Minutes of the 6th Study Group on “Workers” under the Labor Standards Act

The secretariat prepared materials for the study group based on a survey of platform workers commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, conducted in the previous fiscal year, and published in March this year. The materials conveniently organized responses considered useful for discussion according to the assessment factors in the 1985 Report.

The discussion confirmed the difficulty of treating platform workers uniformly as a single category. Members pointed out the need to distinguish among the tripartite relationships of businesses, workers, and clients; framework contracts and individual contracts; and nominal contractual forms and actual working arrangements, while evaluating the individual circumstances as a whole.

The draft organization of discussions on worker status explained the positioning of an analysis that extracted court cases and other matters in which judgments were issued from January 1, 1985, through December 31, 2024.

The survey findings are expected to be used in future study group discussions as materials for identifying and analyzing issues concerning new forms of work, including platform work, and considering appropriate criteria for determining worker status.

Members expressed the view that, if the criteria in the 1985 Report are revised, the effects of the revisions on the conduct of the parties concerned should also be examined.

The survey materials were organized according to factors including freedom to accept or decline work requests, direction and supervision in performing duties, restrictions on the place and hours of work, substitutability, whether remuneration is compensation for labor, business-operator status, and exclusivity. Although no responses indicated that businesses compelled acceptance or imposed substantive disadvantages for declining work, differing practices were reported, including instructions, training, regular reporting, requirements to remain on site, and notification of or consent requirements for substitute personnel.

In food delivery and light-freight transportation and delivery, AI and algorithms were used to present reference routes and obtain and use location information such as GPS data. Compensation was calculated using multiple factors, including operating time and distance. Incentives based on evaluations and demand, as well as penalties for low ratings, cancellations, and violations of terms, including warnings, application restrictions, and account suspensions, were also reported.

Members stated that information collection, processing, and guidance by algorithms; evaluations and work allocation; contractual forms; prohibitions on direct contracts; framework and individual contracts; and client involvement should be examined comprehensively, rather than simply applying each factor individually to the traditional assessment criteria. The secretariat explained that survey subjects were selected after considering factors such as market share and the number of active workers, enabling it to grasp the current situation to a certain extent.

Regarding Document 2, it was confirmed that the document formed a basis organizing previous discussions and the court-case analysis, and was not intended to draw conclusions on specific issues. Members offered opinions and proposals concerning recent court cases, the positioning of contracts and terms and conditions, and the relationship with the purpose of protection under the Labor Standards Act. The chair stated that additions and revisions would be made as necessary and that individual issues would be discussed at subsequent meetings.