JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Junichi Ueda, Etsuko Hara, Nobuto Shirane, Takahiro Hayase, Yutaka Shimoo and Miki Goto, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
4. Employment Law 4.1 Nature of Applicable Regulations
• the grounds and procedures for termination of employment. In addition, if an employer usually employs ten or more employees, the employer must establish the rules of employment, which consist of a set of documents stipulating the specific details of the working condi - tions. A copy of the rules of employment must also be submitted to the Labour Standards Inspection Office together with a written opinion regarding the rules of employment from either: • a trade union to which a majority of the employees of the workplace concerned belong (majority trade union); or • if such a union does not exist, an employee repre - senting a majority of the employees at the work - place concerned (employee representative) (Arti - cles 89 and 90 of the LSA). The contents of the rules of employment must be made available to the employees at all times for inspection (Article 106 of the LSA). Duration of Employment Contract The two main types of employment contract that exist in Japan are: • those with a fixed term; and • those with an indefinite term. In practice, regular employees are usually hired for an indefinite term. Under the LSA, the maximum duration of each fixed- term employment contract is three years. However, the maximum duration of each fixed-term employ - ment contract is five years for: • certain specialists; and • employees who are 60 years of age or older (Article 14 of the LSA). Although the maximum duration of each fixed-term employment contract may not exceed three years (or five years in the case of employees who are 60 years of age or older and certain specialists), the employer
There are many labour-related and employment-relat - ed laws and regulations in Japan, all of which were enacted to embody the fundamental principles and rights contained in the Constitution. In particular, the Labour Standards Act (LSA) and the Labour Contracts Act (LCA) provide for the fundamental principles of individual employment relationships, whereas the Labour Union Act (LUA) provides for the fundamental principles of collective labour relationships. Japan is a country with a civil law system, in which judicial precedents do not have legally binding force. However, in the field of labour and employment law, judicial precedents are considered very important, as it is often difficult to make decisions based solely on the laws and regulations. This is because most of the provisions under those laws and regulations only provide for the basic rules and are therefore abstract in nature. 4.2 Characteristics of Employment Contracts Form of Employment Contract An employment contract may be executed verbally. However, to avoid any misunderstandings regarding major working conditions, the LSA and other appli - cable laws and regulations require an employer to prepare a document clearly describing those major working conditions and to deliver it to a new employee upon entering an employment contract (eg, Article 15 of the LSA). Examples of major working conditions include: • the term of employment; • the location of the workplace (including whether and to what extent the location of the workplace may be subsequently changed); • the job description (including whether and to what extent the job description may be subsequently changed); • the working hours; • whether overtime work or work on holidays will be necessary; • a description of holidays; • the leave policy; • the wages to be paid; and
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