In Japan, the drafting of the employment contract commits the payroll for its whole duration: the language used, the form adopted and the mandatory particulars are fixed by local law, not by the practice of head office.
Termination is the moment when drafting errors are paid for. Final settlement, notice, severance and exit documents obey local rules that the payroll manager applies every month: it is that person, and not the legal department at head office, who spots a poorly drawn contract. Having the model contract reviewed by the firm that will run the payroll costs little and avoids most disputes.
The seal outranks the signature. Commitments are sealed with the 実印 (registered seal) and evidenced by the 印鑑証明書 (seal certificate), a dated document that practice expects to be recent. An agreement signed in the Western manner, without any check on the seal, is hard to defend.
Semi-annual bonuses (賞与) and the commuting allowance (通勤手当) are imposed by no statute, yet custom makes them close to mandatory; each is treated differently for contribution and tax purposes. A salary budget built on base pay alone understates the real cost of hiring.
The プライバシーマーク, the private data protection mark on which the Japanese outsourcing market relies, carries no legal weight. Its absence nevertheless closes the door to large corporate clients. Each of these three points can be settled before the first payroll run rather than after it.
Ne jamais se contenter de la mention « payroll company » : au Japon, un prestataire complet doit articuler un 社労士 (volet social) et un 税理士 (volet fiscal, notamment le 年末調整), sous peine d'exercice illégal. Le registre des sociétés distingue 履歴事項全部証明書 (historique, celui à demander) et 現在事項証明書 (situation à date, insuffisant). Piège fréquent : confondre le 法人番号 (numéro d'entreprise public, 13 chiffres) avec le numéro d'assujetti à la facture qualifiée (préfixé « T »), et confondre 社会保険 et 労働保険, qui relèvent d'administrations différentes et donnent lieu à deux attestations distinctes.
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