Kyujin hyo literally means job-offer sheet. Hello Work and university career offices have their own standard forms, and agencies take the same information as a job order. Whatever the format, the content is regulated. When an employer recruits directly, or asks an agency to fill a vacancy, Article 5-3 of the Employment Security Act, with Article 4-2(3) of its Enforcement Regulations, requires it to state the core terms: duties, contract period and renewal terms, probation, place of work, hours, breaks, overtime, days off, pay, social and labour insurance, measures against passive smoking, and the employer's name. A fixed-overtime scheme, where an allowance covers a set number of overtime hours whether worked or not, must be shown separately under the ministry's guidelines: base pay excluding the allowance, the allowance's name, amount and the hours it covers, and a statement that overtime beyond those hours is paid on top.
Two changes have tightened this. From October 2022, recruitment information must be accurate and current, and must not be false or misleading, which also binds job sites and agencies carrying the advert. From 1 April 2024, every posting must also show the scope of change of duties and of place of work, meaning how far they might change over the contract including future transfers, not only at the start, and for fixed-term roles the renewal criteria including any cap on renewals or total contract length.
If terms change between the posting and the offer, the employer must explain the change clearly to the candidate, and the ministry's guidelines ask that this be done in a way the candidate can compare.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Your job description is not a kyujin hyo. An English JD about mission and impact rarely carries the statutory items. When you brief an agency or post on a Japanese site, give them the conditions as well.
- "Scope of change" needs a decision. If a role might move city or function, say so. If it will not, saying so makes the job more attractive, and binds you.
- Do not advertise a number you will not pay. A salary range that shrinks at offer stage is a misleading-information risk as well as a lost candidate.
- Senior roles still need the basics. Even for a confidential search, the agency must be able to tell candidates the core conditions before they apply.
Sources
- Employment Security Act, Articles 5-3 and 5-4 (as amended in force 1 October 2022).
- Ordinance for Enforcement of the Employment Security Act, Article 4-2(3), as amended in force 1 April 2024.
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, leaflet for employers on the working conditions to be stated in recruitment from April 2024 (including fixed overtime pay).
- Guidelines under the Employment Security Act (Ministry of Labour Notice No. 141 of 1999, as amended).