Evil Company in Japan

Do you know what the characteristics of an ‘evil company’ are?

It would seem that any company where employees commit suicide through overwork is an evil company, but beyond that, it is not clear from where to what extent a company is an evil company.

In this article, we will introduce the characteristics of black companies in Japan.

Very many hours of overtime work

If overtime hours are extremely high, it is safe to say that the company is evil. The principle of working hours is eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. It is only when a so-called sub-locational agreement is concluded that it is possible to make employees work overtime over the above principles. Even if a sub-locational agreement has been concluded, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare has set standards for the limits, and it is basically not permissible to have employees work overtime over 45 hours per month.

In addition, as a criterion for the recognition of work-related injuries in cases of brain, heart or mental illnesses caused by overwork, it is required that the employee has worked “approximately 100 hours in the month before the onset of the illness, or 100 hours in the two or six months before the onset of the illness. In cases where the overtime hours exceeded 80 hours per month, the overtime hours must be considered to have been working for a period of two to six months. If overtime hours exceed 80 hours, the company can be said to be an evil company.

Forced to do service overtime

As mentioned above, if there is a sub-location agreement, it is legal to make employees work overtime, but this does not mean that they do not have to be paid for the overtime. Many companies may have adopted a fixed overtime pay system, but even such companies are naturally obliged to pay additional overtime if overtime is worked over the fixed overtime rate.

However, some companies make their employees press their time cards at the end of the day and pretend that they have left the company, others do not allow them to work overtime at the company and make them take overtime home, and some companies do not manage their working hours in the first place. Some companies do not even leave any evidence of overtime work, which can be considered extremely malicious.

High turnover

Companies are known as black companies often have a high turnover rate. Many people will inevitably quit if they are forced to work under harsh working conditions.

Large numbers of new employees are hired every year, or the company is constantly recruiting

This is the flip side of a high turnover rate. Companies that are considered black-owned are expected to quit to a certain extent, making their employees ‘disposable’, so to speak. Be wary of companies that hire an inadequate number of people every year or constantly have job vacancies that are not commensurate with the size of the company.

Mentality is prevalent

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but an abnormal mentality is often prevalent in companies that are known as black companies. The much-discussed major advertising agency also seems to have a set of teachings known as the ‘Oni Jissoku’ (Ten Rules of Oni).

They won’t let you quit

It seems that even if you say you want to quit the company, they will not let you quit and threaten you with a claim for damages. As we have seen, black companies have many people who quit, and when there are no more people, it becomes necessary to hire new employees. They may be relentlessly discouraged from quitting so that they do not have to recruit. With such companies, it is difficult to quit once you have joined, so it is necessary to assess the situation before joining.

Power harassment and moral harassment are rampant

Rampant power harassment and moral harassment, such as being shouted at or bullied by superiors, can be said to be a feature of black companies. The company as a whole has a low awareness of compliance with laws and regulations, so power harassment and other forms of harassment may be taking place without being corrected.

Imposing difficult-to-achieve quotas

A characteristic of an evil company may also be that the company imposes quotas that are difficult to achieve and yells at the employees if they fail to achieve them. Some employees may be forced to work overtime in an attempt to meet quotas. If on top of that, the salary is reduced if the quota is not achieved, it can be said that the company is completely black-owned.

Rules such as employment regulations and wage regulations are not in place

According to the Labour Standards Law, work rules must be drawn up in workplaces that regularly employ 10 or more workers (Article 89 of the Labour Standards Law).1 If a company employs more than 10 people but has not drawn up rules of employment, it can be said that it has a low awareness of compliance with the law and should be suspected of being an evil company. Sometimes the reason for not drawing up work rules is that if rules are set down, the management will not be able to ‘do as they please’.

Bright windows even late at night

If each employee has an excessive workload, they will inevitably have to work overtime, which will result in the lights being on all the time, even late at night. If this is before you join the company, you may want to go and have a look.