Does the labor contract have to be written on paper? If I signed one by e-mail, does this violate the Labor Standards Act?
Violation of Article 17 of the Labor Standards Act is discussed separately, but a labor contract shall be deemed to have the legal effect if it is signed by actual intention of the parties in any way, such as by actual signature, signature and seal, or a certified digital signature under the Digital Signature Act.
On the other hand, Article 17 of the Labor Standards Act requires that the employer issues a written document to the employee stating the wage and the prescribed working hours. Here, “written document” means a document with certain content and distinguished from electronic documents such as those sent by e-mail, but these can also be recognized as written documents if certain requirements are met.
To prevent disputes concerning the labor contract, it is necessary to clarify that both parties concerned concur with the content of the electronic labor contract by electronically recording the signatures of both parties, in accordance with the Electronic Signature Act. It is also desirable to have a system in place to prevent forgery and alteration so that neither party can modify it without authorization from the other party after each signature is received.
If the electronic labor contract is only stored on the company server, the employer will not be considered to have fulfilled the duty of delivering contractual documents, even if the employee can print it off him or herself. When an employee designates an information processing system (e-mail, etc.) to receive an electronic labor contract and the employer inputs (sends) the electronic labor contract into the information processing system, this can be seen as the employer issuing a “written” labor contract and not be in violation of Article 17 of the Labor Standards Act. However, if the employee does not consent to receive the contract via the information processing system, the employer must issue the labor contract directly.