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A new law to protect freelance workers who do not belong to any organization came into effect this month. As diverse ways of working become more widespread, it is important to create an environment in which people can do their jobs with peace of mind.
Freelancing has become one way of working, with IT engineers, animators, writers and interpreters being typical examples.
There is also an increasing number of freelance workers who take one-off jobs, such as food delivery, known as “gig work.” According to a private survey, the number of people for whom freelancing is their main occupation is believed to have reached around 3.2 million in 2023.
However, there are still many cases in which freelancers have been forced to accept unreasonable demands and situations. This likely stems from a fear that clients will stop hiring them for jobs.
In a survey conducted by the Japan Fair Trade Commission, many freelance workers expressed complaints such as “most arrangements are made verbally and it is rare to draw up a contract in advance,” and “freelancers are often forced to accept disadvantageous payment and conditions, and to work on deadline without days off.”
Regarding having to accept unreasonably low remuneration, about 70% of freelance workers said “the amount paid is sometimes unilaterally decided.”
In principle, the Labor Standards Law does not apply to freelance workers. Their working conditions must continue to be improved so that individuals in vulnerable positions can work with peace of mind.
The newly established “law to promote appropriate transactions for freelance workers” prohibits companies from taking advantage of freelancers by paying them extremely low fees, and also prohibits companies from unreasonably reducing previously agreed upon payments.
The new law further requires clients to clearly state the details of the work and the amount of payment in document form or by email and to pay remuneration within 60 days of a job’s completion.
The legislation will also apply to small and midsize companies with capital of ¥10 million or less, which are not covered by the Subcontract Law, so it will likely benefit many freelancers. In addition, it requires companies who hire freelancers to have a system in place for consultations about harassment.
Freelance workers’ vulnerability is a deep-rooted problem. Just this month, the JFTC found that leading publishing company Kadokawa Corp. violated the Subcontract Law by setting extremely low remuneration for writers and photographers.
The JFTC should strengthen its monitoring of business transactions in keeping with the new law and deal strictly with violations.
Another issue is the low level of recognition of the new law. In a JFTC survey, just under 80% of freelance workers and half of companies said they were unaware of the content of the legislation.
This means that freelancers cannot be adequately protected. The JFTC needs to work with economic organizations and others to ensure the law quickly becomes well known.
