Job combining or accumulation has been prohibited for a longtime at Japan’s companies and their internal regulations have stated as much. However the Minister for Health Employment and Social Affairs is now promoting the concept. At the end of 2017 as part of reforming working patterns the Minister decided to revise the relevant regulation to now promote job accumulation. The measure is an attempt to lessen the country’s severe manpower shortages and is especially targeting older workers. So for the government, 2018 will be Year Zero for ‘Double Work’.
Even if many companies’ internal rules ban job accumulation, such rules carry no legislative weight and no specific text banning this practice actually exists. In fact ‘the Constitution includes the right to freely choose ones remunerated activity,’ Jiro Oyama, specialist labor lawyer explains. “Outside of an employment contract’s specified working hours, an employee is free to use his/her time as he/she sees fit and the employer exercises no control over this. If the employer terminates an emp
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