Revised Labour Standards Law Took Effect on April 1

1. Fixed Term Contract
      Previously, the maximum contract period for employees was one year. This was to prevent unreasonable conditions being imposed on workers. However, under the revisions, when it is necessary to newly employ skilled or professional workers — for example when developing new products, technologies or new businesses, or when employing those at the age of 60 or older — the contract period may be extended to a maximum of three years.

2. Clarification of Working Conditions
      When concluding a labor contract, an employer has been obligated to state clearly the wages, working hours and other working conditions and to state in writing the wages to the worker. Under the new legislation, an employer must state in writing the period of the contract, place of employment, the job to be performed, the scheduled working time, rest periods, rest days and annual paid leaves in addition to the wages.

3. Work Hour Averaging Scheme
      Following the 1987 revisions to the Labour Standards Law, a variety of work hour averaging schemes were introduced in order to make it possible for employers and workers to allocate working time efficiently according to seasonal business fluctuation thereby reducing working time eventually. To make working hours even more flexible, the requirements for the work hour averaging scheme were altered with the 1998 revisions.

• Changed requirements for the work hour averaging scheme on a monthly basis
  Previously, an employer may average the working hours in one month if the employer stipulates certain matters under the rules of employment or the equivalent. The revisions now allow an employer to do so by concluding a worker-management agreement and by submitting it to the Director of the Labour Standards Inspection Office which has jurisdiction over the district where a workplace is located.
  
  
• Maximum number of hours and days changed for the work hour averaging scheme with a period not exceeding one year
  The revisions set a maximum of 280 working days a year, if the period for averaging is more than three months. Under the previous law, there are upper limits of working time on the utilization of this scheme: (1) 48 hours a week and nine hours a day if the period for averaging is more than three months or (2) 52 hours a week and 10 hours a day if this period is three months or shorter. The revisions relaxed such limitations, and the upper limit of working time is 10 hours a day and 52 hours a week regardless of the averaging period so long as each divided period is one month or longer. The previous law stipulated that an employer shall provide workers at least one rest day per week. But the revised law has set them at one rest day per six days.

4. Maximum Number of Overtime Hours
      Previously, the Ministry of Labour issued a guideline that provided “standard” upper limits of overtime and holiday work as stipulated by worker-management agreement. However, as it has no statutory basis, employers are expected to abide by this standard voluntarily. The revised law grants the Minister of Labour the right to set a standard with respect to the limit of overtime work in consideration of the well being of workers and overall trends in overtime.

5. Overtime, Holiday and Late Night Work Restrictions for Women Abolished
      Women workers continued to be prohibited from working overtime, on holidays and at night beyond certain limitations even after the introduction of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) in 1985. The recent revisions to the Labour Standards Law have abolished these restrictions in line with the 1998 revisions to the EEOL. The goal is to achieve equality in employment between the sexes and open up the number of jobs in which women can be employed. However, in order to avoid severe impacts of sudden changes on women with a family obligation of nursing a baby or taking care of the aged or the handicapped, the Ministry of Labour is entitled to set shorter standards of overtime and holiday work than that for workers in general described above.

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