

a. If you give bigiverrth on your due date. You calculate using 98days.

b. If you give birth a few days after. The Health care system only covers up to 105days of maternity leave.

c. If you give birth earlier than expected.

In my case I continued working to the last minute so I was still receiving my salary from work however I received less than the cap of maternity allowance by law which is 280 000Yen.

Maternity allowance is 2/3 of your salary. Heres an example of what you could expect to receive based on 200 000yen salary :

a. 200 000Yen divided by 30days multiply by 2/3 gives you the daily amount of 4,445 yen rounded off. 98days multiply by 4,445 will give you the expected amount you COULD get which is 436,000Yen rounded off.

b. If you give birth 4days after your due date. So the total days will come to 98 plus 4 which is 102days. That will be calculated as 4,445 multiply by 102 which will give you an expected amount of 453,390YEN.

c. I did not experience this therefore I cannot give clear infomation on this. However I do know that a requirement is that you need to be 4months preganant and over to get your allowance. Many considerations on this one!

I received my allowance in February when baby turned two months.