When employees work in excess of statutory working hours (generally 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week), employers are required to conclude the Labor-Management Agreement on Overtime (commonly called “the 36 Agreement”) with a person representing a majority of workers and file the agreement with the Labor Standards Inspection Office. Naturally, companies need to ensure their labor management is in line with the 36 Agreement. Additionally, if companies expect that overtime work exceeding the limit of the 36 Agreement will be necessary, they also need to agree on the special clause. Following are important points in applying the special clause.
[1] Special clause of the 36 Agreement
Companies signing the special clause must be careful about the three points below;
1. To understand the procedure for applying the special clause correctly.
2. To ensure that the special clause will not be applied more than the maximum number stated in the 36 Agreement.
3. To keep the total amount of overtime and holiday work under 100 hours per month, and the average of 2 to 6 months, up to 80 hours.
[2] Common misunderstanding
Following are common misunderstanding about the special clause. In the case “the procedure for applying special clauses” described in Item 1 above is “prior proposal to a person representing a majority of the workers,” some companies erroneously assume that the special clause has been applied when the prior proposal was made. In fact, however, the special clause is considered to have been applied when an applicable employee worked in excess of the limit stated in the general clause. Even if a prior proposal has been made, the special clause is not considered to have been applied until workers actually work overtime in excess of the limit.
As for Item 2, since the special clause may be applied up to 6 times a year, many companies set the limit at 6. Please note that the limit is for each applicable employee, rather than for the entire workplace. Companies need to ensure the special clause will not be applied more than 6 times a year for each employee.
Regarding Item 3, some firms assume that overtime work must not exceed the limit during the period of the 36 Agreement. Please watch average overtime hours including the months of the preceding or following period. In the case the period of the 36 Agreement is from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, and the total hours of overtime and holiday work is set at 90 hours a month, if the total hours in March 2027 was 90 hours, the amount in April 2027 must be kept up to 70 hours. Companies must watch both the monthly overtime limit and averages of multiple months.
In some cases, companies sign the special clause without understanding the rules adequately. The 36 Agreement is crucial for companies where overtime work occur on a daily basis. Please understand the system well for appropriate labor management.
■Reference
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Easy explanation about the limit of overtime work”
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000463185.pdf
*This information is based on laws and regulations as of the date of the original article.
