STRUCTURAL NOTE 05 · WRITTEN TERMS
Two documents are folded into one sheet. Neither of them is what creates the contract.
労働条件通知書は労基法15条1項の公法上の明示義務の履行。雇用契約書は私法上の合意を証拠化する書面。実務では1枚にまとめられるが、根拠法も違反の効果も異なり、いずれも契約の成立要件ではない。
ONE SHEET, TWO FUNCTIONS · 1枚・2機能DIFFERENT STATUTES · DIFFERENT ACTS · THEY FAIL INDEPENDENTLY
PUBLIC LAW · DISCLOSURE DUTY
Notice of Working Conditions労働条件通知書
Discharges a duty to disclose. The employer’s act alone — the worker’s consent and signature are not elements of it. LSA Art. 15(1); Ordinance Art. 5.
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PRIVATE LAW · EVIDENCE OF AGREEMENT
Written Labor Contract雇用契約書・労働契約書
Evidences an agreement on the contents of the contract. Both parties. No prescribed form. LCA Art. 6; Art. 4(2) asks for written confirmation so far as possible — a request, not a condition.
FORMATIONNeither is a formation requirement. The labor contract is formed by the agreement of the parties; no writing is constitutive of it. A signed sheet is evidence — its absence is not a defence, and its presence does not cure a failure to disclose.
In practice the two are issued as a single combined sheet — 労働条件通知書兼雇用契約書 — which conceals that they rest on different statutes, are satisfied by different acts, and fail independently of each other.
A missing notice breaches a public-law duty and carries a fine; the contract still stands. A missing written contract voids nothing; proving what was agreed simply becomes harder.
1
Where they differ
同じ紙・別の審査労働条件通知書 NOTICE
雇用契約書 WRITTEN CONTRACT
Legal function
Discharges a duty to disclose. Public law.
Evidences an agreement on the contents. Private law.
Basis
LSA Art. 15(1); Ordinance Art. 5
LCA Art. 6. Art. 4(2) asks both parties to confirm in writing so far as possible.
Whose act
THE EMPLOYER ALONEThe worker’s consent and signature are not elements of it.
Both parties. The agreement is the substance; the sheet only records it.
Form
Writing — for the Tier 1 items only. Electronic where the worker so requests and a written document can be produced from it.
No prescribed form.
If missing
PENALTY, NOT INVALIDITYThe duty is breached — a fine of up to ¥300,000. LSA Art. 120(i). The contract still stands.
Nothing is void. The contract stands; proof becomes harder.
2
When the duty bites
3つの時点・別々の法律から01 · AT RECRUITMENT 募集時 — EMPLOYMENT SECURITY ACT
Conditions must be stated when advertising or recruiting; since April 2024 this includes the scope of possible changes. If they change before conclusion, the change itself must be stated. Where nothing is stated at conclusion, what was advertised may be treated as the contract’s contents.
02 · AT CONCLUSION 締結時 — LSA ART. 15(1)
The core duty, and the one with the penalty. It applies again at each renewal of a fixed-term contract, because each renewal is a conclusion.
03 · PROMPTLY AFTER HIRING 雇入れ後速やかに — PART-TIME AND FIXED-TERM WORKERS ACT
For part-time and fixed-term workers, four further items must be stated by document: whether there is 昇給, 退職手当, 賞与, and the consultation contact point. From 1 October 2026 a fifth is added — that the worker may request an explanation of the content of and reasons for differences in treatment.
3
Not one list
明示事項の3層 — STRENGTH DIFFERS BY ITEM1
Must be in writing書面交付が必要
Contract period; renewal criteria and any renewal cap; place of work and duties, and the scope of changes to both; hours, overtime, breaks, days off, leave, shift arrangements; how wages are determined, calculated and paid, with closing and payment dates; matters concerning 退職, including grounds for dismissal.
2
Must be stated, but not in writing明示は必要・書面不要
昇給 — pay increases. Easily missed, because it sits inside the wage item yet is carved out of the writing requirement.
3
Only where such a rule exists; may be oral定めがある場合のみ・口頭可
退職手当; bonuses and temporary wages; minimum wage amount; meal and work-supply costs borne by the worker; safety and health; vocational training; compensation for injury; awards and sanctions; 休職.
4
Where the stated terms differ from the actual ones
相違があったとき · LSA ART. 15(2)(3)IMMEDIATE TERMINATION
Where conditions stated under Art. 15(1) differ from the facts, the worker may terminate the labor contract immediately — without the two weeks that Civil Code Art. 627(1) would otherwise require.
TRAVEL EXPENSES · 帰郷旅費
The employer must bear the necessary travel expenses, but only where all four hold: 1 the stated conditions differ from the actual ones; 2 the worker terminates immediately under Art. 15(2); 3 the worker had changed residence in order to take up the work; 4 the worker returns home within 14 days of the termination.
PENALTY
Failure to disclose is punishable by a fine of up to ¥300,000. But the contract is not void — breach of the disclosure duty does not undo what was agreed.
5
Written, but overridden
書いてあっても効かない — THE SHEET SITS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HIERARCHYLSA ART. 13
A term below the LSA standard is void as to that part; the LSA standard applies in its place.
LCA ART. 12
A term below the Rules of Employment is void as to that part; the Rules apply in its place.
LABOR UNION ACT ART. 16
A term contrary to an applicable collective agreement is void; the agreement’s standard applies instead. Note the wording — contrary to, not below.
LCA ART. 7
Conversely, reasonable Rules of Employment made known to workers become the contents of the contract — so terms the sheet never mentions may still bind.
Not all one-directional. Against the LSA and the Rules of Employment the effect runs one way — both set floors, so the sheet may only improve on them. A collective agreement is different: the prevailing view denies the 有利原則, so a term departing from it may be void even where it is more favourable.
6
Where the worker is a foreign national
外国人を雇用する場合に加わるものLANGUAGE
State the conditions in a way the worker can actually understand — their own language, or plain Japanese. An effort duty under the applicable guideline.
TAKE-HOME PAY
Explain tax, labour and social insurance contributions, and deductions made under a labor-management agreement, so that the amount actually received is clear.
RECRUITING FROM ABROAD
Make the allocation of travel and repatriation costs, and housing arrangements, clear in advance as part of the recruiting conditions.
STATUS OF RESIDENCE
Confirm that the work to be performed after hiring is permitted under the worker’s status of residence.
NOTIFICATION · 届出
Hiring and separation of a foreign national must be notified to Hello Work. A duty, not a courtesy: failure is punishable by a fine of up to ¥300,000.
FOUR EQUATIONS THAT DO NOT HOLD成り立たない四つの等式
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Notice ≠ contract
通知書は契約書ではない
通知書は契約書ではない
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Signature ≠ compliance
署名は明示義務の履行ではない
署名は明示義務の履行ではない
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No document ≠ no contract
書面がなくても契約は成立する
書面がなくても契約は成立する
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Written ≠ enforceable
上位規範に反すれば無効
上位規範に反すれば無効
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR POLICY
Combining the two documents does not combine the compliance.
Model the sheet as two records, not one: a disclosure event — what was stated, when, in what form, in which language — and an agreement record — what both sides assented to. They are validated against different rules and fail independently, so a single "contract signed" flag cannot answer either question. Validate disclosure item by item against the tier it belongs to, and re-run the check at every fixed-term renewal. Keep both records: LSA Art. 109 requires documents important to the employment relationship to be retained for five years (three for the time being).
