Working Conditions: Chapter Two
The increasing number of foreign workers in Japan has led to a growing concern about their working conditions. To help foreigners understand more the system they're in (or the system they are considering joining), we have decided to provide a translation of a booklet issued by the Ibaraki Prefecture's Labor Department (茨城労働局). In so doing, we do hope that we will be able to reduce the problems between foreign workers and Japanese employers in our prefecture.
Discrimination in wages, working hours, etc., due to one's nationality or religion, is strictly prohibited in Japan. A foreign worker employed by a company or factory is entitled to the same rights as a Japanese worker. It is important for one to know and understand the laws and systems related to employment. By consequence, the following translation applies to all workers in Japan, may they be Japanese nationals or foreigners.
Prologue
The Labor Standard Law (below mentioned as the "Labor Law") is a law constitutionally fixing the minimum wage a worker can be given. It is designed as the requirement for one worker to carry on a satisfactory life. The Labor Law is applicable to all enterprises hiring at least one worker, including part-time workers. This focus of this standard being primarily about wage minimum, both employers and employees are requested to strive for a better organization of the working conditions.
Chapter 1 RECRUITING
Chapter 2 WORKING HOURS, DAYS OFF, HOLIDAYS
Working hours, a definition
Working hours are defined in terms of "bound hours," the amount of time between the start and end of work excluding break time.
These are hours under the control and supervision of the employer and do not necessarily require being actively engaged in a task at all times. For this reason, the time during which a worker is waiting for directions from the employer ("available time") also counts as working hours.
Work preparation time as well as cleaning time are also included.
The graph below is an example of what working hours could be.
- Work start time (as agreed in the contract)
- Break time
- Work end time (as agreed in the contract)
- Overtime hours as permitted by law
- Overtime hours
- Effective work end time
- Normal working hours (break time not included)
- Legal working hours (break time not included)
- Actual hours on duty: "bound hours"
Mandatory measures to be taken by the employer for a decent understanding of the "working hours" concept
According to the Labor Standards Law, the employer has to properly manage working hours. In reality, however, do to improper practices such as self-certification methods, there are problems such as overtime wages not being paid or excessively long working hours.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to give guidance to employers so that they can properly manage working hours.
Scope of application
- Businesses concerned
- Provisions concerning working hours are applicable to all work places (Labor Law, Article 4)
- Workers concerned
- Provisions concerning working hours are applicable to all workers.
- Exceptions
-
- Administrators and supervisors that work as managers
- Workers with difficulties in calculating work time, unrelated to their workplace (Labor Lad, Article 38.2)
- Workers in a discretionary work system (Labor Law, Article 38.3–4)
Measures to be taken by employers
Employers must verify and save a record of start and finish times for all employees for all working days in order to properly manage working hours.
Verifying and recording start and finish times
The start and finish times for all working days must be verified and recorded. In principle, employers must choose one of the following methods:
- On-the-spot verification and recording
- Time cards, IC cards, or other 100% unbiased verificatin/recording systems
About self-reporting
When there is no choice but for workers to report their own working hours, the following measures must be taken:
- Before new employees start work, employers must give guidance on how actual hours worked must be reported; the appropriate reporting method; how to report the specific nature of work performed; and how to report hours so that no detrimental action can be taken against the employee
- When judged necessary, self-reported working hours and actual hours worked must be check to see if they match perfectly
- The employer should not fix an upper limit for overtime hours worked, or take other measures including internal communications, with the intent of interfering with proper reporting. If this should occur, remedial action must be taken.
Archiving reports of hours worked
- Hours worked must be recorded in accordance with Article 109 ("Other important records related to labor relations") of the Labor Law
- Hours can be recorded with, for example, timecards. Orders for overtime work have to be issued along with a report, and employees also have the duty to report their own worked hours.
- Records can be archived for up to 3 years. The first day of calculation has to be the last day covered by the last archived document.
Recording of hours worked in the payroll book
- According to Article 108 of the Labor Law, hours worked must also be recorded in the payroll book.
Items to be recorded are:
- Number of days worked
- Number of hours worked
- Number of holidays worked
- Number of hours worked overtime (before scheduled work hours)
- Number of hours worked overtime (after scheduled work hours)
Duty to control hours worked
The person in charge of labor management must make sure working hours are recorded adequately, and must seek to clea up problems in management of working hours.
Using an working hours configuration/improvement committee
If working hours are being handled unfairly (examples below), a labor management joint consultation organization, such as a configuration/improvement committee, must be set up to understand the current working hour conditions, and to examine potential problem-solving methods.
- Working hours are managed with self-reporting
- A variety of different systems/rules for working hours are used
Some useful vocabulary
| English | Japanese | English | Japanese | English | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working hours | 労働時間 (rōdō-jikan) | Applicable employees | 対象労働者 (taishō-rōdōsha) | Number of days worked | 労働日数 (rōdō-nissū) |
| Day off | 休日 (kyūjitsu) | Explanation | 説明 (setsumei) | Number of hours worked | 労働時間数 (rōdō-jikan-nissū) |
| Vacation | 休暇 (kyūka) | Prejudicial/detrimental/unprofitable | 不利益 (fu-rieki) | Number of days worked on a day off | 休日労働時間数 (kyūjitsu-rōdō-jikan-sū) |
| Bound hours | 拘束時間 (kōsoku-jikan) | Treatment | 取り扱い (toriatsukai) | Number of hours worked overtime (before work) | 早出残業時間数 (hayade-zangyō-jikan-nissū) |
| Control and supervision | 指揮監督 (shiki-kantoku) | To match/correspond to | 合致 (gacchi) | Number of hours worked overtime (after work) | 深夜労働時間数 (shinya-rōdō-jikan-sū) |
| Operation/duty/work | 作業 (sagyō) | Survey | 調査 (chōsa) | Management/control | 管理 (kanri) |
| Available time | 手待時間 (temachi-jikan) | To prevent/block | 阻害 (sogai) | Duty/work | 職務 (shokumu) |
| Self-reporting | 自己申告 (jiko-shinkoku) | Number of hours worked overtime | 時間外労働時間数 (jikan-gai-rōdō-jikan-sū) | Personnel management | 労務管理 (rōdō-kanri) |
| Extra pay/extra wages | 割増賃金 (warimashi-chingin) | Upper limit | 上限 (jōgen) | Department/division | 部署 (busho) |
| Not applicable/exemption | 適用除外 (tekiyō-jogai) | Intra-company communication | 社内通達 (shanai-tsūtatsu) | Person in charge/responsible | 責任者 (sekinin) |
| Calculation of hours worked | 労働時間算定 (rōdō-jikan-santei) | Overtime work benefits | 時間外労働手当て (jikan-gai-rōdō-teate) | Understanding/grasping | 把握 (haaku) |
| Discretionary work system | 裁量労働制 (sairyō-rōdō-sei) | Fixed/regular payment | 定額払い (teigaku-barai) | Problem(s) | 問題点 (mondai-ten) |
| Measure/provision | 措置 (sochi) | Obstructing factor | 阻害要因 (sogai-yōin) | Solving | 解消 (kaishō) |
| Employer | 使用者 (shiyōsha) | Remedial action | 改善措置 (kaizen-sochi) | Configuration/Improvement Committee | 設定改善委員会 (settei-kaizen-iinkai) |
| Start time | 始業時刻 (shigyō-jikoku) | Storing/archiving | 保存 (hozon) | Use/utilize | 活用 (katsuyō) |
| End time | 終業時刻 (shūgyō-jikoku) | Labor Law | 労働基準法 (rōdō-kijun-hō) | Adequate/inadequate | 適正 (tekisei) |
| Recording | 記録 (kiroku) | Overtime work order/request | 残業命令書 (zangyō-meirei-sho) | Inadequate/inappropriate | 不適正 (fu-tekisei) |
| Working days | 労働日 (rōdōnichi) | Report | 報告書 (hōkoku-sho) | Operating | 運用 (unyō) |
| In principle | 原則として (gensoku toshite) | Archival period | 保存期間 (hozon-kikan) | Labor/management council | 労使協議組織 (rōdō-kyōgi-soshiki) |
| Acknowledgement | 現認 (gennin) | First day of calculation | 起算日 (kisan-jitsu) | Examination | 検討 (kentō) |
| Time card | タイムカード (taimu-kādo) | Document | 書類 (shorui) | Working hours system | 労働時間制度 (rōdō-jikan-seido) |
| IC card | ICカード (aishī-kādo) | Recording | 記載 (kisai) | Adopt/make use | 採用 (saiyō) |
| Objectively/unbiased | 客観的 (kankyakuteki) | Payroll | 賃金台帳 (chingin-daichō) | Method of understanding | 把握方法 (haaku-hōhō) |
| Introduction | 導入 (dōnyū) | Items to be recorded | 記載事項 (kisai-jikō) |
