JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Hiroaki Matsui, Mari Ueki, Yui Omoteyama and Rei Yamaguchi, AI-EI Law Firm
AI-EI Law Firm 9F, Uchisaiwaicho Tokyu Bldg 1-3-2, Uchisaiwaicho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0011 Japan Tel: +81 362 058 428 Fax: +81 335 195 595 Email: h.matsui@aieilaw.co.jp Web: www.aieilaw.co.jp/en/
Introduction This chapter of the guide aims to provide a com - prehensive overview of crucial updates to Japanese employment law by covering various topics including: overtime regulations; equal pay for equal work; trans - fer orders; worker classification and the New Free - lance Act (defined below); harassment regulations; doctrine of free will; and digital money payment of wages. New topics covered in this article include the “2024 Problem” facing the trucking industry, the High Court judgment on salary reductions around retire - ment, new topics related to employee status under the LSA, new topics related to the New Freelance Act, and digital money payment of wages. Overtime Regulations Employers are generally prohibited from ordering employees to work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours per week, and employers must provide at least one day off per week or at least four days off in a four-week period (Articles 32 and 35 of the Labour Standards Act (Act No 49 of 1947) (LSA)). An exception to the above rule allows for overtime and holiday work if a labour-management agreement is concluded with a labour union representing a major - ity of workers or a representative of the majority of workers and reported to the local labour standards inspection office (Article 36, paragraph 1 of the LSA). This is known as a “36 Agreement”, and many Japa - nese companies have concluded and submitted this agreement.
Until the recent amendment, the upper limit of over - time hours under the 36 Agreement was governed by the notice of the Minister of Health, Labour and Wel - fare (MHLW); however, there was no clear statutory upper limit as long as the 36 Agreement was properly concluded and submitted. However, with the recent amendments to the LSA in April 2019 (which is part of the Work Style Reform), statutory limits on overtime work were established, along with penalties for violations. Specifically, the limit on overtime under the 36 Agreement is 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year (Article 36, para - graph 4 of the LSA). In special circumstances, the limit is: • 720 hours per year; • an average of 80 hours per month over multiple months; • less than 100 hours per month; and • up to six months per year (Article 36, paragraph 5 of the LSA). Although the reform was implemented on 1 April 2019, certain occupations (construction workers, automo - bile drivers and physicians) were given a grace period until 31 March 2024. After this period, the regulations on the upper limit of overtime work apply to these occupations as well. In particular, the introduction of the regulations on the upper limit of overtime work for truck drivers in the automobile driving business, effective 1 April 2024, has had a significant impact on logistics, such as a reduction in the amount of cargo
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