Job Sites, Agencies and Schools: Recruiting Chefs in Japan

A Japanese restaurant abroad has plenty of ways to recruit chefs in Japan: job sites, recruitment agencies, culinary schools, social media, personal referrals. There is no official data on which one works best. Figures on applicants per channel or market share come either from the companies themselves or from guesswork, and we do not use them here.

Instead, this guide sorts the channels by how Japan's Employment Security Act (職業安定法) classifies them, and sets out for each the fee structure, the legal rules and what to check before you sign up. Once you understand how each works, it is easier to decide on the mix that suits you. For practical use of each channel, see also where Japanese chefs look for jobs abroad.

1. Sorting recruitment channels by their legal category

Article 4 of the Employment Security Act defines the ways of mediating or providing information for hiring as follows.

Job placement (職業紹介) means taking applications from employers and job seekers and arranging for an employment relationship to be formed. A job site is a place to publish information; an agency is an intermediary between candidate and restaurant. That difference is what drives the difference in how you pay.

How far these rules reach employers outside Japan depends on where and how recruitment takes place and is decided case by case. In practice, though, chefs, schools and agencies in Japan all work on the basis of Japanese rules, so it makes sense to fit in with that framework.

2. Job sites and job media

What changed with the 2022 amendment

The 2022 amendment to the Employment Security Act took effect on 1 October 2022 (parts on 1 April). The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare lists its main points as mandatory accurate display of job information, rules on handling personal information, and a new notification system for job media.

• Accurate display: neither the restaurant recruiting nor the job site may publish false or misleading information. The recruiting employer must also keep its information accurate and up to date, which is a good reason not to leave a filled vacancy online.
• Notification: anyone running a "specified recruitment information provision business", which collects and passes on applicants' information, must notify the Minister. The ministry publishes a list of notified businesses.
• Accreditation: there is also an accreditation scheme for recruitment information providers that meet standards on legal compliance and accurate display.

Where job sites fit

The strength of a job site is that you can describe your conditions in detail and reach many people. Sites specialising in jobs abroad attract people who have already decided to work overseas, so judge them on the quality of applicants rather than the number. Large general job sites have more visitors, but most of them are looking for work in Japan. Pricing differs by site (a flat fee per listing period, or charges per application or per hire), so convert everything into cost per hire before comparing. WashokuJob is a listing-based job site for Japanese restaurants outside Japan (information for restaurants).

3. Recruitment agencies (fee-charging placement)

A recruitment agency is a business permitted by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to carry out job placement (Article 30). Points to know when using one:

• Fees follow one of two systems. The law allows only fees of a type and amount set by ministerial ordinance (capped fees, 上限制手数料), or fees based on a fee schedule notified in advance to the Minister (notified fees, 届出制手数料) (Article 32-3). Ask to see the agency's fee schedule and check which system it uses and what the fee is calculated on.
• Job seekers cannot normally be charged. The same article prohibits collecting fees from job seekers in principle. Be wary of any intermediary that asks the chef to pay.
• Read the refund terms. The ministry states that from 1 April 2024 agencies may provide their fee schedule and refund policy through their own website or another appropriate method. Read the refund conditions for early departures before you sign.
• Agencies must publish results information. Fee-charging placement businesses must provide information on the number of people placed, the number of those placed on open-ended contracts who have since left, their fees and other matters (Article 32-16).
• Can they handle jobs abroad? The Enforcement Regulations of the act require an applicant for a placement permit that intends to handle placements across borders to submit documents on the destination country. Ask the agency directly whether it handles overseas placements.

Permitted agencies can be looked up on the ministry's human resources services website (人材サービス総合サイト). Make a habit of checking the permit number before signing. Costs of agencies and job boards are compared in recruitment agency versus job board.

4. Schools and Hello Work (free placement)

Culinary schools and other schools may place current students and graduates free of charge after notifying the ministry (Article 33-2). A school may also define the range of placements it handles, so whether it accepts overseas vacancies varies from school to school. The process is covered in hiring from Japanese culinary schools.

Hello Work (public employment security offices) is the government's free placement service. We could not find an official statement on whether it accepts vacancies for work at establishments outside Japan. If you are considering it, ask the Hello Work office covering your Japanese base directly.

5. Your own website, social media and referrals (direct recruitment)

Recruiting through your own website or social media is, legally, "recruitment of workers" carried out by the restaurant itself. It is cheap, but it is not free of rules.

• The duty of accurate display covers your own posts. The Enforcement Regulations list methods of advertising that include documents and email as well as methods using the internet. A social media post is still job information.
• Do not take money from applicants. Receiving payment from workers who respond to a recruitment drive is prohibited (Article 39).
• Be careful about paying outsiders to find people. Having someone other than your own employee recruit for you in return for payment requires permission from the Minister (Article 36). Check this before promising a "finder's fee" to a chef you know or to an influencer. Referral bonuses for your own employees raise a question under Article 40, which restricts payments to people involved in recruitment, so take professional advice before setting up a scheme.

Practical ways to recruit on social media are covered in recruiting chefs on social media.

6. Matching channels to roles and situations

Whatever the mix, ask every applicant where they saw the vacancy, and record for each channel the number of applicants, those who passed screening, hires, and those still with you a year later. While the numbers are small, do not rush to conclusions; reviewing every six months to a year is realistic.

7. Checks before choosing a channel

• For an agency, have you checked its permit number against the ministry's human resources services website?
• Have you confirmed in writing the fee system (capped or notified), what the fee is calculated on (which parts of annual pay), and the refund terms?
• Can the agency, school or Hello Work handle a job abroad?
• Have you converted job site fees into cost per hire for comparison?
• How specifically can you state pay, days off, housing, travel and visa arrangements within the site's format?
• Have you decided for what purpose applicants' personal data is used, who handles it and how it is kept (Article 5-5)?
• Do you take down a vacancy as soon as it is filled?
• Are you asking anyone outside your staff to recruit for you in exchange for payment?

General information, not legal or employment advice. How the Employment Security Act applies to employers outside Japan and to particular recruitment methods depends on the circumstances. Check the primary sources below before signing with a channel or introducing a referral bonus, and consult a professional where needed.