Recently, an increasing number of people are using short-term one-off staffing services, dubbed as “spot work” in Japan. With such job arrangements becoming popular to meet the need for flexible working styles, the Labor Ministry has released a leaflet including what companies or workers should keep in mind.
[1] What is spot work?
The leaflet defines “spot work” as below;
- Work that is done under a short-time, one-off employment contract.
- Arrangements that use staffing applications for job matching and wage payment.
[2] Important points in labor management
Some companies mistakenly assume that workers are dispatched from spot work service providers, but actually, spot work is different from temporary staffing. Spot workers are directly employed by the companies that use the service. While when an employment contract is concluded depends on each circumstances, the leaflet offers a guideline as below;
In the case hiring is determined on a first-come basis without conducting an interview, the employment contract is generally deemed to have concluded and the company and the worker have entered into an agreement when the worker applied for the job posting, unless otherwise agreed.
It is crucial for companies using spot work services to understand that labor contract is concluded when workers applied for the job. Among other points to remember is that when spot workers are asked to take a day off or leave early because of the company’s reasons, the company is required to pay leave allowance in accordance with the Article 26 of the Labor Standards Act.
With the Labor Ministry releasing the leaflet, the Japan Spot Work Association says it will also encourage spot work service providers to implement necessary measures. Meanwhile, companies using spot work services are expected to read information from the providers about appropriate use of the services and fully understand the rules.
[Reference]
The Labor Ministry, “Important points in using ‘spot work’”
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_59321.html
The Japan Spot Work Association, “Appropriate labor management in spot work services”
https://www.jaswa.or.jp/news/spotwork_250704/
*The information is valid as of the date of the original article.
