Finding a solution through consultation with your attorney
Our experienced legal professionals are able to propose the optimal solution to your legal problem
Employer-employee disputes are complex and can be difficult to resolve without professional support.
Anyone would struggle to formulate a rational response if they are told they have been "fired" or "do not need to come in tomorrow" by their employer.
Even if you are thinking of contesting adverse action by your employer alone, you may nonetheless feel that you cannot effectively oppose your employer’s actions, as you may be concerned about your position in the company going forward, and you may decide to give up in the face of a perceived mismatch in power and authority between your employer and you as an employee.
Many employees have experienced being coerced into "voluntary resignation", and feel they have no choice but to resign as requested.
Retaining an attorney to handle your case
If you consult with one of our experienced attorneys, he or she will be able to propose an optimal solution to your legal problem.
Many of our clients feel their worries and anxiety are put at ease after consultation and feel much more comfortable in openly contesting the dispute with their employer.
An attorney can determine if you were subjected to an unfair dismissal or other illegal conduct
An attorney can immediately determine and explain whether a dismissal was justified, whether certain types of evidence are sufficient, and your recommended course of action
Collecting, preparing, and submitting evidence is usually the most important thing in resolving labor disputes.
For example, in unpaid and/or forced overtime matters, evidence of the overtime hours worked would be crucial, whereas in unfair dismissal (不当解雇 or "futo kaiko") matters, a copy of the employment contract would be necessary.
If no evidence (証拠 or "shoko") is provided, the employer can more easily deny doing or saying what it has been accused of doing.
Even if you are confident in contesting the matter with your employer alone, without legal knowledge, it can be difficult to assess whether the materials you have collected will be sufficient as evidence, how the evidence should be arranged or prepared, whether the amount being claimed is correct and reasonable, and so on.
In unfair dismissal and encouraged resignation matters, it may be difficult for you to determine whether the reason for dismissal that the employer has provided is legally permissible.
You may be pressured into resigning despite having doubts as to the legitimacy of the grounds of dismissal.
Retaining an attorney to handle your case
Upon visiting one of our offices for a consultation, our labor law attorneys will be able to determine whether the materials you have in your possession (such as time cards, daily reports, payslips, work schedules, medical records, audio recordings of conversations, and employment contracts) are sufficient to be recognized as evidence for the particular matter.
With sufficient evidence, after your attorney has been formally retained, he or she will propose a resolution best suited to the situation and enter into negotiations with your employer.
In unfair dismissal and encouraged resignation matters, your attorney will be able to make a legal determination as to the legitimacy of the employer’s actions after reviewing your employment contract, company policies, the reason for dismissal provided by the employer, and your day-to-day work situation.
In Japan there are limited circumstances in which an employer can dismiss an employee, and attempts to dismiss employees outside of this scope will not be recognized as valid.
After considering your situation in its entirety, your attorney will be able to make a determination as to whether the dismissal amounts to "unfair dismissal" under the laws of Japan.
Receiving advice on how to proceed when evidence is lacking
Your attorney can explain how to collect the evidence required to assert your legal rights
It is quite often the case that in labor disputes the individual employee will not have their employment contract, work schedule, payslips, and other evidence at hand.
Many employees give up at this point, believing that contesting the disputed matter is pointless.
If an employee wishes to contest an unfair dismissal case with their employer, in addition to the evidentiary materials aforementioned, other evidence such as company policies, dismissal notices and documentation giving the reasons for the dismissal, employee evaluations and work performance reports, bonus payslips, copies of emails exchanged with the company, audio recordings of converstations with bosses may be required.
Retaining an attorney to handle your case
Your attorney will advise you as to how the required evidentiary materials can be collected, even if you have already been dismissed.
In addition, upon the request of the employee, employers are required by law to provide a dismissal notice or other documentation that gives reasons for the dismissal (Article 22 Paragraph 2 of the Labor Standards Act).
If your employer does not provide such documentation, your attorney will enter into direct negotiations to ascertain the reasons for the dismissal.
Your employer will be compelled to act in accordance with the law
Your attorney can assist when your employer refuses to properly handle your complaint
Unfortunately, it is often the case, such as in unfair dismissal and encouraged resignations (退職勧奨 or "taishoku kansho"), that the company will not listen to or enter into negotiations with the employee despite their protests or appeal for legal justication for the action.
In other cases, the employee’s position and status in the company can be irreperably damaged as a result of negotiations and contesting disputes with the employer.
Retaining an attorney to handle your case
The intervention of an attorney can immediately put an end to efforts by the employer to ignore or delay handling complaints by employees.
For example, in unfair dismissal and encouraged resignation matters, our attorneys will often send a notice by content-certified mail (内容証明郵便 or "naiyo shomei yubin") to the employer, notifying them of certain legal matters.
The employer at that point will be aware of the seriousness of the matter and will be unable to continue ignoring or delaying handling the matter.
The appearance of an attorney can often result in the employer immediately retracting their dismissal notice, or in ceasing their efforts to have the employee resign.
Our experienced labor law attorneys will take into account your circumstances and desired outcomes and will propose an optimal strategy to achieve your goals.
Your attorney will negotiate with your employer on your behalf
Your attorney can handle the majority of communications and negotiations with your employer on your behalf
Collecting the various evidentiary materials required to assert your legal rights, preparing documentation and negotiating with your employer can be extremely burdensome for an individual employee already under a great deal of stress.
In addition, if you attempt to negotiate with your employer by yourself, you may be unable to effectively claim your legal rights and instead be presented with unfavourable terms.
In these situations it is fairly common for the individual to give up.
Negotiations about unfair dismissal and encouraged resignation can become particulary emotionally distressing, and in particularly bad cases, the employer can relentlessly harrass the employee to force them to voluntarily resign.
Many individuals will be unaccepting of the dismissal, but are afraid of entering into negotiations alone, and the stress of meeting face to face with their employer.
Retaining an attorney to handle your case
The experienced attorneys in our labor team will collaborate to formulate a winning strategy for your dispute, and work in a systematic manner to collect the evidentiary materials required to assert your legal rights, preparing necessary documentation, and conduct negotiations with your employer.
In doing so, the time required and emotional strain in resolving the matter will be considerably reduced.
It also allows for a more favourable resolution to be achieved.
You will have sufficient legal basis to assert your rights as an employee
Our attorneys take care to avoid negative repurcussions for employees
Our attorneys frequently advise employees that are very concerned that taking legal action against their employers, or even hiring a lawyer, will result in negative repurcussions for their employment status.
Retaining an attorney to handle your case
Employees are entitled to assert and enforce their rights against their employers if they have sufficient legal basis, without fear of repercussion.
Our attorneys take care to avoid negative repercussions for the employee when negotiating with or otherwise taking legal action against the employer.
Many of our clients express their satisfaction and relief that they sought legal representation to handle their case.
Receiving assistance with labor tribunal proceedings and litigation
Our attorneys offer comprehensive representation for labor tribunal and litigation proceedings when negotiations with the employer have failed
In cases where negotiations with the employer have failed to resolve the matter, it may be necessary to initiate labor tribunal or litigation (commonly known as 労働裁判 or "rodo saiban") proceedings.
In this situation, it is strongly recommended that you receive representation from an experienced labor law attorney to effectively prepare evidence and to provide sufficient legal basis for the legal claims and assertions to be made in the proceeding.
Retaining an attorney to handle your case
In labor tribunal and litigation matters, our team of attorneys with specialized knowledge and significant experience in labor cases collaborate to formulate a winning strategy for your dispute, and conduct the legal proceeding in a manner most advantageous to you, by emphasising the strength of your legal claims and assertions whilst pointing out errors and weaknesses in that of your employer.