Company now forcing wife to work random hours/days that change week to week. It makes childcare (elementary school kids) impossible. Is there any legal recourse?
Do you have a copy of her original contract and what does it say?
Shift-based employment is legal but it needs to be agreed upon in the contract. She needs to read her contract. Was she working shifts that were de facto regular and is no longer regular, or was her working hours stipulated in the contract and is she now being forced to go against them without agreement from both parties?
There would be additional issues to her new working hours to raise if they weren’t agreed to in her contract, like: her shifts exceed 8 hours, don’t include a break, are during late-night (10pm-5am) hours, on weekends.
IMO, you’re stuck in the unfortunate reality of 日本式労働 (*Nihon-shiki Roudou*, Japanese-style labor). Tbh many opt to bend WL balance and parental roles in favor of ‘accepted breaches’. Legal options, though existent, will often and most likely lead to 空気読めない (*Kuuki Yomenai*, lack of social understanding) labels – complicating office relations. Reality can be harsh, remember we’re not in a Western labor market. My personal advice, weigh your options carefully.
If after weighting your options you’re still into actually pursuing legal actions, these would be your next steps:
1. Review Employment Contract 2. Consult Labor Law Expert/Labor Union/Labor Bureau 3. Document all communication 4. Raise concerns, request earlier work hours 5. Initiate labor dispute with local Labor Relations Commission 6. Consider lawsuit for constructive dismissal if necessary
However, in reality such things are usually (tried to be) resolved in 1-on-1 discussions while your senpai is drunk in an Izakaya in Japan. I am aware that everyone would rather like to hear “This breaches the employment contract, your employer can’t do this, has to submit to the law and there will be no further consequences for you” but I’d rather tell you the truth than farm imaginary internet points by telling you what you want to hear.
Good luck!
Does she feel it is because of a business necessity, or to get her to leave? A company has a lot of leeway in changing someone’s role, but it must be justified and done in a certain way. It cannot be done as a form of harassment.
My best advice is to consult with the labor office.
Have your wife prepare her contract and call your local 労働局。
In many cases, the contract is written so that the working schedule and hours can be changed WHEN there is agreement by both parties. If this is the way that it’s written and your wife did not agree to change the hours, I would tell her to just go back to the original schedule she was working. If they complain, being in HR.
6 comments
Do you have a copy of her original contract and what does it say?
Shift-based employment is legal but it needs to be agreed upon in the contract. She needs to read her contract. Was she working shifts that were de facto regular and is no longer regular, or was her working hours stipulated in the contract and is she now being forced to go against them without agreement from both parties?
There would be additional issues to her new working hours to raise if they weren’t agreed to in her contract, like: her shifts exceed 8 hours, don’t include a break, are during late-night (10pm-5am) hours, on weekends.
IMO, you’re stuck in the unfortunate reality of 日本式労働 (*Nihon-shiki Roudou*, Japanese-style labor). Tbh many opt to bend WL balance and parental roles in favor of ‘accepted breaches’. Legal options, though existent, will often and most likely lead to 空気読めない (*Kuuki Yomenai*, lack of social understanding) labels – complicating office relations. Reality can be harsh, remember we’re not in a Western labor market. My personal advice, weigh your options carefully.
If after weighting your options you’re still into actually pursuing legal actions, these would be your next steps:
1. Review Employment Contract
2. Consult Labor Law Expert/Labor Union/Labor Bureau
3. Document all communication
4. Raise concerns, request earlier work hours
5. Initiate labor dispute with local Labor Relations Commission
6. Consider lawsuit for constructive dismissal if necessary
However, in reality such things are usually (tried to be) resolved in 1-on-1 discussions while your senpai is drunk in an Izakaya in Japan. I am aware that everyone would rather like to hear “This breaches the employment contract, your employer can’t do this, has to submit to the law and there will be no further consequences for you” but I’d rather tell you the truth than farm imaginary internet points by telling you what you want to hear.
Good luck!
Does she feel it is because of a business necessity, or to get her to leave?
A company has a lot of leeway in changing someone’s role, but it must be justified and done in a certain way. It cannot be done as a form of harassment.
My best advice is to consult with the labor office.
Have your wife prepare her contract and call your local 労働局。
In many cases, the contract is written so that the working schedule and hours can be changed WHEN there is agreement by both parties. If this is the way that it’s written and your wife did not agree to change the hours, I would tell her to just go back to the original schedule she was working. If they complain, being in HR.