By Naonobu Nishimoto

Recently, we often see the words "Contract Employee" in magazines and in classified advertisements. The words contract employee contain the word employee and on the surface, we tend to mistake contract employee for a full time employee.

In reality, the contract employee is actually contracted for less than one year, especially for specialist positions such as designers, and so on. Nowadays, there are no longer any definitions. When forced to admit it, companies say it is an agreement made by hiring contract labor and it is different from having full-time employee status and benefits. I would like to quote some of the contract employee's features.

First, paid annual holidays apply to contract employees. However, the assumption is that they must work for over half a year. It is a critical assumption that is different from other part-time jobs.

Second, the contract can't be canceled arbitrarily before maturity by either party. As an agreement of a definite term of employment, it is a fundamental principle to cancel the agreement only when an employee has unavoidable reasons. Accordingly, neither the company nor employee can cancel it arbitrarily. The employee must give the employer advance notice of at least thirty days before quitting.

On the surface, a contract employee is the same as a full-time employee, but that is misleading. The problem is, why are these types of contracts increasing in society?

According to research from The Labor Security Information Center in Tokyo, the reasons for these contracts are; first, to accommodate businesses, second, to acquire an adaptable work force, and third, to save on company costs.

Let's look closer at the third reason. Have you heard the word restructuring? Restructuring's original meaning is corporate restructuring, which is to review business policy. During the course of reviewing corporate restructuring, the greatest burden is the budget for salaries. Full-time employees can't be let go easily, so the contract employee system seems to solve burdensome problems in the eyes of corporations. In short, businesses say that they need temporary labor to survive.

But this system also has some disadvantages for companies. There are some good reasons why people choose to be a contract employee. The first is to make use of their qualifications. The second is that they can work at their own convenience and pace.

Most contract workers can't find full-time jobs, and they become contract employees as a stopgap measure. It has become a serious problem. Companies must obtain their employee's approval in order to change them from full-time employees to contract employees because their working conditions will go from bad to worse. The contract employee's salary is based on performance, and the salary increases when they do well. If they make mistakes, their salary decreases, so they have no time to look after their subordinates and, therefore, the company will suffer. This contract employee system is causing businesses to review their management style. As it is becoming fashionable, this tendency to hire contract employees will continue.

According to recent reports, the Japanese economy is gradually improving and the employment rate in Honshu is rising bit by bit, too.

On the business side, including Banks and big businesses, company takeovers show no signs of significant decline. It is fact that freelance part-time workers who work at two or more places and can earn their own livelihood, and don't feel any need to become a full-time worker.

In truth, the economy is still bad and there is no knowing the depths of bad times as today's economy is connected to world affairs. The contract employee system is spreading. Ideally, it would be good if everyone were full-time, but the contract employee system may be here to stay. The contract employee system should be done away with because it only serves the convenience of companies, but it is not good for individual workers or the country as a whole.