Rules on explicit explanation of working conditions at the time of hiring and renewing contracts will be changed from April 2024. Similarly, rules on the explanation of working conditions when recruiting employees will also be changed. This articles covers details of the change.
[1] Changes scheduled for April
The items below will be added to working conditions that must be clearly explained when recruiting workers.
1. Scope of change in assigned duties
2. Scope of change in the place of work
3. Criteria for renewing fixed-term employment contracts (including the upper limits to the total employment period or renewals)
When recruiting workers, positions being sought and the place of work must be clarified. In the future, companies will also be required to indicate “the scope of change in job duties” and “the scope of change in the place of work.” The scope of change means possible changes after hiring, due to staff reshuffling, etc. in the future. If there is a possibility that a person hired as a member of corporate sales will assume tasks related to overall operations except for manufacturing, the “scope of change” column should have such a description, e.g., “overall operations except for manufacturing.”
As for the criteria for renewing fixed-term contract, companies need to indicate the criteria for renewing a contract, if applicable. Following is an example.
|
Contract renewal: possible (To be determined according to the volume of work at the time of contract expiration and performance) The total employment period will be up to four years. |
It is desirable to provide specific criteria, such as “to be determined according to the worker’s performance and work attitudes” or “to be determined based on the company’s business status,” rather than unclear description, such as “to be decided after considering various circumstances.”
[2] Key points in administrative procedure
Since companies need to provide more items with this change, the space in job opening advertisement may not always be enough. In such case, companies are allowed to state that “details will be explained at the interview” and explain necessary matters to applicants separately. As a basic rule, companies have to provide all labor conditions to job seekers before meeting them for the first time for an interview, etc.
Since first job interviews are often done by heads of individual departments, all labor conditions are not always conveyed to job applicants. To avoid such problems, companies should prepare a document including necessary matters in advance and provide it to applicants at job interviews.
Labor conditions that must be explained to job applicants and new employees are basically the same. Please check the internal flow of hiring and make sure all necessary information is disclosed when recruiting.
[Reference]
Labor Ministry, “Additional items to be clearly indicated when recruiting from April 2024”
The information is based on laws and regulations as of the date of this article.
