PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 20267 MIN READ労基法89・90条 · 労契法10条 · フジ興産事件
DRAFTED · FILED · MADE KNOWNONLY ONE OF THE THREE TURNS THE RULES ON
AN ADMINISTRATIVE ACT
届出 · Filing効力要件ではない
A workplace with 10 or more workers must draw up Rules of Employment and file them with the Labour Standards Inspection Office. Filing satisfies a duty — it does not give the rules binding force.
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THE EFFECTIVENESS REQUIREMENT
周知 · Made knownこれが拘束力の要件
The rules bind as a norm only once a procedure has been taken to make them known to the workers they govern. Effect runs from the later of that date and the stated 施行日.
FILED ≠ IN FORCEA filed-but-unpublicised rule set has no norm-force. This bites hardest on discipline: no 懲戒 without grounds set in the rules and those rules made known.
Japan has no common, legally binding “employee handbook” that applies across employers. The nearest legal concept is the 就業規則 (Rules of Employment) — but each employer writes its own for each workplace, so the contents differ from company to company. The Ministry publishes a model set of rules; it is a reference template, not a shared binding handbook.
And drawing one up is not the moment it takes effect. Rules of Employment bind as a norm only once they are made known to the workers they govern — filing them is an administrative step, not the switch that turns them on.
1
What must be written — in two tiers
記載事項は2層
絶対的必要記載事項 ALWAYS REQUIREDWorking hours: start and finish times, shift or alternating arrangements, breaks, days off, leave. Wages: how they are determined, calculated and paid; closing and payment dates; pay raises. Separation from employment: matters concerning 退職, including grounds for dismissal.
相対的必要記載事項 REQUIRED ONLY IF SUCH A RULE EXISTSRetirement allowance; special wages such as bonuses; minimum wage amount; worker-borne costs (meals, work supplies); safety and health; vocational training; compensation for injury or illness and support for non-work-related injury or illness; commendation and sanctions; and any other matters that apply to all workers at the workplace. If the employer sets any of these, it must appear in the rules.
2
The order that gives it force
施行の順番
1
Hear the opinion意見聴取
Hear the opinion of the majority union, or — if there is none — a majority representative. LSA Art. 90.
2
File届出
File with the Labour Standards Inspection Office where the workplace has 10 or more workers. Not the effectiveness requirement.
3
Make known周知
Make the rules known to the workers — the requirement for binding force.
4
In force施行日
Effect runs from the later of the date made known and the stated 施行日.
3
Hearing the opinion is not obtaining consent
意見聴取と過半数代表
THE DUTY · 意見を聴く義務
On making or changing the rules, the employer must hear the opinion of the majority union, or a majority representative where there is none (LSA Art. 90). Agreement is not required — a dissenting opinion still lets the filing be accepted.
WHO MAY REPRESENT · 代表者の要件
Not in a position of supervision or management under LSA Art. 41(ii), and chosen by a democratic procedure — a vote, a show of hands — open to all workers, including part-timers. An employer-named or auto-appointed representative does not qualify.
WHY IT BITES · 不利益変更で効く
Failing to hear the opinion carries a fine but does not by itself void the rules. Where the change is disadvantageous, however, an improperly selected representative may weigh against the reasonableness required under LCA Art. 10 — and the change can fail.
Consultation is not consent — but hold the representative to the selection rule. For an unfavourable change, a defective selection does not merely breach procedure; it erodes the reasonableness the change must clear.
4
Who must have them, and the model
作成義務とモデル就業規則
10 OR MORE WORKERS
A workplace that continuously employs 10 or more must draw up Rules of Employment and file them. LSA Art. 89.
UNDER 10
No duty to create or file. Rules adopted voluntarily can still become contract terms if reasonable and made known.
PER WORKPLACE
The statutory unit is the workplace, so two companies — or two sites of one company — can hold different rules.
THE MODEL RULES
The Ministry’s モデル就業規則 is a reference template only — not a common set that binds anyone by default.
The trap: “filed” does not mean “in force.” Filing with the Inspection Office is an administrative act; it is not what gives the rules binding force. Rules that were never made known to the workforce do not bind it — the Supreme Court held that Rules of Employment take effect as a norm only where a procedure to make them known has been taken (フジ興産事件, 10 October 2003). This bites hardest on discipline: a 懲戒 cannot be imposed unless its grounds and types were set in the rules and those rules were made known.
Binding force turns on being made known, not on drafting or filing.
Effective date = later of (made-known date, stated 施行日); a filed-but-unpublicised rule set has no norm-force. Treat filing as an administrative flag, never as the effectiveness switch. Consultation is not consent — but hold the representative to the selection rule: not in a position of supervision or management, democratically chosen, all workers eligible. For an unfavourable change, a defective selection does not merely breach procedure; it erodes the reasonableness the change must clear under LCA Art. 10, so the change can fail. Model the content in two tiers — always-required versus required-only-if-set — and attach the discipline gate: no 懲戒 without a made-known rule.
WHO WRITES THESE
Wakana Chiba, Tokutei Sharoushi
Licensed Labor and Social Security Attorney in Japan
Wakana Chiba is a Tokutei Sharoushi — a nationally qualified and registered Labor and Social Security Attorney in Japan. She advises employers on Japanese employment law, workplace rules, working time, employment documentation, and labor and social insurance procedures, translating complex statutory requirements into policies and operations that work in practice.
Legal analysis and review of Japanese primary sources are performed by Wakana Chiba. English terminology is checked against the Japanese Law Translation Database and official MHLW materials. While AI may be used to draft initial texts, all published conclusions have been reviewed by the author.
TSUKURU-HR.COM / GLOBAL · COOKIE POLICYLSA = LABOR STANDARDS ACT (労働基準法) · LCA = LABOR CONTRACTS ACT (労働契約法) · 労基則 = ORDINANCE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THE LSA · GROUNDS: LSA ARTS. 89–90, ENFORCEMENT ORDINANCE ART. 6-2, LCA ART. 10, フジ興産事件 (SUP. CT., 10 OCT 2003) · UNFAVOURABLE CHANGES TURN ON REASONABLENESS AND ARE TREATED SEPARATELY · AS OF SEPTEMBER 2026 · GENERAL INFORMATION, NOT LEGAL ADVICE
