Employment Contract When Hiring Foreigners in Japan

April 10, 2020

Question:

I have hired foreigners at a Japanese corporation or branch office. Please tell me the points I need to take note of when entering into the employment contract and the matters to be stated in the contract.

Answer:

When entering into an employment contract with a foreigner, it is important to decide the contract details clearly and specifically. The following content should at least be stated in the employment contract.

① Employment Status
② Employment Period
③ Work Location
④ Contents of Work
⑤ Working Hours（Opening and closing times
⑥ Break Time
⑦ Specified Working Hours
⑧ Working Days and Hobrdays
⑨ Paid Leave
⑩ Wages and Benefits
⑪ Dismissal

Explanation:

Points to Note on Conclusion of Employment Contract with Foreign Employees

When entering into a contract of employment, it is important to carefully and clearly determine the contents of the contract. If the contents are vague, it will be disadvantageous when you get into trouble with foreigners.

For example, when you ask foreigners to do tasks, say cleaning, that are not written in the employment contract, they may not be able to do that because it was not written in the job details in the employment contract. However, it is also difficult to describe in the employment contract all the work that they will do after joining the company.

In this way, with regard to parts that can be understood by Japanese people to some extent, it may start with vague contract contents, but foreigners are not like that. It is especially important to be clear about working hours, vacations and overtime work.

Example of What Should Be Stated in the Employment Contract with Foreign Employees

The employment contract signed with foreign employees should at least include the following:

(1) Employment Status

It is necessary to describe the form of employment. Full-time employees, contract employees, part-time workers, etc. are generally described.

(2) Employment Period

In the case of part-time workers or contract workers, the contract period will be stated. In the case of full-time employees, it will be stated as “no period”. It may also be defined as to when the contract will be renewed.

(3) Work Location

There is also a need to specify where the work will take place. If there is a possibility of a job transfer, it may be written a little more extensively, such as “the work location designation by the head office and the company”.

(4) Contents of Work

In general, it can be described as “interpretation, translation work, etc.” but in employment contracts with foreign employees, it is necessary to define it in more detail. For example, it will be described as “interpretation, translation, English contract checking, assistance to the department, within a range that does not affect the support duties of other departments”.

(5) Working Hours (Start and end of business hours)

List it in a way such as “from 9:00 to 18:00 (with changes due to business circumstances)”

(6) Break Time

Write it as “60 minutes”, etc.

(7) Work Hours Beyond Specified Period

If there is overtime work, indicate it as “Available”.

(8)Working Days and Holidays

Describe it as “Working day: Basically Monday-Friday (with changes due to business circumstances), Holidays: Saturday-Sunday/ Holidays (with changes due to business circumstances), Summer Vacations, New Year holidays, Holidays defined by other companies (Keio vacation, etc.).

(9) Paid Leave

State those that should refer to the rules of employment as “Grant according to the rules of employment”.

(10) Wages and Benefits

List the “monthly pay”, “bonus”, “annual salary amount”, “payroll accounting period”, “payment method”, “salary revision”, “overtime allowance”, “settlement on retirement”, “transportation expenses”, “worker’s accident insurance / employment insurance / health insurance / welfare pension plan”, “severance pay”, etc.

(11) Dismissal

About the reason for dismissal such as by the negligence of the worker himself, it is to be described that he cannot work anymore due to the refusal of renewal of residence status. As a sponsoring company, it is impossible to continue hiring foreign workers who cannot renew their work visas. But there are cases when you may get in trouble if they do not meet dismissal reasons (such as wanting to work remotely even when he returns to his home country, etc.).

(12) Others

Write about “mandatory retirement”, “relocation”, “voluntary retirement”, “prohibition of a side business”, etc.