What is Japanese labour law ?

Regular pay hikes, bonus payment and retirement allowances thus actually do not apply to them. However, a protection of part-time workers is intended by the PTWL.

The government has declared shorter working hours to be the most important element in realizing an improved quality of life for the Japanese people.

Part-time workers' abilities, for example, should be used effectively and working conditions should be balanced with those of regular employees.

Revisions to the Labor Standards Law, a trend toward adoption of a five'day work week, and such measures as allowing for substitute holidays when a national holiday falls on a Sunday have contributed to shorter working hours. Annual working hours, which were 2,110 in 1985, stood at 1,754 in 2010.

Revisions to the Labor Standards Law, a trend toward adoption of a five'day work week, and such measures as allowing for substitute holidays when a national holiday falls on a Sunday have contributed to shorter working hours. Annual working hours, which were 2,110 in 1985, stood at 1,754 in 2010.

This is after all no obligation to the employer who is asked only to endeavour.

The Japanese wage system has traditionally been closely linked to the seniority system. Wages are often still strongly influenced by an employee's length of service.

The only obligation laid down in the PTWL applies to the state, e.g. the promotion of the part-timers' welfare by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Salaried workers normally receive a monthly salary plus two seasonal bonuses. Particularly in large companies, the bonus system plays an important role.

Vocational training contracts concluded by employers and young employees do not exist in Japan. Instead, young employees are hired on the basis of a normal labour contract and then trained on the job.

In 2010, bonuses amounted to about one-third of annual base wages. Through the diversification of society, employment has been taking on new forms, including the popularization of freelance employment and the introduction of outsourcing

Many enterprise based collective agreements and work rules establish suspension periods.

A suspension period is a period, during which the labour contract continues to be in force, but the worker has no duty to work and the employer is partly or even completely released from paying wages.

Averages monthly wages were ¥268,010 in September 2010. In February 2010, wages declined for a record 21st straight months. In 2009, monthly wages fell a 3.3 percent to ¥315, 311

In 1993, the average Japanese worker got $11.50 in wages and $4.40 in benefits per hour compared to $14 in wages and $10.70 in benefits per hour in Sweden, $11.90 in wages and $9.60 in benefits per hour in the Netherlands, $9.30 in wages and $8.50 in benefits per hour in France, $14.60 in wages and $4.60 in benefits per hour in Germany, $14.40 in wages and $12.50 in benefits per hour in the U.S., $9.00 in wages and $5.70 in benefits per hour in Spain, and $10.20 in wages and $4.40 in benefits per hour in Britain.

A worker may be suspended firstly as a form of punishment and secondly while a punishment is decided upon, provided that the worker is prosecuted for a severe crime and the court has not yet decided.

In any case, each suspension with a possible wage decrease or even cut needs to be appropriate to the situation. Suspension also often occurs, if the employee is on sick leave, becomes a full-time union official or attends full-time training.

Many Japanese get a large chunk of their salary in the form of semi-annual bonuses at the end of year and in the summer. In 2008, the average summer and winter bonus were each around ¥900,000 (about $9,000) at big companies.

The average summer bonus in 2009 was ¥363,104, down 9.7 percent from the previous year. The average winter bonus was ¥747,282, 15.9 percent lower than the previous years, the sharpest decline since 1959.People in non-managerial administrative positions in the central government were given ¥692,900 while those the same position in local government received ¥655,000. The highest government bonuses of ¥5.1 million went to Supreme Court justices. The Prime Minister got ¥4.1 million

Bonuses in the summer of 2010: 1) ¥427,822 in industry and mining; 2) ¥ 616, 900 in finance and insurance; 3) ¥291,096 in the wholesale and retail industry; 4) ¥280,224 in health care and welfare industry. In 2011, summer bonuses at major Japanese company rose 4.17 percent to an average of ¥809,604.

The amount of wages to be paid in these cases is determined at the enterprise level with no minimum set by law. However, if the suspension is for reasons attributed to the employer (e.g. temporary lay off), the employer must pay an allowance equal to at least 60% of the worker's average wage

In 1996, the average bonus was $6,950 for government employees and $5,200 for private sector employees. A large share of the bonuses are often spent on gift boxes of sushi, sake, sweets or fruit given to family, good friends, doctors, teachers, employers, special customers and other people considered special.

Termination of a labour contract at the worker's and the employer's initiative is governed by Art. 627 of the Civil Code, under which they are free to terminate the contract. In order to meet the demand of Art. 27 of the Constitution to promote job security as a public matter, the employer's dismissal is limited predominantly by the LSL, court rulings and collective agreements.

A law was passed in November 2007 to raise the minimum wage a token amount, slightly above welfare payments.

This restriction applies to unlimited labour contracts as well as to those contracts of a definite period which have continued for longer than the period prescribed by law.