Employment Consultation
CenterFor People, Life,and the Future0Introduction
Under the National Strategic Special Zone Act (Act No. 107 of December 13, 2013), the government is
supposed to provide information, consultation, advice and other forms of assistance to foreign companies andother business operators that establish a place of business and newly hire workers in a national strategic specialzone. The purpose of this measure is to allow smooth implementation of businesses to enhance Japan's
international industrial competitiveness or create centers of international economic activities in national strategic
special zones by preventing individual labor-related disputes and taking other actions. The Act is accompanied
by an additional resolution of the Diet stipulating that "the government shall provide workers with sufficient
information on this Act while providing business operators with assistance for preventing individual labor -related
disputes under this Act."The Employment Consultation Center was established to provide such necessary information and assistance.
The Center is expected to make it easier for newly created enterprises, global companies and others to do businesswithout individual labor-related disputes by helping them accurately understand the employmen t rules of Japanand improve foreseeability. The Center is also expected to help increase the motivation and ability of workers by
restricting long working hours, preventing industrial accidents and ensuring stable employment.
This booklet, which summarizes the key points of Japan's labor-related laws, including the Labor Standards
Act and the Labor Contracts Act, is intended for use at the Employment Consultation Center for the purpose ofgiving business operators and workers advice on employment managemen t and labor contracts.

1

Table of Contents

1 Definitions of Worker and Employer ................................................................................... 4
2 Labor Contracts ................................................................................................................... 5[1] Principles of Labor Contracts ............................................................................................. 5[2] Establishment and Change of Labor Contracts .................................................................... 6[3] Contracts with a Fixed Term (Fixed-Term Labor Contracts) ................................................ 8[4] Clear Indication of Working Conditions ............................................................................ 12- Reference - Side Work and Extra Work ................................................................................ 24[1] Systems concerning Side Work and Extra Work ................................................................ 24[2] Checklists for Responses by Companies and Workers Regarding Side Work and Extra Work 25

3 Working Hours .................................................................................................................. 27
4 Rest Periods ...................................................................................................................... 30
5 Days Off ........................................................................................................................... 31
6 Exclusion from Application of Provisions on Working Hours, Rest Periods andDays Off .............................................................................................................................. 32
7 Overtime Work and Work on Days Off .............................................................................. 34
8 Calculation of Working Hours ........................................................................................... 38
9 Annual Paid Leave ............................................................................................................ 41
10 Wages .............................................................................................................................. 44
11 Premium Wages ............................................................................................................... 48
12 Protection of Women ....................................................................................................... 50
13 Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and
Women in Employment ........................................................................................................ 52
14 Child Care and Family Care Leave Act ............................................................................ 54
15 Countermeasures against Power Harassment in the Workplace ........................................ 57
16 Protection of Minors (Persons Under 18 Years of Age) .................................................... 58
17 Termination of Labor Relationship, etc. ........................................................................... 59[1] Termination of Labor Relationship .................................................................................... 59[2] Advance Notice of Dismissal ............................................................................................ 61[3] Exceptions to Advance Notice of Dismissal ...................................................................... 62[4] Certificate upon Separation from Employment, etc. .......................................................... 65[5] Return of Money and Goods ............................................................................................. 652

18 Rules of Employment ...................................................................................................... 66
19 Medical Examination and Safety and Health Management System ................................... 69
20 Labor Insurance (Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and
Employment Insurance) ........................................................................................................ 72
List of Consulting Organizations .......................................................................................... 74(Reference) List of Minimum Wages by Prefecture .............................................................. 75

3

1 Definitions of Worker and Employer(Articles 9 and 10 of the Labor Standards Act and Article 2 of the Labor Contracts Act)■ Worker
A worker to which the Labor Standards Act applies (Article 9 of the same Act) is a person who,[i] regardless of the type of occupation,[ii] is employed at a business or office, and[iii] receives wages therefrom.
On the other hand, a worker under the Labor Contracts Act (Article 2, paragraph (1) of the same Act) is a person
who[i] is a party to a labor contract concluded with an employer,[ii] works by being employed thereby, and[iii] receives wages therefrom,and is different from a “worker” under the Labor Standards Act.

■ Employer
An employer under the Labor Standards Act (Article 10 of the same Act) is[i] a business operator,[ii] the manager of a business, and[iii] any other person who acts on behalf of a business operator in mattersconcerning workers in the business.

On the other hand, an employee under the Labor Contracts Act (Article 2, paragraph (2) of the same Act) is aperson who is a party to a labor contract concluded with a worker and who pays wages to a worker he/she employs.
Therefore, in the case of a personal business, the owner thereof is the employer, and in the case of a company
or other incorporated organization, the corporation itself is the employer.

42 Labor Contracts[1] Principles of Labor Contracts(1) Basic principles of a labor contract (Article 3 of the Labor Contracts Act)○ Principle of labor-management equality (paragraph (1))=> A labor contract is to be concluded or changed between a worker and an employer by agreement on an equalbasis.
○ Principle of consideration of the balance of treatment (paragraph (2))=> A labor contract is to be concluded or changed between a worker and an employer while giving
consideration to the balance of treatment according to the actual conditions of work.
○ Principle of consideration of the balance between work and private life (paragraph (3))=> A labor contract is to be concluded or changed between a worker and an employer while giving
consideration to work-life balance.
○ Principle of good faith (paragraph (4))=> A worker and an employer must comply with the labor contract, and must exercise their rights and performtheir obligations in good faith.
○ Principle of no abuse of rights (paragraph (5))=> When exercising their rights under a labor contract, a worker and an employer must not abuse such right.
(2) Promotion of understanding of the contents of a labor contract (Article 4 of the Labor Contracts Act)An employer is required to ensure that a worker gains an in -depth understanding of the working conditions
and contents of the labor contract presented to the worker. A worker and an employer are required to confirm thecontents of the labor contract, whenever possible, in writing.
(3) Consideration of the safety of a worker (Article 5 of the Labor Contracts Act)An employer is required to give necessary consideration so that a worker can work with the safety of life andbody secured. Laws related to industrial safety and health, including the Industrial Safety and Health Act, provide
for specific measures that employers must take, and these provisions must be complied wi th.
(4) Labor contracts violating the Labor Standards Act (Article 13 of the Labor Standards Act)
Since the Labor Standards Act is a mandatory law, labor contracts which provide for working conditions which
do not meet the standards of this Act are invalid with respect to such portions. The portions which have become
invalid are to be governed by the standards of this Act.

5

[2] Establishment and Change of Labor Contracts(1) Establishment (Articles 6 and 7 of the Labor Contracts Act)
1. Establishment (Articles 6 and 7 of the Labor Contracts Act)○ A labor contract is established by agreement between a worker and an employer on the basis that "the worker
works by being employed by the employer" and "the employer pays wages for such wor k."○ An employer does not necessarily have to deliver a document stipulating the contents of the labor contract toa worker in order to make the contract effective. Even if both parties do not agree to the details of the working
conditions, the labor contract itself can become effective.
○ If an employer has "rules of employment that provide for reasonable working conditions" and "has informed
the worker of those rules of employment," then "the contents of the labor contract shall be based on theworking conditions provided by the rules of employment" because the working conditions of the rules of
employment supplement the labor contract.

(1) A labor contract is established if a worker and an employer agree that "the worker works by being employed by
the employer" and "the employer pays wages for such work."(2) The working conditions of the worker are determined by agreement between the worker and the employer.
(3) If the worker is employed by the employer without detailed working conditio ns being provided for in the labor
contract, as long as the employer has "rules of employment that provide for reasonable working conditions" and"has informed the worker of the rules of employment," then the worker shall be subject to the working conditio nsof the rules of employment.
(4) However, if the worker and the employer "agree on working conditions that are different from the contents of
the rules of employment," the agreement takes precedence over the working conditions of the rules of
employment (unless the agreed working conditions fail to meet the standards of the rules of employment).

(2) Change (Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Labor Contracts Act)○ "A worker and an employer" may, "by agreement," "change any working conditions that constitute th e contents
of a labor contract."○ Making a change to a labor contract does not necessarily require the delivery of a document describing thechange to the worker.
6

○ An employer may not, unless an agreement has been reached with a worker, change any of the working
conditions that constitute the contents of a labor contract in a manner disadvantageous to the worker bychanging the rules of employment.
○ However, if "the employer has informed the worker of the changed rules of employment" and if "the change
to the rules of employment is reasonable," "the working conditions that constitute the contents of a labor
contract are to be in accordance with the changed rules of employment," as an exception to the principle ofagreement.

(1) A worker and an employer may, by agreement, change any working conditions.
(2) When changing any working conditions by changing the rules of employment, as a general rule, the employer
is not allowed to change the working conditions in a manner disadvantageous to the work er. However, if theemployer "has informed the worker of the changed rules of employment" and if "the change to the rules of
employment is reasonable," the working conditions shall be in accordance with the changed rules of
employment.
(3) However, regarding "any portion of the labor contract which the worker and the employer have agreed on as
being the working conditions that are not to be changed by any change to the rules of employment," theagreement takes precedence over the changed rules of employment (unless the agreed working conditions failto meet the standards established by the rules of employment).

7[3] Contracts with a Fixed Term (Fixed-Term Labor Contracts)
As a fixed-term labor contract binds the worker and the employer for the relevant ter m, neither party is allowed toterminate the labor contract only for its own reasons without special circumstances. The Labor Standards Act limits
the terms of fixed-term labor contracts as follows (Article 14 of the Labor Standards Act):

8The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare provides standards of measures that employers shouldtake to prevent labor-management troubles at the time of conclusion and expiration of fixed -term labor
contracts.

Standards for Conclusion, Renewal and Non-Renewal of Fixed-Term Labor
Contracts(Public Notice No.357 of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of October 22, 2003)(Public Notice No.12 of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of January 23, 2008)(Public Notice No.551 of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of October 26, 2012)(Advance Notice of Non-Renewal of Employment)
Article 1 If an employer does not renew a fixed-term labor contract with a worker (limited
to a worker who has had the fixed-term labor contract renewed at least three times or has
continuously worked for the employer for more than one year from the date of
employment, but excluding a contract of which non -renewal is clearly specified inadvance; the same applies in paragraph (2) of the following Article), t he employer must
give at least 30 days’ advance notice prior to the expiration of the term of the contract.
(Clarification of Reasons for Non-Renewal of Employment)
Article 2 (1) In the case referred to in the preceding Article, if the worker requests acertificate of the reasons for non-renewal, the employer must deliver such a certificate to
the worker without delay.
(2) In the event that a fixed-term labor contract is not renewed, if the worker requests acertificate of the reasons for non-renewal, the employer must deliver such a certificate to
the worker without delay.
(Consideration Regarding Contract Terms)
Article 3 If an employer renews a fixed-term labor contract with a worker (limited to aworker who has had the fixed-term labor contract renewed at least once and has
continuously worked for the employer for more than one year from the date of
employment), the employer must endeavor to extend the contract term as long as possible
according to the actual conditions of the contract and t he request of the worker.

9* The above-mentioned Standards will be revised as described below on and after April 1, 2024.

Standards for Conclusion, Renewal, Non-Renewal, etc. of Fixed-Term Labor
Contracts(Public Notice No.357 of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of October 22, 2003)(Public Notice No.12 of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of January 23, 2008)(Public Notice No.551 of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of October 26, 2012)(Public Notice No.114 of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of March 30, 2023)(Explanation about Reasons for Fixing an Upper Limit for Renewal in Revising a Fixed Term Labor Contract)
Article 1 If, after the execution of a labor contrac t with a fixed term (hereinafter referred toas a “Fixed-term Labor Contract”), an employer fixes or reduces an upper limit of thetotal contract term (which refers to the total contract term set forth in Article 18,
paragraph (1) of the Labor Contracts Act) or the times of renewal of a Fixed-term Labor
Contract) in amending or renewing the Fixed-term Labor Contract, the employer must
explain the reasons to the relevant worker.
(Advance Notice of Non-Renewal of Employment)
Article 2 If an employer does not renew a Fixed-term Labor Contract with a worker(limited to a worker who has had the fixed-term labor contract renewed at least threetimes or has continuously worked for the employer for more than one year from the dateof employment, but excluding a contract of which non-renewal is clearly specified inadvance; the same applies in paragraph (2) of the following Article), the employer must
give at least 30 days’ advance notice.
(Clarification of Reasons for Non-Renewal of Employment)
Article 3 (1) In the case referred to in the preceding Article, if the worker requests acertificate of the reasons for non-renewal, the employer must deliver such a certificate to
the worker without delay.
(2) In the event that a Fixed-term Labor Contract is not renewed, if the worker requests acertificate of the reasons for non-renewal, the employer must deliver such a certificate to
the worker without delay.
(Consideration Regarding Contract Terms)
Article 4 If an employer renews a Fixed-term Labor Contract with a worker (limited to aworker who has had the fixed-term labor contract renewed at least once and has
continuously worked for the employer for more than one year from the date of
employment), the employer must endeavor to extend the contract term as lon g as possible
according to the actual conditions of the contract and the request of the worker.

10

(Explanation about Working Conditions after Conversion to an Open -ended Labor
Contract)
Article 5 If an employer clearly indicates the particulars prescrib ed in Article 5, paragraph(5) of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act to a worker pursuant to
the provisions of Article 15, paragraph (1) of the Labor Standards Act, the employer
must endeavor to explain to the worker the matters to w hich consideration is given to thebalance based on to the actual working conditions of employment, taking into accountthe purpose of the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (2) of the Labor Contracts Act insetting forth those particulars (excluding those enumerated in each item of paragraph (1)of the said Article).

○ The Labor Contracts Act contains the following three rules on fixed -term labor contracts to ensure proper useof these contracts.

I. Dismissal during the Contract Term (Article 17, paragraph (1) of the Labor Contracts
Act)
During the term of a fixed-term labor contract, an employer may not dismiss a
worker unless there are unavoidable circumstances. Whether an employer has
unavoidable circumstances to dismiss a worker should be determined on a case-by-casebasis. However, since a contract term is determined by agreement between a worker andan employer and should be complied with, cases in which an employer is considered tohave "unavoidable circumstances" are to be limited more narrowly than cases other thanthose in which dismissal "lacks objectively reasonable grounds and is not considered tobe appropriate in general social terms" in accordance with the open -ended labor
contract.
Even if a worker and an employer have agreed that the employer is allowed to dismiss
the worker for a certain reason during the contract term, such reason is not immediately
considered to constitute "unavoidable circumstances." Whether an employer has"unavoidable circumstances" for actual dismissal is determined on a case-by-case basis.
If an employer dismisses a worker during the term of a fixed -term labor contract,such dismissal can be justified by Article 628 of the Civil Code. An employer bears theburden of proving facts showing that there are "unavoidable circumstances."
II. Conversion to an open-ended labor contract (Article 18 of the Labor Contracts Act)
If a fixed-term labor contract is repeatedly renewed over a period exceeding five
years, this fixed-term labor contract can be converted into an open-ended labor contract
if the worker makes a request. (*)* Special provisions are provided respectively for fixed -term workers, such as researchers
and teachers, etc. of universities or research and development agencies or those withadvanced expert knowledge engaged in work scheduled to be completed in a certain
period of time exceeding five years, and for fixed -term workers who are continuously
employed after reaching the retirement age.

III. Legal principle of non-renewal of employment (Article 19 of the Labor Contracts Act)
The Act has incorporated the doctrine concerning non-renewal of employment
established by a judgment of the Supreme Court. If an employer's non -renewal of a
fixed-term labor contract objectively lacks reasonable grounds and is not found to beappropriate in general social terms, such non-renewal is not allowed. In such a case,the employer is deemed to have accepted the worker's offer for renewal or conclusionof a fixed-term labor contract with the same working conditions as those of theprevious fixed-term labor contract, and a new fixed-term labor contract comes into
effect with the same working conditions.

11[4] Clear Indication of Working Conditions
When an employer employs a worker, the employer is required to clearly indicate wages, working hours and otherworking conditions to the worker by delivering a document or by other similar means.
In the event that the clearly indicated working conditions are different from the actual working conditions, t heworker may immediately cancel the labor contract (Article 15 of the Labor Standards Act).
* Under Article 5 of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act (Order of the Ministry of Healthand Welfare No.23 of 1947), the method of clearly indicating working conditions is defined to be through thedelivery of a document, in principle, but if a worker requests either of the following methods, that method may
be employed.
[i] A method of sending a document using facsimile[ii] A method of transmission by electronic mail or other telecommunication (which means thetelecommunication prescribed in Article 2, item (i) of the Telecommunications Business Act (Act No. 86 of
1984) used to communicate information to a specified recipient; hereinafter referred to as an “electronic mailor other telecommunication”) (limited, however, to any method that allows the relevant worker to prepare adocument by outputting what is recorded in such email or other telecommunication).

clearly indicated without exception

Working conditions that must be
clearly indicated if the employer
requires

Working conditions that must be<Working conditions that must be clearly indicated>

Matters to be clarified throughthe delivery of a document, etc.

(1) Term of Labor Contracts(2) Standards for renewing a fixed-term labor contract(3) Place of work and assigned work(4) Starting and finishing times, whether work exceeding prescribed working
hours (such as early attendance and overtime work) is required, rest
periods, days off, leave, and changes in shifts in cases where wor kers
work in two or more shifts(5) Methods of determining, calculating and paying wages and the dates forclosing accounts for wages and for payment of wages(6) Retirement (including grounds for dismissal)(7) Wage raises(8) Scope of workers to whom the provisions concerning retirement
allowances apply, methods of determining, calculating and paying
retirement allowances and dates for payment of retirement allowances(9) Extraordinary wages, bonuses, etc. and minimum wages(10) Meal expenses, work supply expenses and other expenses to be borne by
the worker(11) Safety and health(12) Vocational training(13) Accident compensation and support for off-the-job injuries and diseases(14) Commendations and sanctions(15) Administrative leave12* When an employer concludes a labor contract on or after April 1, 2024, the employer is also required to clearly
indicate the following working conditions by delivering a document.
• Scope of changes in the place of work and assigned work
• If there is a provision of upper limit on the total contract term or times of renewal of a fixed -term labor contract,such upper limit• If an employer concludes a fixed-term labor contract during which term a worker can apply for conversion to an
open-ended contract under Article 18, paragraph (1) of the Labor Contracts Act, matters relating to suchapplication and the working conditions after the conversion to an open -ended contract○

Working conditions to be clearly indicated in writing under the Act on Improvement, etc. of Employment

Management for Part-Time and Fixed-Term Workers (Part-Time and Fixed-Term Workers Act)
(Article 6 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Workers Act* and Article 2 of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Part Time and Fixed-Term Workers Act)
When an employer employs a part-time or fixed-term worker, the employer is required to clearly indicate theworking conditions listed below to the part-time worker promptly by delivering a document to the worker or byother similar means, in addition to the working conditions listed above:• Whether wages are increased or not within the term of the labor contract• Whether retirement allowances are paid or not• Whether bonuses are granted or not• Consultation service related to improvement, etc. of employment management of part -time and fixed-term
workers13

(For Ordinary Workers Continuously Employed for a Fixed Term)

Notice of Working Conditions
Date:
Mr./Ms.

Contract
Term

Name and Address of the Workplace
Name of the Employer
Not fixed/Fixed (Fromto)* Fill in the section below if the contract term is “Fixed.”
1 Renewal of the contract[Automatically renewed; Can be renewed; Not renewed; Other ()]
2 Factors for deciding whether to renew the contract• Workload at the expiration of the contract term • Work performance and attitude• Business condition of the company• Progress of the assigned work
• Others ()[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed -term
Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills
Period without the right to apply for conversion to an open -ended labor contract: I: (advanced expert); II:(elderly person after retirement)
I
Period from the commencement to the completion of specified fixed -term operations (years andmonths (up to ten years))II
Period of being employed continuously after retirement

Place of Work
Assigned
Work[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures
Concerning Fixed-term Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills]• Specified Fixed-term Operations (: Fromto))Starting and 1 Starting and finishing times
Finishing(1)Starting time () Finishing time ()
Times, Rest
(If any of the following systems applies to the worker)
Period and(2) Variable working hours system, etc.: Variable working hours system or work shift system on a
Change in() basis with a combination of the following working hours
Shift
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
Work(circle
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
the applicableStarting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
number from
(3) Flextime: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion(1) to (5)),(Exception: Flexible time (Starting time)From
toand Overtime(Finishing time) FromtoWork
Core timeFromto)(4)Deemed working hours outside the workplace: Starting time () Finishing time ()(5) Discretionary work system: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion with abasic starting time at () and a basic finishing time at ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
to, Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of
Employment.
2 Rest period: ( ) minutes
3 Overtime work (Required/Not required)
Days Off• Regular days off: Every () (day of the week), public holidays and others ()• Irregular days off:days per week or month and others ()• In case of a one-year variable working hours system:
days per year
○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.

Leave

1 Annual paid leave: Working continuously for at least six months
days
Annual paid leave for working continuously for less than six months(Available/Not available)--> days if the worker has worked at least
monthsAnnual paid leave on an hourly basis (Available/Not available)
2 Substitute leave (Available/Not available)
3 Other leave: Paid(
)Unpaid ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
(Continued on the next page)

14

Wages

1 Basic wage(a) Monthly wage (yen) (b) Daily wage (yen)(c) Hourly wage (yen)(d) Piecework wage (Basic wage:
yen Guaranteed wage:yen)(e) Other wages (yen)(f) Wage classification and other wage-related matters stipulated in the Rules of
Employment

2 Amounts or calculation formulas of allowances(a) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(b) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(c) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(d) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:
3 Increased wage rates for overtime work, work on days off and night work(a) Overtime work: Exceeding the statutory working hours Within 60 hours per month (Over 60 hours per month()%
Exceeding the predetermined working hours ()%(b) Work on a day off: Statutory holiday () % Non-statutory holiday ()%(c) Night work: ()%
4 Cutoff day: ():
th day of every month():
th day of every month
5 Pay day:():
th day of every month():
th day of every mont h
6 Payment method: ()
7 Wage deduction under a labor-management agreement (Not applicable/Applicable (

)
)
)
)

))

8 Wage increase (Available (Time and other details:)/Not available)

9 Bonus (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)

10 Retirement allowance (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)

Retirement 1 Mandatory retirement system (Applicable (years old)/Not applicable)
2 Continued employment system (Applicable (until
years old)/Not applicable)
3 Voluntary retirement procedure (Notification required at leastdays prior to retirement)
4 Grounds and procedure for dismissal

Others○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
• Enrollment in social insurance schemes (employees’ pension insurance, health insurance,
employees’ pension fund and other schemes ())• Applicability of employment insurance (Applicable/Not applicable)• Consultation service on employment management improvements [Department:
Responsible
personnel: (contact information: )]• Others* If the contract term is "Fixed"
Under Article 18 of the Labor Contracts Act, if the total term of a fixed -term labor
contract (which becomes effective on or after April 1, 2013) exceeds five years, the labor
contract is converted into a labor contract without a fixed term on the day foll owing the dayof expiration of the relevant fixed-term labor contract if the worker makes a request by that
expiration date. When the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning
Fixed-term Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills are applicable, this five-year
period is to be as indicated in the column of "Contract Term" on this notice.

15)%

* Form for a labor contract concluded on and after April 1, 2024 (For Ordinary Workers Continuously
Employed for a Fixed Term)

Notice of Working Conditions
Date:

Mr./Ms.

Contract
Term

Name and Address of the Workplace
Name of the Employer
Not fixed/Fixed (Fromto)* Fill in the section below if the contract term is “Fixed.”
1 Renewal of the contract[Automatically renewed; Can be renewed; Not renewed; Other ()]
2 Factors for deciding whether to renew the contract• Workload at the expiration of the contract term • Work performance and attitude• Competency • Business condition of the company • Progress of the assigned work
• Others ()
3 Renewal of upper limit (Not renewed; Renewed (up to
time s/total contract term: Up toyears))[When a worker whose total contract term of a fixed-term labor contract concluded with the same employer
specified in the Labor Contracts Act exceeds five years]
When a worker applies for conclusion of a labor contract without a fixed term (open-ended labor contract)
to the employer during the contract term, the relevant labor contract can be converted to an open -ended labor
starting from the day following the end of the term of the original labor contract (date). In this case, changesof the working conditions from the original labor contract (Not changed; Changed (see attached))[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed -term
Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills]
Period without the right to apply for conversion to an open -ended labor contract: I: (advanced expert); II:(elderly person after retirement)
I
Period from the commencement to the completion of specified fixed -term operations (years andmonths (up to ten years))II
Period of being employed continuously after retirement

Place ofWork
Assigned
Work(Immediately after employment)(Scope of changes)(Immediately after employment)(Scope of changes)[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures
Concerning Fixed-term Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills]• Specified Fixed-term Operations (: Fromto)Starting and 1 Starting and finishing times
Finishing(1)Starting time () Finishing time ()
Times, Rest
(If any of the following systems applies to the worker)
Period and(2) Variable working hours system, etc.: Variable working hours system or work shift system on
Change ina() basis with a combination of the following working hours
Shift
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
Work(circle
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
the applicableStarting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
number from
(3) Flextime: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion(1) to (5)),(Exception: Flexible time (Starting time)From
toand Overtime(Finishing time) FromtoWork
Core timeFromto)(4)Deemed working hours outside the workplace: Starting time () Finishing time ()(5) Discretionary work system: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion witha basic starting time at () and a basic finishing time at ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
to, Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rulesof Employment.
2 Rest period: ( ) minutes
3 Overtime work (Required/Not required)
Days Off• Regular days off: Every () (day of the week), public holidays and others ()• Irregular days off:days per week or month and others ()• In case of a one-year variable working hours system:
days per year
○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
Leave
1 Annual paid leave: Working continuously for at least six months
days
Annual paid leave for working continuously for less than six months(Available/Not available)--> days if the worker has worked at least
monthsAnnual paid leave on an hourly basis (Available/Not available)
2 Substitute leave (Available/Not available)
3 Other leave: Paid(
)Unpaid ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
(Continued on the next page)

16

Wages

1 Basic wage(a) Monthly wage (yen) (b) Daily wage (yen)(c) Hourly wage (yen)(d) Piecework wage (Basic wage:
yen Guaranteed wage:yen)(e) Other wages (yen)(f) Wage classification and other wage-related matters stipulated in the Rules of
Employment

2 Amounts or calculation formulas of allowances(a) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:)(b) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:)(c) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:)(d) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:)
3 Increased wage rates for overtime work, work on days off and night work(a) Overtime work: Exceeding the statutory working hours Within 60 hours per month ()%
Over 60 hours per month ()%
Exceeding the predetermined working hours ()%(b) Work on a day off: Statutory holiday () % Non-statutory holiday ()%(c) Night work: ()%
4 Cutoff day: ():
th day of every month():
th day of every month
5 Pay day : ():
th day of every month():
th day of every month
6 Payment method: ()
7 Wage deduction under a labor-management agreement (Not applicable/Applicable (8 Wage increase (Available (Time, amount and other details:)))/Not available)

9 Bonus (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)

10 Retirement allowance (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)

Retirement 1 Mandatory retirement system (Applicable (years old)/Not applicable)
2 Continued employment system (Applicable (until
years old)/Not applicable)
3 Measures for start-up support, etc. (Applicable (until
years old for business engagement, social
contribution projects)/Not applicable)
4 Procedure for voluntary retirement (notice to be given at leastdays prior to retirement)
5 Grounds and procedure for dismissal

Others○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
• Enrollment in social insurance schemes (employees’ pension insurance, health insurance, andother schemes ())
Applicability of employment insurance (Applicable/Not applicable)• Smaller Enterprise Retirement Allowance Mutual Aid Scheme(Participated/Not participated) (*Only applicable to smaller enterprises)• Corporate pension schemes (Applicable (name of the scheme))/Notapplicable)• Consultation service on employment management improvements
Department: Name and title of responsible personnel: (contact information:)• Others ()* The following is an explanation if the contract term is "fixed."
Under Article 18 of the Labor Contracts Act, if the total term of a fixed -term labor contract (which becomes effective on or after
April 1, 2013) exceeds five years, the labor contract is converted into a labor contract without a fixed term on the day foll owing the
day of expiration of the relevant fixed -term labor contract if the worker makes a request by that e xpiration date. Notwithstanding theabove, if a person is subject to the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed -term Employees with
Expert Knowledge and Skills, the right to apply for convert to an open -ended labor contract will arise exceptionally as indicated in[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed -term Employees with Expert
Knowledge and Skills] of “Contract Term” of this Notice.

17

For other matters, the company's rules of employment apply. Places and methods in which the Rules of
Employment can be checked ()* Delivery of this Notice also serves as the clear indication of the working conditions under Article 15 of the Labor
Standards Act and the delivery of documents under Article 6 of the Act on Improvement of Personnel
Management and Conversion of Employment Status for Part-Time Workers and Fixed-Term Workers (Part-Timeand Fixed-Term Workers Act).
* A Notice of Working Conditions should preferably be preserved to prevent future labor-management disputes.

18

(For Part-Time Workers Continuously Employed for a Fixed Term)

Notice of Working Conditions
Mr./Ms.

Contract
Term

Date:
Name and Address of the Workplace
Name of the Employer

Not fixed/Fixed (Fromto)* Fill in the section below if the contract term is “Fixed.”
1 Renewal of the contract[Automatically renewed; Can be renewed; Not renewed; Other ()]
2 Factors for deciding whether to renew the contract• Workload at the expiration of the contract term • Work performance and attitude• Competency
Business condition of the company • Progress of the assigned work
• Others ()[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed -term
Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills
Period without the right to apply for conversion to an open-ended labor contract: I: (advanced expert); II:(elderly person after retirement)
I
Period from the commencement to the completion of specified fixed -term operations (years andmonths (up to ten years))II
Period of being employed continuously after retirement

Place ofWork
Assigned
Work[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures
Concerning Fixed-term Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills]• Specified Fixed-term Operations (: Fromto)Starting and 1 Starting and finishing times
Finishing(1)Starting time () Finishing time ()
Times, Rest
(If any of the following systems applies to the worker)
Period and(2) Variable working hours system, etc.: Variable working hours system or work shift system on a
Change in() basis with a combination of the following working hours
Shift
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
Work(circle
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)theStarting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
applicable(3) Flextime: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion
number(Exception: Flexible time (Starting time)From
tofrom (1) to(Finishing time)Fromto(5)), andCore time
From
to)Overtime(4)Deemed working hours outside the workplace: Starting time () Finishing time ()Work(5) Discretionary work system: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion with abasic starting time at () and a basic finishing time at ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
to, Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of
Employment.
2 Rest period: ( ) minutes
3 Overtime work
(Required (hours/week,
hours/month,
hours/year)/Not required)
4 Work on days off (Required (days/month,days/year)/Not required)
Days off • Regular days off: Every () (day of the week), public holidays and others ()
and• Irregular days off:days per week or month and others ()
Working • In case of a one-year variable working hours system:
days per year
Days
(Working days):
Every week (), Other ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
Leave
1 Annual paid leave: Working continuously for at least six months
days
Annual paid leave for working continuously for less than six months(Available/Not available)--> days if the worker has worked at least
monthsAnnual paid leave on an hourly basis (Available/Not available)
2 Substitute leave (Available/Not available)
3 Other leave: Paid ()Unpaid ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of
Employment.
(Continued on the next page)

19

Wages

1 Basic wage(a) Monthly wage (yen) (b) Daily wage (yen)(c) Hourly wage (yen)(d) Piecework wage (Basic wage:
yen Guaranteed wage:yen)(e) Other wages (yen)(f) Wage classification and other wage-related matters stipulated in the Rules of
Employment

2 Amounts or calculation formulas of allowances(a) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(b) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(c) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(d) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:
3 Increased wage rates for overtime work, work on days off and night work(a) Overtime work: Exceeding the statutory working hours
per month ())))
Within 60 hours) %Over 60 hours per month () %Exceeding the predetermined working hours ((b) Work on a day off: Statutory holiday () %) % Non-statutory holiday (%(c) Night work: (4 Cutoff day: ():
5 Pay day:():
6 Payment method: () %th day of every monthth day of every month
)

(
(

):
):

th day of every monthth day of every month

7 Wage deduction under a labor-management agreement (Not applicable/Applicable ( ))8 Wage increase (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)
9 Bonus (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)
10 Retirement allowance (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available )years old)/Not applicable)
Retirement 1 Mandatory retirement system (Applicable (2 Continued employment system (Applicable (until
years old)/Not applicable)
3 Voluntary retirement procedure (Notification required at leastdays prior to retirement)
4 Grounds and procedure for dismissal○ For more details, refer to Articles
Otherstoand Articles

toof the Rules of Employment.

• Enrollment in social insurance schemes (employees’ pension insurance, health insurance,
employees’ pension fund and other schemes ())• Applicability of employment insurance (Applicable/Not applicable)• Consultation service on employment management improvements[Department: Responsible personnel: (contact information: )]• Others• Specific title of applicable rules of employment ()* The following is an explanation if the contract term is "fixed."If the contract term is "Fixed"
Under Article 18 of the Labor Contracts Act, if the total term of a fixed -term labor
contract (which becomes effective on or after April 1, 2013) exceeds five years, the labor
contract is converted into a labor contract without a fixed term on the day following the dayof expiration of the relevant fixed-term labor contract if the worker makes a request by that
expiration date. When the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning
Fixed-term Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills are applicable, this five -year period
is to be as indicated in the column of "Contract Term" on this notice.

20)

* Form for a labor contract concluded on and after April 1, 2024 (For Part-Time Workers Continuously
Employed for a Fixed Term)

Notice of Working Conditions
Date:
Mr./Ms.
Name and Address of the Workplace
Name of the Employer
ContractTerm

Not fixed/Fixed (Fromto)* Fill in the section below if the contract term is “Fixed.”
1 Renewal of the contract[Automatically renewed; Can be renewed; Not renewed; Other ()]
2 Factors for deciding whether to renew the contract• Workload at the expiration of the contract term • Work performance and attitude• Competency
Business condition of the company • Progress of the assigned work
• Others ()
3 Renewal of upper limit (Not renewed; Renewed (up to
times/total contract term: Up toyears))[Conclusion of a fixed-term labor contract prescribed in the Labor Contracts Act of which total contract term withthe same employer exceeds five years]
When a worker applies to the company for conversion to a labor contract without a fixed term (an open ended labor contract) during the term of the labor contract, the labor contract can be converted to an open ended labor contract starting from the day following the end of the term of the origina l contract (date). In thiscase, whether or not the working conditions are changed from the original labor contract (Not changed;
Changed (see attached))[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed-term
Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills
Period without the right to apply for conversion to an open -ended labor contract: I: (advanced expert); II:(elderly person after retirement)
I
Period from the commencement to the completion of specified fixed-term operations (years andmonths (up to ten years))II
Period of being employed continuously after retirement

Place ofWork
Assigned
Work(Immediately after employment)(Scope of changes)(Immediately after employment)(Scope of changes)[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures
Concerning Fixed-term Employees with Expert Knowledge and Skills]• Specified Fixed-term Operations (: Fromto)Starting and 1 Starting and finishing times
Finishing(1)Starting time () Finishing time ()
Times, Rest
(If any of the following systems applies to the worker)
Period and(2) Variable working hours system, etc.: Variable working hours system or work shift system on
Change ina() basis with a combination of the following working hours
Shift
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
Work(circle
Starting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)theStarting time () Finishing time () (Applicable days:)
applicable(3) Flextime: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion
number(Exception: Flexible time (Starting time)From
tofrom (1) to(Finishing time) Fromto(5)), andCore time
From
to)Overtime(4)Deemed working hours outside the workplace: Starting time () Finishing time ()Work(5) Discretionary work system: Starting and finishing times left to the worker’s discretion with abasic starting time at () and a basic finishing time at ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
to, Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of
Employment.
2 Rest period: ( ) minutes
3 Overtime work
(Required (hours/week,
hours/month,
hours/year)/Not required)
4 Work on days off (Required (days/month,days/year)/Not required)
Days offandWorking
Days

Regular days off: Every () (day of the week), public holidays and others ()
Irregular days off:days per week or month and others ()
In case of a one-year variable working hours system:
days per year
(Working days):
Every week (), Other ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
(Continued on the next page)

21

Leave1 Annual paid leave: Working continuously for at least six months
days
Annual paid leave for working continuously for less than six
months (Available/Not available)--> days if the worker has worked at least
monthsAnnual paid leave on an hourly basis (Available/Not available)
2 Substitute leave (Available/Not available)
3 Other leave: Paid ()
Unpaid ()○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of
Employment.
1 Basic wage(a) Monthly wage (yen) (b) Daily wage (yen)(c) Hourly wage (yen)(d) Piecework wage (Basic wage:
yen Guaranteed wage:yen)(e) Other wages (yen)(f) Wage classification and other wage-related matters stipulated in the Rules of
Employment

2 Amounts or calculation formulas of allowances(a) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(b) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(c) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:(d) (allowance
yen / Calculation formula:
3 Increased wage rates for overtime work, work on days off and night work(a) Overtime work: Exceeding the statutory working hours Within 60 hours per month (Over 60 hours per month () %Exceeding the predetermined working hours ((b) Work on a day off: Statutory holiday ((c) Night work: ()%
4 Cutoff day: ():
th day of every month
5 Pay day:():
th day of every month
6 Payment method: (
)

):
):

)%

) %

) % Non-statutory holiday (
(
(

)
)
)
)

)%

th day of every monthth day of every month

7 Wage deduction under a labor-management agreement (Not applicable/Applicable ( ))8 Wage increase (Available (Time and other details:)/Not available)
9 Bonus (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)
10 Retirement allowance (Available (Time, amount and other details:)/Not available)

Retirement 1 Mandatory retirement system (Applicable (years old)/Not applicable)
2 Continued employment system (Applicable (until
years old)/Not applicable)
3 Measures for start-up support, etc. (Applicable (until
years old for business engagement, social
contribution projects)/Not applicable)
4 Procedure for voluntary retirement (notice to be given at leastdays prior to retirement)
5 Grounds and procedure for dismissal

Others○ For more details, refer to Articles
toand Articles
toof the Rules of Employment.
• Enrollment in social insurance schemes (employees’ pension insurance, health insurance, andother schemes ())
Applicability of employment insurance (Applicable/Not applicable)• Smaller Enterprise Retirement Allowance Mutual Aid Scheme(Participated/Not participated) (*Only applicable to smaller enterprises)• Corporate pension schemes (Applicable (name of the scheme))/Notapplicable)• Consultation service on employment management improvements
Department: Name and title of responsible personnel: (contact information:)• Others ()
22

Specific title of applicable rules of employment ()* The following is an explanation if the contract term is "fixed."
Under Article 18 of the Labor Contracts Act, if the total term of a fixed -term labor contract (which becomes effective on or after
April 1, 2013) exceeds five years, the labor contract is converted into a labor contract without a fixed term on the day foll owing the
day of expiration of the relevant fixed-term labor contract if the worker makes a request by that expiration date. Notwithstanding theabove, if a person is subject to the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed -term Employees with
Expert Knowledge and Skills, the right to apply for convert to an open -ended labor contract will arise exceptionally as indicated in[For a person eligible for the special provisions under the Act on Special Measures Concerning Fixed -term Employees with Expert
Knowledge and Skills] of “Contract Term” of this Notice.

For other matters, the company's rules of employment apply. Places and methods in which the Rules of
Employment can be checked ()* Delivery of this Notice also serves as the clear indication of the working conditions under Article 15 of the Labor
Standards Act and the delivery of documents under Article 6 of the Act on Improvement of Personnel
Management and Conversion of Employment Status for Part-Time Workers and Fixed-Term Workers (Part-Timeand Fixed-Term Workers Act).
* A Notice of Working Conditions should preferably be preserved to prevent future labor -management disputes.

23

- Reference - Side Work and Extra WorkAs a matter of fact, an increasing number of workers wanted to d o side work or extra work in diverse forms
for various reasons, while many companies did not permit employees' side work or extra work.
In the Action Plan for the Realization of Work Style Reform (decided by the Council for the Realization ofWork Style Reform on March 28, 2017) that reflected these circumstances, it was decided to diffuse and promoteside work and extra work by setting a direction, in principle, to allow side works and extra work, while paying
attention to ensuring the health of workers. Given this, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare established the“Guidelines on the Promotion of Side Work and Extra Work “summarizing the points to note regarding
working hours and measures to ensure the health of workers in January 2018, and simulta neously revised themodel rules of employment to allow side work and extra work in principle. In September 2020, a revision wasmade to clarify rules, such as indicating concrete methods for ascertaining workers' working hours at places forside work or extra work based on self-report, etc. and simple methods for managing workers' working hours. In
July 2022, from the perspective of promoting workers' diverse career development, the ministry revised the
Guidelines to encourage companies to disclose information on the status of their measures promoting side workand extra work.
This Section outlines the current systems concerning side work and extra work and summarizes the Guidelines.

[1] Systems concerning Side Work and Extra WorkSocial insurance

Labor insurance(1) Labor insurance (industrial accident insurance and employment insurance) and social insurance (social
pension insurance and health insurance)
Labor insurance (industrial accident insurance and employment insurance) and social insurance (social
pension insurance and health insurance) apply to workers doing side work or extra work as shown in the following
table.
Insurance type
Industrial accident
compensation
insurance
Employment
insurance

Social pension
insurance

Health insurance

Application
Applied at all places of employment, in principle, and insurance
benefits are provided based on the amount totaling all wages paid at allplaces of employment.
Procedures for employment insurance are undertaken for any worker
who will be the insured irrespective of whether he/she does side work
or extra work.
However, when a worker is employed by multiple employers at thesame time and satisfies the requirements for employment insurance
respectively under those employment relationships, employment
insurance is only applicable to the employment relationship under which
the worker earns major wages necessary for maintaining a livelihood.
*On January 1, 2022, a new system was commenced under which
workers aged 65 or older who work at multiple workplaces and satisfy
the requirements for employment insurance when adding up all working
hours at any two of those multiple workplaces may become the insured
by filing an application by themselves.
a. When a worker does not satisfy the requirements at any workplaces
Social pension insurance is not applicable.
b. When a worker satisfies the requirements at multiple workplaces
Social insurance applies to the worker at each of the multiple
workplaces. The worker selects any of those workplaces and the pension
office (or medical insurer) that has jurisdiction over the selected
workplace calculates and determines the worker's standard monthly
remuneration amount and collects the insurance premium from theworker.

24

(2) Working hours and measures to ensure workers' good health
Article 38, paragraph (1) of the Labor Standards Act provides that "As far as application of the provisions
on working hours is concerned, total hours worked shall be aggregated, even if the hours worked were atdifferent workplaces." The case where the hours worked were at different workplaces includes the case wherea worker worked under different employers (Kihatsu No. 769 of May 14, 1948). The Guidelines on the Promotionof Side Work and Extra Work present a principle method and a simple method of aggregating working hours
based on the provisions of the same paragraph (hereinafter the simple method is referred to as the "management
model"), and companies are expected to adopt a method that is easy to introduce for themselves for each of theworkers doing side work or extra work (for the details of the methods of aggregating working hours andprovisions on working hours that are applied by aggregating working hours under the Labor Standards Act andthose that are not applied by aggregating working hours, see the Guidelines on the Promotion of Side Work andExtra Work).
Additionally, general medical examinations (Article 66 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act) and stresschecks (Article 66-10 of the same Act) need to also be conducted for workers doing side work or extra work.
For these measures to ensure workers' good health, it is not necessary to aggregate those workers' regular
working hours at multiple workplaces, and the need for taking relevant measures is to be judged independently
based on workers' regular working hours at each workplace.
However, for workers doing side work or extra work, health management in consideration of their side work
or extra work is preferable, in addition to taking statutory mea sures to ensure workers' good health.

[2] Checklists for Responses by Companies and Workers Regarding Side Work and Extra Work
(1) Responses by companies
Considering judicial precedents, it would be appropriate for companies to consider permitting
employees' side work or extra work, in principle. When permitting employees to do side work or extra work,
companies need to take measures for the following matters.
A. Development of rules of employment, etc.
☑ Companies that prohibit employees' side work and extra work or that adopt a unified permission systemshould preferably review their rules of employment toward permitting employees' side work or extra work.
☑ In order to perform proper labor management in relation to employees' side work and extra wo rk, it ispreferable to put in place a mechanism, such as a self-report system, to confirm whether employees doside work or extra work and the content thereof.
B. Confirmation of employees' side work and extra work
☑ Employers, who naturally cannot know about employees' side work and extra work, are expected toconfirm whether employees do side work or extra work and the content thereof based on their self -report.
☑ Preferably, employers should confirm the content of employees' side work and extra work fro m theperspective of whether relevant work would not cause damage to employees' safety and good health andwhether relevant work does not fall under prohibited or restricted work under their rules.
C. (A) Aggregation of working hours in excess of regular w orking hours (primary method of managing
working hours)☑ Based on the content of employees' side work or extra work confirmed as mentioned in B. above,
each company should aggregate its employees' regular working hours at the company and those atplaces of side work or extra work individually and confirm whether there is any part falling under
overtime work.
☑ As a result of the aggregation, if there is any part that exceeds the statutory working hours under thecompany's working hour system, that part in excess falls under overtime work. A company that haslater concluded a labor contract is deemed to have the relevant worker do that overtime work as
specified by its own agreement under Article 36 (see "Chapter 7 Overtime Work and Work on Days
Off" for details).
(B) Introduction of the management model (simple method of managing working hours)☑ It is supposed that each company requests employees doing side work or extra work follow the
management model and the management model is to be introduced based on consent of employees
and workplaces for side work and extra work through those employees.
☑ Each company should set the upper limit of working hours for respective workplaces within the range
in which the number of hours totaling the non-statutory monthly working hours at the company andthe number of monthly working hours at workplaces for side work or extra work (regular working
hours and non-regular working hours) is less than 100 hours per month and 80 hours or less on
average for multiple months.
25

D. (A) Aggregation of working hours in excess of regular working hours (primary method of managing
working hours)☑ After employees commence side work or extra work, each company should aggregate the number ofworking hours in excess of regular working hours for respective employees in the order of thoseactually worked at the company and at workplaces for side work or extra work.
☑ As a result of the aggregation, if there is any part that exceeds the statutory working hours under thecompany's working hour system, that part in excess falls under overtime work. The company needs
to limit the number of hours to have employees do overtime work within the upper limit for extension
under its agreement under Article 36 and pay premium wages therefor.
(B) Implementation of the management model☑ Each company should have its employees work within the upper limit of working hours that it has
set as mentioned in C. (B) above.
☑ Employer A must pay premium wages for non-statutory working hours during which employees
worked for Employer A, and Employer B must pay premium wages for working hours during which
employees worked for Employer B.
E. Implementation of health management☑ Companies should have good communication with employees to check whether employees' overwor k due
to side work or extra work causes any health problems or hindrance to their original duties.
☑ It is important for employers to take required measures to ensure employees' good health through labor management negotiations, etc.
☑ When an employer gives instructions and has employees do side work or extra work, the employer should
ascertain and aggregate their working hours through information exchange with respective employers of
the side work or extra work and take measures to ensure employees' good health.
F. Disclosure of information concerning side work and extra work
☑ From the perspective of promoting workers' diverse career development, it is preferable for companies
to publicize information such as whether they permit their workers' side work or extra work andconditions for permission, if any, on their websites, etc. to help workers' career choice.

(2) Responses by workers
When intending to do side work or extra work, workers need to note the following matters.
A. Reports, etc. concerning side work or extra work
☑ A worker who intends to do side work or extra work first needs to confirm rules concerning side workand extra work of the company where he/she works.
☑ A worker who intends to do side work or extra work should then sel ect appropriate work in terms of thecontent of duties and work hours in light of rules of the company where he/she works, while utilizing
information on side work and extra work disclosed by the company on its website and Hello Work as
needed.
☑ When a workplace for side work or extra is determined, a worker should report the content of the work
to the company in line with the method specified in the rules of employment, etc.
B. Implementation of health management☑ Upon doing side work or extra work, a worker needs to manage his/her workload including that at aworkplace for side work or extra work, and the progress of and required hours for side work or extra work,
as well as his/her own health conditions.
☑ From the perspective of making employers' measures to ensure employees' good health truly effective,
workers should report their workloads at workplaces for side work or extra work and their own healthconditions to companies.

26

3 Working Hours■ Statutory working hours (Article 32 of the Labor Standards Act)No employer is allowed to require workers to work more than eight hours a day and morethan 40 hours a week, excluding rest periods (statutory working hours). For workplaces subject
to special measures (workplaces with fewer than 10 workers in commerce, f ilm and theatricalperformance business [excluding the film-making business], health and hygiene business orentertainment business), an employer is allowed to require workers to work up to eight hours
a day and up to 44 hours a week. Daily and weekly work ing hours must be determined within
the limit of these statutory working hours (regular working hours).
■ One-month variable working hours system (Article 32-2 of the Labor Standards Act)
Under this system, an employer is allowed to require workers to wo rk more than thestatutory daily and weekly working hours on a certain day or in a certain week as long as theaverage weekly working hours for a certain period of not more than one month do not exceed
40 hours (or 44 hours for workplaces subject to specia l measures). To adopt this system, an
employer must determine the following matters under the rules of employment or a labor management agreement. The labor-management agreement must be submitted to the DirectorGeneral of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office.
[i] Average weekly working hours for the period of variable working hours notexceeding the statutory working hours
If a period of variable working hours is one month
If the number of calendar days of the month is
40 hours × Calendar days of the period of variable working hours / 7(or 44 hours for workplaces subject to special measures)

31 days177.1 hours

30 days 171.4 hours
29 days 165.7 hours
28 days 160.0 hours[ii] Daily and weekly working hours for the period of variable working hours[iii] Starting day of the period of variable working hours(e.g.) If a one-month work shift is set for a month with 31 calendar days

For a month with 31 calendar days, the total monthly working hours must not exceed 177.1
hours. In this case, the total monthly working hours are 174 hours, so this is legal.

27

■ Flextime system (Article 32-3 of the Labor Standards Act)
Under this system, an employer determines total working hours for a certain period notexceeding three months, and workers work within the limit of the total working hours bydeciding the starting and finishing times for each working day at their own initiative.
- Requirements of the flextime system [i] The rules of employment or other similar rules must provide that workers may decide theirown starting and finishing times.
[ii] A labor-management agreement must decide the scope of workers working on the flextime
system, a settlement period, total working hours for the settlement period and standard daily
working hours.
* When the settlement period exceeds one month, a notification needs to be submitted to
the Director-General of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office that h as
jurisdiction over the labor-management agreement.

Settlement Period

A period not exceeding three months for whichhours worked by flextime workers must be
determined under their labor contracts

Total working hours for theWorking hours that flextime workers are required tosettlement period

work for the settlement period under their labor
contracts (regular working hours)* The total working hours for the settlement period must meet the condition
below:
Total working hours for the settlement period ≤ (days of the settlement period / 7) ×
Statutory working hours per week

Standard daily working hours

The length of working hours that serves as the basis
for calculating wages paid when annual paid leave
is takenFlexible time

Hours during which workers can choose when they
start the day and when they finish the day

Core time

Hours during which all workers are expected to be
at work (core time is not mandatory)28

■ One-year variable working hours system (Article 32-4 of the Labor Standards Act)
Under this system, an employer is allowed to require workers to work more than thestatutory daily or weekly working hours on a certain day or in a certain week as long as theaverage weekly working hours for a certain period exceeding one month, but not exceeding
one year, do not exceed 40 hours.
- Requirements of the one-year variable working hours system [i] The applicable period must exceed one month but must not exceed one year.
[ii] The average weekly working hours for the applicable period must not exceed 40 hours.
(The average weekly working hours for the applicable period must also not exceed 40
hours for workplaces subject to special measures.)[iii] Maximum working hours must be 10 hours per day and 52 hours per week.
[iv] The working days during the applicable period must not exceed 280 days per year.
(If the applicable period does not exceed three months, there is no limitation on the numberof working days.)[v] As a general rule, workers must not work more than six consecutive days.
[vi] Premium wages must be paid for actual working hours in excess of the statutory working
hours if regular daily and weekly working hours are shorter than the statutory working
hours or for actual working hours in excess of regular daily and weekly working hours if
the regular daily and weekly hours are longer than the statutory working hours.
[vii] A labor-management agreement must be concluded on the scope of target workers, theapplicable period, the starting day of the applicable period, working days, working hours
for each working day, the effective period and the specified period (if determined) andmust be submitted to the Director-General of the competent Labour Standards Inspection
Office.
[viii] For workplaces continuously employing at least 10 workers, the rules of employment
must contain a provision that a one-year variable working hours system is adopted andsubmitted to the Director-General of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office.

29

4 Rest Periods(Article 34 of the Labor Standards Act)○An employer is required to provide workers with:[i]a rest period of at least 45 minutes if working hours exceed six hours, or[ii]

a rest period of at least one hour if

working hours exceed eight hours.
○ As a general rule, a rest period must be made available [i] in the middle of working hours, [ii]to all workers at the same time or [iii] at the worker's discretion.
Exceptions to rest at the same time[i]Transport business, commerce, health and hygiene business, entertainment business andother similar business[ii]

Conclusion of a labor-management agreement required for a business not listed above* As a general rule, workers can use their rest period at their discretion. Employers sho uld allow
workers to go out without restriction during rest periods.

30

5 Days Off(Article 35 of the Labor Standards Act)
A day off is a day upon which a worker is not obligated to work under his/her labor contract.
Under the Labor Standards Act, a worker must be provided with at least one day off each weekor at least four days off every four weeks. Four days off every four weeks is an exception. If this is
the case, the starting day of the four-week period must be clarified in the rules of employment orother similar rules.

Differences between transfer of a day off and provision of a compensatory day off
Transfer of a day off means, for example, exchanging a worker's day off with his/her working
day in advance (if a worker is required to work on Sunday, his/her day off, for example, he/she may
exchange this day off with Wednesday, for example, in advance).
A compensatory day off is a day off provided as a substitute if a worker works on his/her day off
without transferring it in advance.
Differences between transfer of a day off and provision of a compensatory day off
Provision of a compensatory
Transfer of a day off
day off
When an employer needs to have a worker workon his/her day off or wants to have a worker work When an employer provides a
When it takes on another regular day off, while ensuring the worker with a day off asplacedays off on a weekly basis, in cases where a compensation for his/herlabor-management agreement under Article 36 of work on another day off
the Labor Standards Act is not concluded
The rules of employment must[i] The rules of employment must have a clause have a clause for provision ofcompensatory days off.
for transfer of days off.
*
Employerscanprovide[ii] A substitute day off must be specified.
compensatory days off at their
Requirements [iii] The substitute day off should be as close todiscretion.
the original day off as possible.
* Provision of a compensatory day
off for work on a statutory[iv] Transfer of a day off must be communicatedholiday requires a laborto the worker by the day before.
management agreement under
Article 36 of the Act.

Designation asa substitute orcompensatory
day off

Wages

An employer designates a substitute day off inadvance.
If an employer provides a substitute day off inthe same week as the original day off, theemployer only needs to pay normal wages for theoriginal day off and does not need to pay wages
for the substitute day off.**If the weekly working hours, including the day worked
as a substitution of day off, exceed the weekly
statutory working hours, the excess hours will beconsidered as overtime work for which premium
wages must be paid.

31

An employer designates acompensatory day off at
his/her discretion or in linewith the worker's request.

Premium wages must be paid
for work on a day off.

6 Exclusion from Application of Provisions on Working Hours, Rest
Periods and Days Off(Article 41 and Article 41-2 of the Labor Standards Act)
The provisions of the Labor Standards Act that relate to working hours, rest periods and days off
do not apply to the following workers (who are subject to the provisions relating to night work andannual paid leave):[i] Workers engaged in agricultural or fishery business[ii] Managers, supervisors and workers handling confidential matters[iii] Workers engaged in monitoring or intermittent labor[iv] Workers on day or night duty
The provisions of the Labor Standards Act that relate to working hours, rest periods, days off
and premium wages for work at night do not apply to workers covered under the high -levelprofessional system (who are subject to the provisions relating to annual paid leave).

Criteria for managers and supervisors
1. Managers and supervisors generally refer to department/division, plant, and other managers
who are in a position equivalent to management in terms of decisions on working conditions
and other labor management, and should be judged based on the actual situation, regardless ofthe designation.
2. Whether the important duties and responsibilities of the worker make it impractical to apply
the regulations on actual working hours to his/her actual work
3. [i] Whether the worker is appropriately treated with regular pay, including basic pay andposition allowances[ii] Whether the worker is treated more favorably than ordinary workers wh o do not holdspecial positions in terms of the rate of lump sum payment, such as bonuses, and basic
wages used for the calculation of lump sum payment
4. For staff members who are assigned to a department related to the planning of importantmanagement issues, it is considered appropriate to treat certain range of staff members as thoseequivalent to managers and supervisors, depending on the level of treatment.
(Notice No.17 of the Director-General of the Labour Standards
Bureau of September 13, 1947 and Notice No.150 of the Director-General of the Labour
Standards Bureau of March 14, 1988)

Workers engaged in monitoring or intermittent labor and workers on day or night duty are exempt
from the whole or part of the regulations on working hours, rest periods and days off if permitted
by the Director-General of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office.
○ Monitoring labor means labor in which a worker is basically supposed to perform monitoring
duties at a department and normally has little physical or mental strain.
○ Intermittent labor means labor in which a worker is basically supposed to work intermittently
and has longer waiting time and shorter working time than ordinary labor.

32

○ Day or night duty means duty in which a worker normally has little need to work during hours
from the end of work on a working day to the start of work on the following working day oron a holiday. A worker on day or night duty is supposed to stand by at an office to answer
phone calls, patrol for prevention of fires and other disasters or respond to emergencies,
including emergency contact.
○ A worker handling confidential matters means a worker who always works alongsideexecutives, shares information with them, communicates information to them and handles
important secrets about management policies or negotiations on alliances or acquis itions andhas to work beyond the scope of strict working hours management to work alongside them,such as an executive secretary to a director. Workers who only perform routine clerical duties,
such as serving tea and sweets to visitors, informing executi ves of their daily schedules andchecking internal and external appointments are not included among workers handlingconfidential matters.

33

7 Overtime Work and Work on Days Off(Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act)
○ Overtime work is to be required only for extraordinary or emergency purposes and should
be limited to the minimum necessary. If an employer unavoidably orders workers to workovertime or on a statutory holiday beyond the statutory working hours, the employer must
conclude a labor-management agreement (agreement under Article 36 of the Act) in advanceand submit it to the Director-General of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office.
○The agreement under Article 36 of the Act is concluded between an employer and a
representative of workers, and the representative of workers must be elected as in the case ofa representative of workers who gives opinions about the rules of employment.

○ An agreement under Article 36 must specify overtime working hours for each of the following
three periods:[i]

For one day[ii]

For one month[iii]

For one year.

Extended working hours for the periods [ii] and [iii] must be within 45 hours per month and360 hours per year (for workers working under a one-year variable working hours system for aperiod exceeding three months, within 42 hours per month and 320 hours per year).

34

■ Upper limits for overtime work
If there are temporary special circumstances for which an employer unavoidably orders aworker to work overtime beyond the extension limits, the employer can provide a special clausein an agreement under Article 36 in advance.
Even in such case, the following must be observed:•

Annual total hours of overtime work do not exceed 720 hours.

•

Monthly total hours of overtime work and work on days off are less than 100 hours.

•

Monthly averages of the total hours of overtime work and work on days off for theperiods of 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, and 6 months all do not exceed 80
hours.

•

Monthly total hours of overtime work may exceed 45 hours for up to six months per
year.
Furthermore, the upper limits will apply in and after April 2024 for businesses andservices of construction, driving of automobiles, physicians, and sugar production in
Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures. Research and development of new technologies andnew products are exempted from the application of the upper limits.
○ Examples of special circumstances• Budget and settlement affairs• Busy times during bonus shopping seasons• When there are tight delivery deadlines• Responses to large-scale complaints• Responses to mechanical troubles○ Examples of circumstances not considered to be special circumstances• Circumstances where specific reasons such as those due to operational
necessity, busy times and an employer's needs cannot be presented• Circumstances that obviously arise throughout the year

○ Example of a special clause included in an agreement under Article 36
The working hours that can be extended for a certain period are 45 hours
per month and 360 hours per year. However, working hours can be further
extended through labor-management consultation up to six times up to 60
hours per month and up to 420 hours per year if an influx of orders
significantly exceeding regular output makes delivery deadlines
significantly tight. The rate for premium wages is 30 percent for hours
worked in excess of 45 hours per month and 35 percent for hours worked
in excess of 360 hours per year.

35

■ Overtime work by workers engaged in dangerous and injurious work
The maximum hours of overtime work by workers engaged in any of the types of dangerous
and injurious work specified by laws and regulations (nine types of work) are two hours per day(Article 18 of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act ).
○ Examples of dangerous and injurious work
• Work for which workers handle a large quantity of cold materials, and workin an extremely cold place(e.g. work inside a freezer storage)• Hard work such as work for which workers handle heavy materials(e.g. manually lifting, carrying and putting down items weighing 30 kg or more)▪ Restrictions on Overtime Work and Work in Excess of Regular Working Hours under theChild Care and Family Care Leave Act-->Refer to 14. Child Care and Family Care Leave Act.

36

Example of a Written Notification of an Agreement under Article 36

Extension of working hours and work on days off should be limited to the minimum
necessary. Parties should conclude an agreement in consideration of this principle. The
employer is under an obligation to pay attention to ensure safety under Article 5 of th eLabor Contracts Act even in the case of having workers work within the agreed working
hours.

[Form 9 (Re. Article 16, paragraph (1))]◆ Transcribe the details of the concluded agreement under Article 36 in this form and submit it.

◆

You can conclude an agreement unde r Artic le 36 with thi s form. In that ca se, the signat ure with or wi thout the seal of a pers on repre sent ing the workers are r equi red.
Any form i s accepted i f onl y indi spe nsa ble matters are all entered.

◆Labor insurance
No.

Notification of Agreement on Overtime Work/Work on Days Off
Type of businessAn agreement should be concluded
for each workplace (plant, bra nch,office, etc.).

Metal product manufacturing

Overtime work

Concentration of orders(i) Workers not
falling under (ii)(ii) Workers working
under a one-year
variable working
hours system

Place of business (telephone number)

Name of business○○Metal Industries

Specific reasons forovertime work

Responses to defects in products
Extra orders, deadline change
Clerical work for account settlement
at the month end

Stocktaking

1-2-3, ○○ Town, ○○ City

TEL
Working hours that can be extended

Numberofworkers(aged 18
or older)Regularworking
hours (1day) (atwill)
7.5 hours

3 hours

3.5 hours

30 hours

40 hours

250 hours

Inspection
Assembly

101020

7.5 hours

2 hours

2.5 hours

15 hours

25 hours

150 hours

7.5 hours

2 hours

2.5 hours

15 hours

25 hours

150 hours 270 hours

Accounting
Purchasing

55

7.5 hours

3 hours

3.5 hours

20 hours

30 hours

200 hours 320 hours

7.5 hours

3 hours

3.5 hours

20 hours

30 hours

200 hours 320 hours

Type of work

Designing

Clearly deci de the scope ofeach work.

Decide specificreasons.

Effective term

One year from
April 1, ○○○○
1 year (up to 360 hours for (i)Hours e xceeding
the statut ory
working hours

Decide the numbe r of hours
exceeding the statut ory working
hours pe r day.
Number ofworkers(aged 18 orolder)

Hours e xceeding
Hours e xceeding
the regula r
the statut ory
working hours
working hours(at will)

Hours e xceeding Hours e xceeding
the regula r
the statut ory
working hours
working hours(at will)Enter the starting date
Hours e xceeding for the calc ulation of
the regula r
the uppe r limit forworking hours annual working hours.
(at will)
The starti ng date must
be the same da y for the
370 hours relevant one year
irrespective of thete rm of the
270 hours effective
agreement.

Decide the numbe r of hours excee ding thestatut ory worki ng hours per year. The upper
limit is 360 hours for (i) a nd 320 hours for (ii).

Decide the numbe r of hours e xceeding the statutory worki ng
hours per mont h. The upper limit is 45 hours for (i) and 42
hours for (ii ).
The number of statutory da ys off onwhich t he employe r can haveworkers work

Starti ng and fini shi ng time s on
statut ory da ys off on which t heemployer can have workers work

Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays

1 day per month

8:30 - 17:30

1 day per month
Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays
Extra orders, deadline change
Assembly
Irrespective of the numbers of hours agreed as above, monthly total hours of overtime work and work on days off must be less than
100 hours and monthly averages for the periods of 2 months to 6 months must not exceed 80 hours.

8:30 - 17:30

Specific reasons for work on days off
Concentration of orders

Type of work
Designing

1020

Effective date of the agreement: March 12, ○○○○Name of the labor union (labor union consisting of a majority of the workers of the workplace) or name and title ofa person representing a majority of the workers

Title: Inspection Division Chief
Name: Yamada Hanako
Method of selecting the party to the agreement (in the case of a person representing a majority of the workers) ( by vote)(Check the box.)

A supervisor cannot be a representative of theworkers.
Wh e n in te n d in g to h av e t h e w r i tt en n o t if ica t io n al so
fu n c t io n a s th e w ri t ten ag r eem en t, t h e s ig n a tu r e w i th o r
wi th o u t th e s ea l o f a p er so n r ep r ese n t in g th e wo r k er s i s
req u i red .

The labor union, which is the party to the agreement as stated above, is a labor union consisting of a majority of the worker s in the workplace, or the person representing a majority of the workers, who is theparty to the agreement as stated above, represents a majority of the workers .
(Check the box.)
The person representing a majority of the workers is not in a supervisory or management position prescribed in Article 41, item (ii) of the Labor Standards Act and has been chosen not based on the inten tion of the employer but inaccordance with the procedures, such as vote or a show of hands, after being clearly informed that a pe rson who concludes agreements as prescribed in the same Act is to be chosen.
(Check the box.)

March 15, ○○○○

When submitting a not ification usi ng the former Form, thestatement s in the dotted frame must be entere d in t he margin
or attach a paper on whic h the releva nt state ments areentered.

Employer
Title: Plant Manager
Name: Tanaka TaroTo the Director-General of the ○○ Labour Standards Inspection Office37

Decide the pe riod
during which theagreement i seffective. One yea r
should be prefe rable.

1 month (up to 45 hours
and 320 hours for (ii))
for (i) and 42 hours for
S ta rt in g d at e
April 1, ○○○○
( M M /D D/ Y Y)
(ii))

1 day

Regular days off (at will)

Work on days off

If there i s no la bor
union consi sting of amajorityoftheworkers, make it
clear that the party
to the agreement
under Article 36 is
to be selecte d. Then,
selectapersonrepre sentingamajorityoftheworkers by vote, ashow of ha nds or any
other method, andenter that method.
Appointment by theemployerandselection based ontheemploye r's
intention are notallowed.
Iftherelevant chec kboxes
are not checke d, thedocument fail s toconformtotherequireme nts
forformality
asanotificati on.

Enter labor
insurance number
and corporate
number.

Corporate No.

Top side

Regardi ng workers
working under a one year
varia bleworkinghours
system for a period
exceedingthreemonths,uset hecolumns for (ii).

A notification of an agreement under Article 36 may also be filed
online.
Columns with the indication "at will" may be left blank.

Wh e n i n t en d in g to h av e th e w ri t ten n o t i f ica t io n a l so
fu n c t io n as th e wr i t ten ag r eem en t, th e s ig n a tu re w it h o r
wi th o u t th e sea l o f th e emp lo y er is req u i red .

Mont hly total hours ofovertime work and workon days off must be le ss
than 100 hours andmonthly a verage s forthe periods of 2 mont hs
to 6 months must notexceed80
hours.
Confi rm this principle
betweenlaborandmanagement and be sure
to check the box. If thebox i s not chec ked, thewritten notificati on is
not effective.

8 Calculation of Working Hours
As the Labor Standards Act contains regulations on working hours, days off and night work,
employers are responsible for properly managing working hours, including accurately monitoringworking hours.
However, the Act has an exception to these regulations: a provision for work deemed to havebeen conducted outside workplaces.
This provision applies if employers find it difficult to calculate the working hours of workers,
such as field sales people. The Act also allows a discretionary work system even for work inworkplaces if the means of executing work and the allocation of time need to be left largely to thediscretion of workers due to the nature of the work. Under this system, employers can deem workers
to have worked for the hours as determined in a labor-management agreement without directly
managing their working hours.

■ Work deemed to have been conducted outside workplaces (Article 38-2 of the Labor
Standards Act)In cases where a worker engages in work outside of the workplace during all or part of his/herworking hours, and it is difficult to calculate actual working hours, the worker is deemed tohave worked for the regular working hours.
When a worker must work outside the workplace in excess of the regular working hours, theworker is deemed to have worked for hours considered normally necessary to perform the workor for hours as determined in a labor-management agreement.
However, the provision for work deemed to have been conducted outside workplaces is notapplicable when a group of workers work outside the workplace and a worker in charge ofmanaging their working hours is included in that group or when a worker works outside theworkplace in accordance with concrete work instructions and then returns to the workplace.

38

■ Discretionary work system for professional work (Article 38-3 of the Labor Standards Act)
Discretionary work system for management-related work (Article 38-4 of the Labor
Standards Act)
Under a discretionary work system, an employer does not give concrete instructions about
the means of executing work or the allocation of time due to the nature of the work and deems
workers to have worked for the working hours as agreed to between labor and management,
irrespective of actual working hours.
◊ Discretionary work system for professional work (Items with an asterisk (*) will take effect from April
1, 2024)
Specified by the Ministerial Regulations(1) Research and development of new products or
technologies or research in cultural or natural sciences(2) Analysis or design of information processing systems(3) News gathering or editing in the newspaper,
publication or broadcasting business(4) Development of new designs for apparel, interior
decoration, industrial products, advertisements, etc.
(5) Work of producers or directors in the business ofmaking broadcast programs, films, etc.

Specified by the Ministerial Notice(6) Work of copywriters(7) Work of system consultants(8) Work of interior coordinators(9) Creation of game software(10) Work of financial analysts(11) Development of financial products based on knowledgeof financial engineering(12) Teaching and research at universities(13) Work of M&A advisors*(14) Work of certified public accountants(15) Work of attorneys(16) Work of architects (first-class registered architects,
second-class registered architects and registered architects forwooden buildings)(17) Work of real estate appraisers(18) Work of patent attorneys(19) Work of tax accountants(20) Work of small and medium enterprise management
consultants

Contained in a labor-management agreement(1) Work covered by the discretionary work system(6) Obtain a worker’s consent to the application of thesystem(*)(2) Hours that workers are deemed to have been worked(7) Must not treat a worker who did not give his or her
consent disadvantageously*(3) Absence of the employer's concrete instructions about(8) Procedures for withdrawal of consent to the application of
the means of executing work and the allocation of time
the system*(4) Measures to secure the health and welfare of workers(9) The effective term of the agreement
engaged in the covered work(5) Measures to handle complaints from workers engaged(10) Retention of individual records for each worker engaged
in the covered workin the covered work regarding the working hours status, (4),(5), consent and withdrawal of consent*(during the effective term of the labor-management agreement
and for three years thereafter)◊ Discretionary work system for management-related work (Items with an asterisk (*) will take effectfrom April 1, 2024)• Under this system, workers are deemed to work for the predetermined working hours as long as they meet certain
requirements.
• Work covered by this system is planning, researching and a nalyzing matters regarding business operation.
• The introduction of this system requires the establishment of a labor -management committee.

39• A labor-management committee must be composed of equal numbers of members from labor and management and must
make a resolution on the following matters by a four-fifths majority vote of the members:(1) Work covered by the discretionary work system(2) The scope of workers engaged in the covered work(3) Hours that workers are deemed to have been worked(4) Measures to secure the health and welfare of workers engaged in the covered work(5) Measures to handle complaints from workers engaged in the covered worker(6) Must obtain a worker’s consent to the application of the system(7) Must not treat a worker who did not give his or her consent disadvantageously(8) Procedures for withdrawal of consent to the application of the system*(9) Explain to a labor-management committee changes of the wage and assessment systems applicable to workers
engaged in the covered work*(10) Effective term of the committee resolution(11) Retention of individual records for each worker engaged in the covered work regarding the working hours status,(4), (5), consent and withdrawal of consent*(during the effective period of the resolution and for three years thereafter)• This resolution must be submitted to the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office. The working hours status, themeasures stated in (4), and the status of consent and withdrawal of consent must be reported to the competent Labour
Standards Inspection Office initially every six months starting from the beginning of the effective period of the resolution,and subsequently once within one year.

40

9 Annual Paid Leave(Article 39 of the Labor Standards Act)
○ An employer is required to grant annual paid leave of 10 working days to workers who havebeen employed continuously for six months from the day of employment and who have reported
to work on at least 80 percent of the total working days. For each additional year of continuous
service after the aforementioned six months, an employer must grant workers annual paid leaveof the number of days corresponding to the years of continuous service given in the table below.
*

The same rule applies to part-time workers, including temporary workers, and managers and supervisors.

Annual paid leave to be granted(For workers who are required to work at least five days or at least 30 hours per week)
Years ofservice

0.5 years

1.5 years

2.5 years

3.5 years

4.5 years

5.5 years

6.5 years
or longerDays
granted10 days

11 days

12 days

14 days

16 days18 days

20 days(e.g.) A worker employed on April 5 is granted 10 days of annual paid leave on October 5 of thesame year. After that, the worker is granted the applicable number of days given in the table
above as annual paid leave on October 5 of each year. The length of service is calculated fromthe day of employment, irrespective of payroll cutoff dates and work shift periods.
Annual paid leave for part-time workers(For workers who are required to work not more than four days and less than 30 hours per week)
RegularYears of service
weeklyRegular yearly
0.5
1.5
2.5
3.5
4.5
5.5
6.5 years
workingworking days
years
years
years
years
years
years
or longer
days
7
8
9
10
12
13
4 days169-216 days
15 days
days
days
days
days
days
days
5
8
9
10
3 days
121-168 days
6 days11 days
days
days
days
days
3
5
2 days73-120 days
4 days6 days7 days
days
days
1 day
48-72 days
1 day
2 days3 days*The number of days of annual paid leave to be granted is determined on the basis of "regular weekly working
days" if regular working days are set on a weekly basis. In other cases, the number of days granted as annual
paid leave is determined on the basis of "regular yearly working days."
The number of days of annual paid leave is calculated on the basis of th e number of regular working days*

as of the day of granting annual paid leave even if there is a change in the contract concerning the numberof working days in the middle of the year.

○

For each day of annual paid leave, an employer is required to pay the worker:[i] the average wage,[ii] the wage normally paid for regular working hours, or[iii] a wage equal to the daily amount for standard remuneration under the Health Insurance
Act (if specified in a labor-management agreement).

41

■ Carryover
Annual paid leave expires in two years from the day upon which it is granted. Any days ofannual paid leave not used within one year from such day are carried over to the following year
and added to the number of days newly granted as annual paid leave fo r the following year.
However, if the unused days of annual paid leave are not used in the following year either, they
expire. Number of days granted as annual paid leave, number of days carried over, and their
expiration
Number of days granted as annual paid leave, number of days carried over, and their expiration○

An employer has no right to refuse a worker’s request for annual paid leave.
Paid leave is not characterized as something that a “worker can take with the approval of
the company (employer)” and is rather a right that naturally accrues to the worker bysatisfying legal requirements. Paid leave must be granted on such day as desired by a worker.
The employer, however, has the right to ask the worker to take paid leave on a different day
if the worker's leave on the desired day may obstruct normal business operation (right torequest change of the day of paid leave). However, employers can exercise this right only inlimited situations; they cannot exercise the right for insignificant reasons such as being busy
or unavailability of substitute workers.
► An employer cannot specify how workers should spend their annual paid leave.
► An employer can allow workers to carry over their annual paid leave beyond theexpiration date in their favor.

■ Other rules on annual paid leave○

An employer is not allowed to give workers who have taken annual paid leavedisadvantageous treatment such as wage reduction (or to give better treatment to workers
who do not take annual paid leave than those who have taken paid leave).
○ If a labor-management agreement contains a provision concerning annual paid leaveschedules, labor and management can make prior adjustments for dates upon which workers
can take annual paid leave while reserving five days of annual paid leave for theirdiscretionary use (in this case, if reserved annual paid leave for some workers are less than
five days, the employer must take actions, including granting them additional annual paid
leave to make up for the shortage).

42

○ A labor-management agreement may specify the provision to allow workers to take up to fivedays of annual paid leave on an hourly basis. If such agreement is reached at a workplace,the workers can decide whether to take their annual paid leave on a daily or h ourly basis attheir discretion.
○ An employer must have each worker take annual paid leave for five days within one year
from the day of granting him/her annual paid leave (the base date) by designating the timings
to take leave (the number of days of annual paid leave that each worker requests and takes
discretionally and the number of days of annual paid leave granted to him/her by designating
dates in a planned manner under a labor-management agreement can be deducted from these
five days per year which an employer is obliged to grant to each worker by designating thetimings).
○ An employer must prepare a book to manage annual paid leave for each worker and preserve
it for three years.

43

10 Wages
Under the Labor Standards Act, the expression "wages" refers to all payments made by an
employer to a worker as remuneration for his/her labor, regardless of the names of such payments.
Wages thus include monthly basic pay and allowances as well as bonuses and retirement allowances,whose payment conditions are clarified in advance.

■ Five principles of payment of wages (Article 24 of the Labor Standards Act)(1) in currency(2) in full(5) directly to workers

An employer must pay wages(3) at least once a month(4) on a definite date

Exceptions(1) Something other than currency
can be paid.
(2) Taxes and other expenses canbe deducted from wages.

==>

If a law or collective agreement * provides for inkind wages
If a law (on taxes and other public charges) or==>labor-management agreement provides for suchdeduction
If the wages are extraordinary wages, bonuses or(3) Wages can be paid at least oncea month at indefinite dates.

==>

allowances, or efficiency allowances or otherallowances whose assessment period exceeds
one month*

A collective agreement is a document related to working conditions and other matters to which a labor
union and an employer affix their signatures or their names and seals. Any part of a labor contractthat contravenes the standards for working conditions and other treatment of workers given in thecollective agreement becomes void. In this case, the invalidated part of the labor contract is governedby the standards of the collective agreement (Articles 14 and 16 of the Labor Union Act ).

■ Exceptions from Currency Payment
With the consent of a worker, an employer can pay the worker’s wages by money transfer toa deposit/savings account, money transfer to cash management account with securities company,or funds transfer to an account of a funds transfer service provider des ignated by the Ministerof Health, Labour and Welfare as satisfying the certain requirements.

44

■ Minimum wages (Minimum Wages Act)○ The minimum wage system is a system under which the government sets the least amountsof wage under the Minimum Wages Act, and employers (business operators) must pay theiremployees wages not less than those minimum wages. The minimum wages apply to all
workers, including part-time workers, the youth doing part-time jobs.
○ The regional minimum wage applies to all workers working at workplaces and theiremployers. Additionally, when a "special minimum wage" is specified, that wage is to be
applied. When both minimum wages are applicable, an employer must pay wages not lessthan the higher minimum wage.
○ Regarding a company having multiple workplaces in multiple prefectures, the applicable
prefectural minimum wage is the minimum wage of the prefecture whe re each workplace islocated, not of the prefecture where the company's head office is located.
○ See “Lists of Minimum Wages” (p.[75]) for ”regional minimum wage” and “special
minimum wage (by industry)”.
○ The minimum wages are fixed on an hourly basis. The wages on a monthly or daily basis
are converted into hourly wages for comparison.
－How to compare wages with the minimum wages－
1. Hourly wage: Hourly wage ≥ Minimum wage (hourly)
2. Daily wage: Daily wage / Average regular working hours per da y ≥ Minimum wage
(hourly)
3. Weekly or monthly wage: Weekly (monthly) wage / Average working hours per week
(month) ≥ Minimum wage
(hourly)
4. Commission-based salary: Commission-based salary (total amount calculated for theentirety of the calculation period) / Total working hours for commission-based salaryduring the calculation period ≥ Minimum wage (hourly)○ When converting the minimum wage into an hourly basis, the following allowances orbenefits are not included:
1. Diligent or perfect attendance allowances, commuting allowances and family
allowances
2. Occasional allowances (ex. bonus for a newly married employee)
3. Wages paid periodically with regular intervals of more than one month (such as
bonuses)45

4. Payments for overtime work, work on days off and late-night work

■ Allowance for absence from work (Article 26 of the Labor Standards Act)For a day upon which a worker is absent from work for the convenience of the company (forreasons attributable to the employer, such as store renovation and production adjustment at
plants), the company is required to pay the worker an allowance equal to at least 60 percent of
the worker's average wage (allowance for absence from work).

■ Average wages (Article 12 of the Labor Standards Act)○An average wage is used to calculate the following amounts:(1)

Allowance for dismissal without advance notice(2)

Allowance for absence from work

(3)

Wage for annual paid leave(4)

Industrial accident compensation, such as compensation for absence from work(5)

Maximum pay reduction○ An average wage is calculated on the basis of the total wages paid for a period of threemonths preceding the latest payroll cutoff date.
Principles
Average wage ＝Total wages for the latest three months (total payment)
Total number of days of the three months (calendar days)

Note: A different calculation formula applies in such cases as where a calculation period includes aperiod of absence from work before and after childbirth.

Minimum average wage (if the wage is determined on a daily, hourly or piecework basis)

Total amount of wages for the calculation period (total wages for the latest three months (total payment))

× 0.6
Number of days worked during the calculation period (total number of working days for the latest threemonths (calendar days)

Note: A different calculation formula applies in such cases as those where part of the wage is determinedon a monthly basis.

■ Guaranteed payment at piece rates (Article 27 of the Labor Standards Act)For workers employed on a piece-rate or subcontract basis, an employer is required toguarantee a fixed amount of wages proportionate to their working hours so that their earned
wages do not decrease unreasonably even in the event that the performed work volume is low.
The amount of guaranteed wages must be enough to guarantee the worker an income notsignificantly lower than his/her normal earned wages.

46

■ Roster of workers (Article 107 of the Labor Standards Act) and wage ledger (Article 108of the Labor Standards Act)
○ An employer is required to prepare a roster of workers and a wage ledger for each worker at
each workplace, such as the headquarters, the head office and business offices, and enter thefollowing information therein.
◇ Information to be entered in a wage ledger: The records for each worker must be kept forfive years (for three years for the time being) from the date of the last entry.
(1)

Name

(2)

Gender(3)

Wage calculation period(4)Working days

(5)

Working hours(6)

Hours of overtime work, work on days off and night work

(7)

Amounts of basic wages, allowances and other wages(8)

Amount of deduction, if any◇ Information to be entered in a roster of workers: The records for each worker must be kept
for five years (for three years for the time being) from the date of retirement.
(1)

Name

(2)

Date of birth(3)

Personal history(4)

Gender(5)

Present address(6)Type of work engaged in (not necessary for workplaces continuously employing fewer
than 30 workers)(7)

Date of hiring(8)

Date of and reason for separation from employment (in the case where the reason forseparation from employment is dismissal, the reason must be included)(9)

Date and cause of death○ As long as all necessary information is included, a ny format may be used. For example, it ispermissible to combine a wage ledger with a withholding ledger. An employer is allowed toprepare and keep both the roster of workers and the wage ledger in the form of electronic
data, but must be prepared to readily display the two on a computer screen and submit copies
thereof whenever requested by a labor standards inspector.

47

11 Premium Wages(Article 37 of the Labor Standards Act)
If an employer has a worker work overtime or at night (in principle, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.), theemployer is required to pay the worker a premium wage at a rate that is not less than 25 percent of
his/her hourly wage. If an employer has a worker work on a statutory holiday, the employer isrequired to pay the worker a premium wage at a rate that is not less than 35 percent of his/herhourly wage.
For more than 60 hours of overtime work per month, the rate of premium wages is not less than
50 percent.
(*) Applicable to smaller enterprises on and from April 1, 2023.

*

Wages used for calculating increased wages exclude family allowances, commuting allowances, separation
allowances, child education allowances, housing allowances, extraordinary wages and wages paid for eachperiod exceeding one month. Whether these excluded allowance s and wages are applicable to allowances andwages is determined on the basis of their nature, rather on the basis of their name.

48

*
*

If predetermined monthly working hours differ from month to month, the monthly average of predetermined
yearly working hours is used instead.
Increased wages for night work must also be paid to managers and supervisors.

■ Substitute leave (Article 37, paragraph (3) of the Labor Standards Act)○ If a labor-management agreement is concluded at a workplace, an employer is allowed
to grant paid leave to workers who have worked overtime for more than 60 hours permonth, instead of paying them premium wages at a statutory raised premium wage rate
(e.g. 25 percent, the difference between 25 percent and 50 percent).
○ Even if workers have taken this paid leave, the employer still must pay them premium
wages at a rate that is not less than 25 percent.

■ Obligation to endeavor to raise premium wage rates○ Overtime work beyond the extension limits requires the prior conclusion of a labormanagement overtime agreement with a special clause. Under this labor -managementagreement, the employer must be committed to[i]setting the premium wage rate for overtime work beyond the extension limits;[ii]

endeavoring to raise this rate above the statutory premium wage rate (25%);
and

[iii]

endeavoring to minimize overtime work in excess of 45 hours per month.

■ Annual wage system○ An employer who adopts an annual wage system must also pay premium wages toworkers who have worked overtime or on a statutory holiday.
○ Under an annual wage system, if annual wages include premium wages for overtime
work and work on days off, labor contracts must clarify that annual wages include suchpremium wages (e.g. for overtime work) so that wages for regu lar working hours can beclearly separated from such premium wages.

49

12 Protection of Women■ Limitation on belowground work (Article 64-2 of the Labor Standards Act)An employer is prohibited from assigning female workers to any belowground work if they
are pregnant or women within one year after childbirth who notify the employer of theirintention not to work belowground. An employer is also prohibited from assignin g other female
workers to belowground excavations or other belowground work specified by Order of the
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as work injurious to women (Article 1 of the Rules on
Labor Standards for Women).

■ Limitation on dangerous and injurious work (Article 64-3 of the Labor Standards Act)An employer is prohibited from assigning expectant or nursing mothers (referring topregnant women and women within one year after childbirth) to work involving the handling ofheavy materials, work in places in which harmful gas is generated and other work injurious topregnancy, childbirth, nursing and the like. Among these kinds of work, work involving thehandling of heavy materials and work in places in which harmful gas is generated is also
prohibited for female workers other than expectant or nursing mothers. The scope of injurious
work and the scope of female workers prohibited from being assigned to such work are specified
by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Articles 2 and 3 of the Rules on Labor
Standards for Women).

■ Maternity leave before and after childbirth, etc. (Article 65 of the Labor Standards Act)○ If a female worker who is expected to give birth within six weeks (or 14 weeks in case ofmultiple pregnancy) requests leave, an employer is not allowed to make her work (thedelivery day is included in maternity leave before childbirth).
○

In principle, an employer is not allowed to make a female worker work within eight weeks

after childbirth. However, if a female worker who gave birth not less than six weeks ago makesa request, an employer is allowed to assign her to work permitted by a doctor.
○ In the event that a pregnant woman has so requested, an employer must transfer her to otherlight activities.

"Delivery" and "giving birth" mean giving birth to a baby after the fourth month of pregnancy,
including cases of stillbirth.

■ Limitation on working hours and work on days off, etc. of expectant or nursing mothers50

(Article 66 of the Labor Standards Act)An employer is not allowed to assign expectant or nursing mothers to overtime work, workon days off or night work if they request not to be assigned. Even if an employer adopts avariable working hours system (excluding the flextime system), the employer is not allowed
to make expectant or nursing mothers work in excess of the statutory working hours.

■ Time for child care (Article 67 of the Labor Standards Act)
If a female worker raising an infant under the age of one year makes a request, an employer
is required to give the female worker at least 30 minutes as time for child care twice a day, in
addition to a rest period.

■ Menstrual leave (Article 68 of the Labor Standards Act)
If a female worker for whom work during her menstrual period would be especiallydifficult requests leave (she can take this leave on a half -day or hourly basis), an employer
shall not make the female worker work during her menstrual period.

51

13 Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between
Men and Women in Employment
The Act on Securing, Etc. of Equal Opportunity and Treatment between Men and Women in
Employment (hereinafter referred to as the "Equal Employment Opportunity Act") prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sex and disadvantageous treatment by reason of marriage,
pregnancy, childbirth, etc. Additionally, the Act requires employers to take countermeasuresagainst sexual harassment in the workplace and measures to prevent harassment in relation topregnancy and childbirth, etc. by superiors and coworkers.
－ Outline of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act －Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex (Articles 5 and 6 of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Act)
Discrimination on the basis of sex is prohibited in relation to the recruitment, employment,
assignment (including allocation of duties and grant of authority), promotion, demotion, andtraining of workers, as well as regarding fringe benefits within a certain scope, change in job
type and employment status, encouragement of retirement, mandatory retirement age, dismissal,
and renewal of the labor contract.

Prohibition of indirect discrimination (Article 7 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act)Out of criteria upon recruitment and employment by reasons other than gender, applying thosespecified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as being highly likely toconstitute substantial discrimination by reason of gender is prohibited if there are no reasonablegrounds to apply them.
[Acts prohibited as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]• Apply criteria concerning the worker's height, weight or physical st rength upon recruitment
and employment• Apply criteria concerning the worker's ability to receive reassignment that results in therelocation of the worker's residence upon recruitment, employment, promotion or change in
job type• Apply criteria concerning the worker's experience of having been reassigned to otherworkplaces upon promotion

Prohibition of disadvantageous treatment by reason of marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, etc.
(Article 9 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act)
• It is prohibited to establish a provision supposing marriage, pregnancy or childbirth as areason for separation from employment of female workers.
• It is prohibited to dismiss female workers for marriage.
52

• It is prohibited to dismiss or give disadvantageous treatment to female workers by reason ofpregnancy, childbirth, or for requesting maternity leave, or by other reasons specified by
Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
• Dismissals of female workers who are pregnant or in the first year after childbirth are to be
void unless the employers prove that dismissals are not by reason of pregnancy, etc.

Countermeasures against sexual harassment (Article 11 of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Act)
Employers are required to take management measures to prevent problems caused by sexual
harassment in the workplace. Dismissal and other discriminatory treatment on grounds such asthat a worker has consulted with the employer about sexual harassment ar e prohibited.

Countermeasures against harassment in relation to pregnancy and childbirth, etc. (Article 113 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act
Employers are required to take management measures to prevent harassment in relation topregnancy and childbirth, etc. in the workplace. Dismissal and other discriminatory treatment
on grounds such as that a worker has consulted with the employer about harassment in relation
to pregnancy and childbirth, etc. are prohibited.

Measures in connection with maternity health care (Articles 12 and 13 of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Act)
Employers are required to secure the necessary time off so that female workers who are
pregnant or in the first year after childbirth may receive the health guidance and medical
examinations and take the necessary measures to enable them to comply with the directions ofdoctors, etc. based on the results of these health guidance and medical examinations.

Dispute settlement assistance system (Articles 17 and 18 of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Act)
When any disputes arise between workers and employers, workers can seek assistance fromthe directors of Prefectural Labour Bureaus or conciliation by the competent Disputes
Adjustment Commission.

53

14 Child Care and Family Care Leave Act
To help workers balance work and family, employers are expected to improve their employment
environments to ensure employment management that co mplies with the Child Care and Family
Care Leave Act.
Employers are also required to take measures to prevent harassment in the workplace bysuperiors or coworkers in relation to requests for or acquisition of child care or family care leave.
－ Outline of the Child Care and Family Care Leave System －Child Care Leave (Articles 5 and 9-6 of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• A worker can take child care leave for his/her child until the child reaches one year of age on
two occasions by dividing the leave. (If his/her spouse also takes child care leave for thechild, the worker can take child care leave for the child for up to one year until the childreaches one year and two months of age. If the worker cannot find a place for the child at a
day care center, the worker can take child care leave for the child until the child reaches two
years of age.)
Fathers' child care leave (parental leave) (Articles 9-2 and 9-5 of the Child Care and Family
Care Leave Act)
• A male worker can request parental leave for his child for up to four weeks, separately fromchild care leave, within eight weeks after child birth on two occasions by dividing the leave.
• Limited to cases where a worker has concluded a labor-management agreement, the worker
may engage in work during the parental leave within the range agreed thereby (ther e is theupper limit for days available for work).
Family Care Leave (Article 2, item (iv) and Article 11 of the Child Care and Family Care
Leave)• For one subject family member, a worker can take family care leave three times up to 93
days in total.
• The subject family members of a worker include his/her spouse, parents and children, thespouse's parents, and his/her grandparents, brothers, sisters and grandchildren.
Sick/injured child care leave (Article 16-2 of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• A worker can take sick/injured child care leave for up to five days a year if he/she has one
pre-school child and for up to 10 days a year if he/she has two or more pre -school children.
• A worker can take sick/injured child care leave for the purpose of taking care of his/her sickor injured child, or having his/her child get a vaccination or a medical check -up.
• Sick/injured child care leave may be taken on a day or hourly basis.
Nursing leave (Article 16-5 of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• A worker can take up to five days off for nursing leave a year if he/she has one subject
family member and up to 10 days off for nursing leave a year if he/she has two or more
subject family members.

54• A worker can take days off for nursing leave for the purpose of looking after or taking careof a subject family member in a care-requiring condition.
• Nursing leave may be taken on a day or hourly basis.

Measures to shorten working hours for child care (Article 23, paragraph (1) of the Child Careand Family Care Leave Act)
• A worker who takes care of a child under three years of age can use a shortened working
hours system in which the regular daily working hours are shortened to six hours in principle.
Measures to shorten working hours for family care (Article 23, paragraph (3) of the Child
Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• Employers are required to take any of the following measures for workers who tak e care of
their family members at least twice for three or more consecutive years:
Shortened working hours system, flextime system, staggered working hours system, financial
assistance for nursing care service used by workers or other similar measures
Limitation on work in excess of regular working hours for child care (Article 16-8 of the Child
Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• A worker who takes care of a child under three years of age is exempt from work in excess
of his/her regular working hours per day if he/she makes a request.
Limitation on work in excess of regular working hours for family care (Article 16-9 of theChild Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• A worker who takes care of a subject family member in a care -requiring condition is exempt
from work in excess of his/her regular working hours per day if he/she makes a request.
Limitation on overtime work for child care and family care (Articles 17 and 18 of the Child
Care and Family Care Leave Act)• If a worker who takes care of a pre-school child or a family member makes a request, theworker can limit his/her overtime working hours to 24 hours per month and 150 hours per
year.
Limitation on night work for child care and family care (Articles 19 and 20 of the Child Careand Family Care Leave Act)• If a worker who takes care of a pre-school child or a family member makes a request, theworker is exempt from work at night (from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.).
Provision of information to and confirmation of intention with individual notifiers (Article 21of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)• When receiving a notification concerning the pregnancy, childbirth, etc. of a worker or aworker's spouse, an employer must provide the worker with sufficient information on mattersconcerning the child care leave system (including that for fathers), etc. and confirm whether
he/she intends to take leave or not, individually.
Development of the employment environment (Article 22 of the Child Care and Family Care
Leave Act)
• In order to ensure workers' smooth applications for child care leave and father's child careleave, employers should take any of the following measures.
55

Provision of training concerning child care leave and father’s child care leave; developmentof consultation systems concerning child care leave and parental leave; compilation andprovision of concrete examples of their workers' acquisition of child care leave and father’schild care leave; dissemination of information regarding their own systems and policies
concerning child care leave and father’s child care leave internally to workers

Consideration for reassignment (Article 26 of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)• If an employer reassigns a worker and thus changes his/her workplace, the employer isrequired to consider the worker's situation of caring for a child or family member.
Disclosure of the status of workers' acquisition of child care leave (Article 22-2 of the Child
Care and Family Care Leave Act)
(Enforced on April 1, 2023)• Employers who regularly employ over 1,000 workers must disclose the rate of their maleworkers' acquisition of child care leave, etc. once a year.
Prohibition of disadvantageous treatment (Articles 10, 16, 16-4, 16-7, 16-10, 18-2, 20-2,
Article 21, paragraph (2) and Article 23-2 of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• Employers are prohibited from dismissing or otherwise treating disadvantageously workers
who have applied for or used child care leave, family care leave, sick/injured child careleave, nursing leave, the limitation on work in excess of regular working hours, thelimitation on overtime work, the limitation on night work, measures to shorten regular
working hours or the like, or who have filed a notification concerning their own or theirspouses' pregnancy, childbirth, etc., or did not report the days they were available to work,
etc. during parental leave nor gave consent thereto.
Countermeasures against harassment in relation to child care and family care leave (Article
25 of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)
• Employers are required to take management measures to prevent harassment in relation tochild care and family care leave in the workplace. Dismissal and other discriminatory
treatment on grounds such as that a worker has consulted with the employer about
harassment in relation to child care and family care leave are prohibited.
Dispute settlement assistance system (Articles 52-4 and 52-5 of the Child Care and Family
Care Leave Act)• To settle labor-management disputes over child care or family care leave or the like, both
employers and workers can seek assistance from the directors of Prefectural Labour Bureaus
or conciliation by conciliation committee members.

56

15 Countermeasures against Power Harassment in the Workplace
Countermeasuresagainstpower

harassment(Article30-2

ofthe Labor

Policies

Comprehensive Promotion Act)
Employers are required to take management measures to prevent power harassment in theworkplace. Dismissal and other discriminatory treatment on grounds such as that a worker has
consulted with the employer about power harassment in the workplace are prohibited.

Dispute settlement assistance system (Articles 30-5 and 30-6 of the Labor Policies
Comprehensive Promotion Act)
When any disputes arise between workers and employers, workers can seek assistance fromthe directors of Prefectural Labour Bureaus or conciliation by the competent Disputes
Adjustment Commission.

57

16 Protection of Minors (Persons Under 18 Years of Age)■ Minimum age (Article 56 of the Labor Standards Act)In principle, an employer is not allowed to employ a child until the first 31st of March thatcomes on after his/her 15th birthday (the end of the fiscal year in which he/she graduate s fromjunior high school).
With permission from the Director-General of the competent Labour Standards Inspection
Office, however, an employer is allowed to engage children aged 13 or older only in light workthat is not injurious to their health or welfare in non-industrial business, such as newspaperdelivery, outside their school hours. The same rule applies to child actors under 13 years of age
in films and theatrical performances.
■ Age certificate (Article 57 of the Labor Standards Act)An employer of a minor is required to keep a certificate showing the age of the minor at theworkplace. A certificate of matters stated on the residence certificate can serve as a substitutefor this age certificate. For a child who an employer employs with permissio n, the employer isrequired to keep at the workplace a certificate from the head of such child's school stating thatthe employment does not hinder his/her school attendance and written consent from the person
who has parental authority for such child or other person.
■ Working hours and days off of minors (Article 60 of the Labor Standards Act)As the statutory working hours apply strictly to minors, in principle, an employer is notallowed to have minors engage in overtime work or work on days off. In principle, an employer
is also not allowed to have minors work under various variable working hours systems.
■ Night work of minors (Article 61 of the Labor Standards Act)In principle, an employer is not allowed to have minors engage in work during late night
hours (from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.).
■ Restrictions on dangerous and harmful jobs (Article 62 of the Labor Standards Act)
(Articles 7 and 8 of the Rules on Labor Standards for Minors)
An employer is prohibited from having minors engage in dangerous or harmful jobs because
minors are still physically and mentally immature.
(e.g.)• Handling of heavy materials (weighing 30kg or more)• Work in places in which harmful gas is generated• Work in places at least five meters above the ground (places from which minors
could fall)■ Labor contracts with minors (Article 58 of the Labor Standards Act)A labor contract with a minor must be concluded with the minor himself/herself. Neither aperson who has parental authority for the minor nor the guardian of the minor is allowed toconclude the labor contract on his/her behalf.
■ Wage claim (Article 59 of the Labor Standards Act)
A minor can claim his/her wages independently. Neither a person who has parental authority
for the minor nor a legal guardian of the minor is allowed to receive his/her wages on his/ herbehalf.

58

17 Termination of Labor Relationship, etc.
[1] Termination of Labor Relationship
Termination of a labor relationship means that a worker leaves the company in any form andhis/her employment relationship with the company ends. Regarding termination of a labor
relationship, employers must pay attention to the following:

Resignation
Resignation is a worker's voluntary termination of his/her labor contract. Resignation isgoverned by the Civil Code because the Labor Standards Act has no provision for resignation.
Under the Civil Code, resignation becomes effective in two weeks from t he date upon which
the worker expresses his/her intention to resign (Article 627 of the Civil Code). However, aworker whose wages are fixed for a certain period, such as workers receiving monthly wages,
may not resign until the end of the current period a nd must express his/her intention to resignin the first half of the current period (Article 627, paragraph (2) of the Civil Code).
(e.g.)
If a worker who works for monthly wages during a period from the first day tothe last day of the month wants to resign on September 30, the worker must express
his/her intention to resign no later than September 15.

Mandatory retirement
A mandatory retirement system is a system in which a labor contract is automaticallyterminated when the worker reaches a certain age.
In cases where employers set the retirement age of their workers, such retirement age
shall not be lower than 60 (Article 8 of the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly
Persons). Additionally, an employer who sets the retirement age below 65 years of age musttake measures for securing stable employment for elderly workers until 65 years of age, suchas(i) raising that retirement age to 65 years of age,(ii) introducing a continuous employment system until 65 years of age (a system to continue
employment of all of workers who wish to continue to be employed until 65 years ofage), or(iii) abolishing the mandatory retirement age(Article 9 of the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons).
Furthermore, an employer who sets the retirement age below 70 years of age or who has
introduced a continuous employment system up to the age below 70 must make efforts to takeany of the following measures for securing stable employment for elderly workers until 70
years of age:(i) raising the mandatory retirement age to 70 years of age,(ii) introducing a continuous employment system until 70 years of age (including systemsof other employers),(iii) abolishing the mandatory retirement age,(iv) introducing a system to conclude a continuous business consignment contract withworkers until 70 years of age, or(v) introducing a system that will enable workers to continuously engage in social
contribution businesses until 70 years of age(Article 10-2 of the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons).
Dismissal
Dismissal is an employer's one-sided termination of a labor contract.
* Grounds for dismissal must be specified in the rules of employment.

59

< Effect of dismissal >○Open-ended labor contract
Article 16 of the Labor Contracts Act provides that a dismissal be treated as an abuseof right and be void if it lacks objectively reasonable grounds and is not considered tobe appropriate in general social terms.
○
Fixed-term labor contract with a fixed term
Article 17, paragraph (1) of the Labor Contracts Act provides that an employer may
not dismiss a worker working under a fixed-term labor contract until the expiration of
the term unless there are unavoidable circumstances.
< Dismissal due to reorganization >Dismissal due to reorganization is dismissal intended for staff cutbacks by reason ofdeteriorating business conditions. As court precedents suggest, an employer who
dismisses workers due to reorganization should negotiate with labor unions, give
explanations to workers and carefully consider the following:•
Whether staff cutbacks are needed•
Whether the employer has made all possible efforts to avoid dismissal•
Whether the employer has selected workers to be dismissed according to
objective and reasonable standards•
Whether the process of dismissal is appropriate*
To avoid staff cutbacks, employers can shorten working hours (work sharing is oneof the options).
*
To avoid dismissal, employers can reassign or temporarily transfer workers or off er
early retirement to workers.
*
To make the process of dismissal appropriate, employers are required to consult withlabor unions or to explain to workers about the dismissal.
< Disciplinary dismissal >Disciplinary dismissal is dismissal of a worker as disciplinary action against theworker for his/her malicious violation of rules. Employers must specify the kinds, degrees
and requirements of disciplinary dismissal in the rules of employment.
< Ordinary dismissal >Ordinary dismissal is dismissal of a worker who cannot perform his/her duties. Court
precedents suggest that ordinary dismissal can apply to the following workers:•
Workers who show significantly poor work performance and are unlikely to
improve despite guidance•Workers who are unlikely to return to work for a long time for health reasons•
Workers who cause work-related difficulties due to a significant lack ofcooperative spirit and are unlikely to improve< Statutory restrictions on dismissal >Laws prohibit dismissal in the following cases:[i]
Dismissal during a period of absence from work for injuries or diseases in the courseof business or within 30 days thereafter (Article 19 of the Labor Standards Act)
[ii]
Dismissal during a period of absence from work before and after childbirth or within
30 days thereafter (Article 19 of the Labor Standards Act)[iii] Dismissal by reason of the nationality, creed or social status of a worker (Article 3of the Labor Standards Act)
[iv]
Dismissal by reason of a worker's refusal of the discretionary work system (Article38-4 of the Labor Standards Act)[v]
Dismissal by reason of giving a report to a Labour Standards Inspection Office(Article 104, paragraph (2) of the Labor Standards Act)
[vi]
Dismissal by reason of being a member of a labor union or performing a justifiable
act of a labor union or for other similar reasons (Article 7 of the Labor Union Act)[vii] Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for dispute settlement assistance orconciliation under the Act on Employment Promotion etc. of Persons with
Disabilities (Articles 74-6 and 74-7 of the Act on Employment Promotion etc. of
Persons with Disabilities)[viii] Dismissal on the basis of sex (Article 6 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act)
[ix]
Dismissal by reason of a female worker's marriage, pregnancy, childbirth or absencefrom work before and after childbirth or for other similar reasons (Article 9 of theEqual Employment Opportunity Act)
60

[x]

Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for dispute settleme nt assistance orconciliation under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Articles 17 and 18 of theEqual Employment Opportunity Act)
[xi]
Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for dispute settlement assistance orconciliation under the Labor Policies Comprehensive Promotion Act (Articles 30-5
and 30-6 of the Labor Policies Comprehensive Promotion Act)[xii] Dismissal by reason of a worker's consultation regarding harassment in theworkplace (Articles 11 and 11-3 of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, Article30-2 of the Labor Policies Comprehensive Promotion Act, and Article 25 of the Child
Care and Family Care Leave Act)[xiii] Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for confirmation or application of special
provisions concerning the insured elderly under the Employment Insurance Act(Article 73 of the Employment Insurance Act)[xiv] Dismissal by reason of a worker's report of a violation to the Act for Securing theProper Operation of Worker Dispatching Undertakings and Improved Working
Conditions for Dispatched Workers (hereinafter referred to as the "Worker
Dispatching Act") (Article 49-3 of the Worker Dispatching Act)[xv] Dismissal by reason of a worker's report of a violation to the Port Labor Act (Articles
49-3 of the Worker Dispatching Act as applied by replacing the terms pursuant to
Article 23 of the Port Labor Act)[xvi] Dismissal by reason of a worker's report of a violation to the provision concerningbusinesses for securing employment opportunities for construction workers under the
Act on the Improvement of Employment of Construction Workers (Article 49 -3 ofthe Worker Dispatching Act as applied by replacing the terms pursuant to Article 44of the Act on the Improvement of Employment of Construction Workers)[xvii] Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for or acquisition of child care leave or
family care leave, etc., a worker’s notification of her own or his spouse’s pregnancy,
childbirth or other event, or a worker’s notification of, failure to give consent to,workable days during a father’s child care leave, or the like (Articles 10, 16, 16-4,
16-7, 16-10, 18-2, 20-2, Article 21, paragraph (2), and Article 23-2 of the Child Careand Family Care Leave Act)[xviii] Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for dispute settlement assistance orconciliation for a dispute under the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act (Articles
52-4 and 52-5 of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)[xix] Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for explanations concerning the details of
the difference in treatment from ordinary workers and the grounds thereof, etc.
(Article 14, paragraph (3) of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Workers Act)[xx] Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for dispute settlement assistance orconciliation for a dispute under the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Workers Act (Article
24, paragraph (2) and Article 25, paragraph (2) of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term
Workers Act)[xxi] Dismissal by reason of a worker's request for assistance and application formediation to the director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau in resolving an individuallabor-related dispute (Article 4, paragraph (3) and Article 5, paragraph (2) of the Act
on Promoting the Resolution of Individual Labor-Related Disputes)[xxii] Dismissal by reason of whistleblowing (Article 3 of the Whistleblower Protection
Act)[xxiii] Dismissal by reason of a worker's acquisition of leave to execute the duties of asaiban-in (lay judge) or for other similar reasons (Article 100 of the Act on Criminal
Trials with Participation of Saiban-in)[2] Advance Notice of Dismissal(Article 20 of the Labor Standards Act)
○ In order to dismiss a worker:

61

○ An employer who cannot give a worker to be dismissed at least 30 days' advance notice must
give such worker the average wages for at least the number of days short of 30 days
(allowance for dismissal without advance notice).
○ If an employer gives advance notice of dismissal and pays an allowance for dismissal
without advance notice to a worker, the employer must pay the allowance to the worker nolater than the day of dismissal. If an employer dismisses a worker immediately without
giving advance notice, the employer must pay the worker an allowance for dismissal without
advance notice upon dismissal.

[3] Exceptions to Advance Notice of Dismissal○

Advance notice of dismissal is not required in the following cases:
I. Dismissal of workers not requiring advance notice of dismissal (Article 21 of the Labor
Standards Act)[i]

Workers employed on a daily basis…………………………………………..

[ii]
[iii]

Workers employed for a fixed period not longer than twomonths……………………………………………………
Workers employed in seasonal work for a fixed period notlonger than fourmonths………………………………………………

[iv]

Workers in a probationary period………………………………………

62

II. Cases approved by the Director-General of the competent Labor Standards Inspection
Office (Article 20 of the Labor Standards Act)[i] If it becomes impossible to continue business due to a natural disaster or otherunavoidable circumstances and the Director-General of the competent Labour
Standards Inspection Office approves[ii] If the worker is dismissed for causes attributable to the worker and the Director General of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office approves63◇ Application for approval for not giving advance notice of dismissal
If an employer applies for approval for not giving advance notice of dismissal to aworker in the case of dismissal for causes attributable to the worker, a Labour Standa rds
Inspection Office determines whether to give approval according to the criteria below,
while taking into consideration the years of service, job performance, status andresponsibilities of the worker and questioning both the employer and the worker abo ut
the circumstances.
[i] A case where a worker committed any criminal offense, such as theft,embezzlement or injurious assault, within the company[ii] A case where a worker negatively influences other workers by gambling or
disturbing the morality or discipline of the workplace[iii] A case where a worker misrepresented his/her background information, which
consists of conditions for his/her hiring[iv] A case where a worker changed job to other workplace[v] A case where a worker was absent from work without permission and just cause
for a period of two weeks or longer and failed to comply with a demand for work[vi] A case where a worker failed to improve despite repeated warnings about his/herfrequent late arrivals at work and/or absences from work

○ Labor contracts of part-time workers and other fixed-term workers may be consideredvirtually as open-ended labor contracts even if they have been repeatedly renewed. If an
employer is not going to renew the employment of these workers, the employer must givethem advance notice of dismissal (see 2.[3] Term of Labor Contracts (fixed -term labor
contracts)).

64[4] Certificate upon Separation from Employment, etc.
If a worker requests a certificate stating employment-related information as shown below
upon separation from employment, an employer is required to deliver such a certificate to theworker without delay (Article 22 of the Labor Standards Act)[i] the period of employment, [ii] the kind of occupation, [iii] the position in the business,[iv] wages, and[v] the reason for separation from employment (in case of dismissal, including the reason
for dismissal)[5] Return of Money and Goods
In the event of a worker's death or separation from employment, if a right holder requests,
an employer is required to, within seven days, pay the wages and return the reserve funds,
security deposits, savings, and any other money and goods to which the w orker is rightfully
entitled, regardless of the name by which such money and goods may be called (Article 23 of
the Labor Standards Act)65

18 Rules of Employment(Articles 89 and 90 of the Labor Standards Act)
○ An employer who continuously employs 10 or more workers is required to draw up rules of
employment. The employer must ask the opinions of a representative of the workers whendrawing up the rules of employment and submit the completed rules of employment with astatement of such opinions to the Director-General of the competent Labour Standards
Inspection Office. This also applies when the rules of employment are changed. The
aforementioned "10 or more workers" include part-time workers.
* Rules of employment help maintain workplace order, stabilize working conditions and business operations,and prevent unnecessary employment-related difficulties. Employers should draw up rules of employment
even if they employ fewer than 10 workers.

－ Matters Required in Rules of Employment －Information required (Absolutely required information)[i]

Matters pertaining to starting and finishing times, rest periods, days off, leave, and shifts
in cases in which workers work in two or more shifts (in cluding child care leave andfamily care leave under the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act)

[ii]

Matters pertaining to methods of determining, calculating and paying wages (excluding
special wages), dates for closing accounts for wages and increases in wages[iii] Matters pertaining to retirement (including grounds for dismissal)

Matters required if certain provisions are made[i]
If provisions for retirement allowances are made, matters pertaining to
the scope of workers covered, methods of determining, calculating andpaying retirement allowances and the dates for payment of retirement
allowances[ii] If provisions for special wages (excluding retirement allowances) andminimum wages are made, matters pertaining thereto[iii] If provisions for meal expenses, work supply expenses and otherexpenses to be borne by workers are made, matters pertaining thereto[iv] If provisions for safety and health are made, matters pertaining thereto[v] If provisions for vocational training are made, matters pertaining thereto[vi] If provisions for accident compensation and support for off -the-job
injuries and diseases are made, matters pertaining thereto[vii] If provisions for commendation and sanctions are made, matterspertaining to their kind and degree[viii] If other provisions that apply to all the workers of the workplace are
made, information concerning the provisions

66

○

Rules of employment must not violate applicable laws and regulations, such as the Labor
Standards Act, or collective agreements. Portions of a labor contract that do not satisfy thestandards of rules of employment are invalid. If separate rules of employment are formulated
for some workers to provide them with working conditions different fr om those for otherworkers, the original rules of employment should include a provision that delegates theauthority to establish such different working conditions for the separate rules of employment.
■ Hearing of opinions from a representative of workers
The representative of the workers from whom opinions must be heard is a labor union
organized by a majority of all the workers of the workplace or, if such a labor union is notorganized, a person who represents a majority of all the workers of the workpl ace, including
part-time workers. This person who represents a majority of all the workers must be elected inaccordance with the figure below.
The employer is required to give due consideration so that a person representing a majorityof the workers can smoothly perform duties concerning an agreement, etc. under law.

Grounds

The person must meet thefollowing requirements(1) The person is not a manager orsupervisor as defined in item 2 ofArticle 41 of the Labor Standards Act.

(1) The person is a
representative of a majorityof all the workers.

(2) The person was elected by such method
as vote or a show of hands after making
it clear that a person representing amajority of the workers who is
responsible for concluding a labormanagement agreement or the like is tobe elected, and was not elected based on
the intention of the employer.

(2) The person attempted to
become a representative of amajority of all the workers.
(3) The person acted justifiable
as a representative of amajority of all the workers.

Notification of (Changes to) Rules of Employment

Statement of Opinions

Date
Date
Director-General _____ Labour Standards Inspection Office
Mr./Ms.
As we have established/changed our rules of employment as described in theattachment, we hereby submit the rules of employment to you with a statement of
opinions.

This statement sets out our opinions about the proposed rules of employment,such opinions having been requested on

Major Changes
ArticleLabor Insurance
Number

Before Revision

Prefecture

Competen t
bodyJurisdiction

After Revision

Base No.

Branch No. Collective business No.

Name of
Workplace
Address
Name of Employer
Type ofBusiness/Number ofWorkers

Company as a whole
WorkplacepeoplepeopleName of the labor union or the representative ofa majority of all the workers
Procedures to elect the representative of amajority of all the workers

If you have changed the company name, also
enter the former name. If you have changed
the address, also enter the former address.

67

Title
Name

■ Restrictions on sanction provisions (Article 91 of the Labor Standards Act)
If an employer imposes sanctions, such as admonition, wage reduction, suspension from workor disciplinary dismissal, on workers for their violation of service discipline, the employer must
include specific grounds and the types and degrees of sanctions therefor in the rules of
employment.
The amount of a wage reduction for a single sanction case must not exceed 50 percent of thedaily average wage of such worker. If a worker is subject to sanctions for multiple cases for asingle wage payment period, the total amount of wage reduction must not exceed 10 percent of
the total wages for the wage payment period.

■ Dissemination of rules of employment and agreement under Article 36, etc. (Article 106of the Labor Standards Act)An employer is required to disseminate the rules of employment, an agreement under Article
36 and other labor-management agreements.
Means of dissemination of rules of employment and other labor-management agreements
An employer is required to disseminate the rules of employment and other labor management agreements by any of the following means:[i]

Posting or keeping copies of the rules of employment and other labor management agreements in an easily visible location at each workplace at all
times;[ii]

Delivering written copies of the rules of employment and other labor management agreements to the workers; and/or[iii]

Recording the rules of employment and other labor-management agreements onmagnetic tapes, magnetic disks, cloud service, or other equivalent forms of
media so that the workers have access to them at all times (e.g. in-house LAN).

For the avoidance of doubt, an employer is required to ensure that workers can easily
check the rules of employment, when necessary, by showing them the places where the rulesof employment are kept or otherwise.

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19 Medical Examination and Safety and Health Management System■ Medical examination at the time of employment
This medical examination is not intended to determine whether or not to hire workers. A
worker who is within three months after his or her medical examination covering all t he items
listed below may submit the relevant medical certificate instead of undergoing the medical
examination at the time of employment.
Medical Examination Items○ Questions on medical and work histories○ Examination of subjective and objective symptoms○ Measurement of height, weight, waist circumference, eyesight and hearing○ Chest X-ray examination○ Blood-pressure measurement○ Anemia test (hemoglobin content and erythrocyte count)○ Liver function test (GOT, GTP and γ-GTP)○ Blood lipid level test (LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levelin blood serum)○ Blood sugar test
○ Urine test (test of sugar and protein in urine)○ Electrocardiography

Omission Criteria

No examination items can beomitted for medical examination at
the time of employment.

■ Periodical medical examination
An employer is required to provide regularly employed workers with a periodical medical
examination by physicians for the items listed in the table below once during every one year
period, individually notify workers of the medical examination results, and keep them inindividual medical examination records for at least five years.
Medical Examination Items○ Questions on medical and work histories○ Examination of subjective and objective
symptoms

Omission Criteria (determined by physicians)－• Height: Workers aged 20 or older○ Measurement of height, weight, waist
circumference, eyesight and hearing (*1)

○ Chest X-ray examination and sputum examination○ Blood-pressure measurement○ Anemia test (hemoglobin content and erythrocyte
count)○ Liver function test (GOT, GTP and γ-GTP)○ Blood lipid level test (LDL cholesterol, HDL
cholesterol and triglyceride level in blood serum)○ Blood sugar test
○ Urine test (test of sugar and protein in urine)○ Electrocardiography• Waist circumference:[i] Workers under 40 years of age (excluding workers aged 35)[ii] Pregnant female workers[iii] Workers with a BMI of less than 20[iv] Workers who measure their waist circumference bythemselves and report the measurement (for workers witha BMI of less than 22)• Chest X-ray examination
Workers under 40 years of age who are not any of the persons
listed below(*2)• Sputum examination
Workers who are exempt from a chest X-ray examination
Workers with no lesions detected in a chest X-ray
examination or who are diagnosed by a chest X -rayexamination as being unlikely to develop tuberculosis－

Workers under 40 years of age (excluding workers aged 35)－
Workers under 40 years of age (excluding workers aged 35)(*1) A hearing test is a test of the hearing ability of workers with audiometers using sound levels of 1,000Hz and 4,000Hz.
Workers under 45 years of age (excluding workers aged 35 and 40) do not need to take this hearing test if they takeanother test of hearing ability considered appropriate by a physician (excluding hearing ability for a sound level of
1,000Hz or 4,000Hz).
(*2): [i]Workers aged 20, 25, 30 or 35[ii]
Workers at schools (including specialized training colleges and schools for specialized education andexcluding kindergartens), hospitals, clinics, midwifery homes, long -term care health facilities, integrated
facilities for medical and long-term care, or other specified social welfare facilities[iii] Workers who are required by the Pneumoconiosis Act to undergo a medical examination for pneumoconiosis
once every three years69

■ Stress check
From December 2015, employers who regularly employ 50 or more workers are required to
conduct a stress check for all workers (*) once every year.
(*) Excluding workers whose contract terms are shorter than one year and part -time workers
who work less than three-quarters of regular working hours of ordinary workers■ General safety and health manager
An employer is required to appoint a general safety and health manager for each workplace
if the workplace meets the criteria below:
Number ofworkers(1) Construction, transport,

100 or moreetc.
(2) Manufacturing,

300 or more

electricity, etc.
(3) Other types of business

1,000 or more

* For more details on business types, see the classification in the "Safety and HealthManagement Organization" below.

■ Safety officer
An employer is required to appoint a safety officer for each workplace of business type (1)or (2) above if 50 or more workers are continuously employed at such workplace.

■ Health officer
Irrespective of business type, an employer is required to appoint a health officer for each
workplace if 50 or more workers are continuously employed at such workplace.

■ Safety and health promoter and health promoter
For each workplace at which 10 to 49 workers are continuously employed, an employer isrequired to appoint a safety and health promoter if the business type requires the appointmentof a safety officer (business types (1) and (2) above), or a health promoter if the business typeis any other.

■ Industrial physician
Irrespective of the business type, an employer is required to appoint an industrial physician
for each workplace at which 50 or more workers are continuously employed and have theindustrial physician perform necessary duties such as making the rounds at such work place.

70

■ Safety and health management organization

71

20 Labor Insurance (Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and
Employment Insurance)■ Labor insurance
Industrial accident compensation insurance and employment insurance are collectively calledlabor insurance. As long as an employer employs at least one worker, the business falls under
the labor insurance requirement.
An employer who conducts a business covered by labor insurance must submit a notice of
establishment of an insurance relationship to the Director-General of the competent Labour
Standards Inspection Office or the director of the competent public employment security officewithin 10 days from the day following the day on which the insurance relationship is established.
If an insurance relationship is established in the middle of a fiscal year, an employer must
pay an estimated insurance premium to the competent Prefectural Labour Bureau, the competentLabour Standards Inspection Office or a financial institution (a bank or postal office) with adeclaration of the estimated insurance premium within 50 days from the day following the dayon which the insurance relationship is established.

■ Industrial accident compensation insurance○ Any worker, whether working full-time or part-time, is covered by industrial accident
compensation insurance. If a worker suffers an injury or a disease or dies due to any accid ent
while performing duties or during travel to or from work, insurance benefits under theindustrial accident compensation insurance scheme are provided to the worker or his/herbereaved family. In such a case, even if the employer fails to complete the p rocedure forestablishing an insurance relationship for industrial accident compensation insurance, theworker can still receive insurance benefits, but the employer may be required to bear partof the costs necessary for the insurance benefits.
○ When an industrial accident occurs, the employer should promptly assist the victims. If aworker dies or needs to be absent from work for four days or longer because of an industrial
accident, the employer must immediately submit a report of worker casualty to t he DirectorGeneral of the competent Labour Standards Inspection Office. (Accidents that cause
workers' absence from work for less than four days must be compiled into a report and besubmitted every quarter.) In the event of a fatal accident or other seri ous disaster wherein
three or more workers become victims, the employer must immediately notify the competentLabour Standards Inspection Office of such matter.

72

■ Employment insurance○ If a worker becomes unemployed or any circumstances arise to make i t difficult tocontinue his/her employment or when a worker voluntarily receives vocational education ortraining or takes leave for taking care of children, employment insurance provides theworker with necessary benefits to stabilize his/her livelihood a nd employment and also
make it easier for the worker to find a job. In addition, employment insurance aims toprevent

unemployment,

redresstheemployment

situation,

increase

employment

opportunities, and develop and improve the abilities of workers or oth erwise promotewelfare of workers in order to contribute to the employment security of workers.
○ The Employment Insurance Act requires an employer to report a public employment
security office (Hello Work) that a worker who meets the requirements has co me to becovered by employment insurance, irrespective of the intention of the business operator
and the worker. If an employer fails to properly report such fact, workers may suffer
disadvantages in benefits when they become unemployed. For the procedures for giving
workers employment insurance, an employer should contact the competent public
employment security office.
○ All general workers are covered by employment insurance. On the other hand, part -timeworkers are covered by employment insurance if they meet both of the following
requirements:[i]

They are expected to be continuously employed for at least 31 days; and[ii]

They work at least 20 hours a week.

－Health Insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance－◇ The health insurance scheme aims to provide workers and their dependents with insurance
benefits for childbirth as well as diseases, injuries and death that do not occur in the courseof business in order to help stabilize the lives of the people and improve their welfare.
◇ The employees' pension insurance scheme aims to provide insurance benefits for the aging,disability or death of workers in order to help stabilize the lives of workers and theirsurviving families and improve their welfare.
◇ The places of business listed below are obligated by law to join the health insurance schemeand the employees' pension insurance scheme.
・All places of business of corporations
・ Places of personal business covered by the scheme at which at least five workers arecontinuously employed, such as companies, plants, stores and offices◇ To join these insurance schemes, an employer needs to submit necessary documents, such as
an application for enrollment in the scheme, to the competent branch office of the Japan
Pension Service.

73

List of Consulting Organizations○ This is a list of major consulting organizations for labor-related issues.
○ The General Labor Consultation Corner, which is established in each Prefectural Labour Bureau
and Labour Standards Inspection Office, accepts consultations from workers and employers in
all fields of labor issues, such as dismissal, non-renewal of employment and personnel relocation.
The Corner also accepts applications for advice and guidance by the directo rs of Prefectural
Labour Bureaus or for conciliation by the competent Disputes Adjustment Commission.
Issue

Consulting Organization■ Working conditions, including dismissal
and non-payment of wages■ Working hours■ Wages and retirement allowances■ Management of workplace safety andhealth■Industrial
insurance

accident

compensation○ General Labor Consultation Cornerhttps://www.mhlw.go.jp/general/seido/chihou/kaiket
u/soudan.html○ Labour Standards Inspection Officehttps://www.mhlw.go.jp/kouseiroudoushou/shozaian
nai/roudoukyoku/index.html■ Job offering and job seeking■ Employment insurance■ Unemployment and other benefits for job
seekers■ Benefits for child care and family careleave
■ Subsidies for promotion of employment○ Public Employment Security Office (Hello Work)https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/ko
you_roudou/koyou/hellowork.html■ Benefits for continued employment ofsenior citizens■ Employment management for elderly,
disabled and foreign workers■ Equal treatment of men and women in theworkplace■ Sexual harassment in the workplace■ Disadvantageous treatment andharassment in relation to pregnancy,
childbirth, or acquisition of child care or
family care leave, etc. in the workplace■ Maternal health management○ Employment Environment and Equal Employment
Office, Prefectural Labour Bureau
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000177581.pdf○ General Labor Consultation Cornerhttps://www.mhlw.go.jp/general/seido/chihou/kaiket
u/soudan.html■ Child care and family care leave■ Part-Time Work Act■ Disputes between labor unions andemployers

Labor Relations Commission■ Health insurance and employee s’ pension
insurance

Japan Pension Service (branch office)■ Labor tribunal decision

District Court

74

(Reference) List of Minimum Wages by Prefecture
Regional minimum wages are as shown below. Additionally, special minimum wages are set forsome business types. See the dedicated website for detail.
FY2023 Revision of Minimum Wages by Prefecture
Prefectures

Revised minimum wages (yen)* Figures in the parentheses are those before revision

Amount ofincrease (yen)Effective date

Hokkaido
Aomori
Iwate
Miyagi
Akita
Yamagata
Fukushima
IbarakiTochigi
Gunma
Saitama
Chiba
Tokyo
Kanagawa
NiigataToyamaIshikawa
Fukui
Yamanashi
NaganoGifu
Shizuoka
Aichi
Mie
Shiga
Kyoto
Osaka
Hyogo
Nara
Wakayama
Tottori
Shimane

October 1, 2023
October 7, 2023
October 4, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 14, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 5, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 8, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 6, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 5, 2023
October 6, 2023

Okayama
Hiroshima
Yamaguchi
Tokushima
KagawaEhime
Kochi
Fukuoka
Saga
Nagasaki
Kumamoto
Oita
MiyazakiKagoshima

October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 1, 2023
October 6, 2023
October 8, 2023
October 6, 2023
October 14, 2023
October 13, 2023
October 8, 2023
October 6, 2023
October 6, 2023
October 6, 2023

Okinawa

October 8, 2023

< Access the dedicated website for minimum wages from here.>(October 2023)

75