Drafting Secondment Agreements and Employment Contracts for Chefs

When a Japanese restaurant company seconds a chef to an overseas subsidiary or partner, it is tempting to issue an assignment order and leave it at that. That tends to cause disputes later over who pays the salary, social insurance and when the chef comes home. A secondment involves three parties, the Japanese company, the overseas company and the chef, so a lot needs to be settled in writing.

This guide sets out the rules that can be confirmed in Japanese legislation and the points to put on paper. Statements about the law are limited to what we checked on e-Gov (Japan's official legislation database) and in Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare material. Have any actual contract reviewed by a sharoshi (labour and social security attorney) or a lawyer.

1. Two documents, not one

With a local hire, where the overseas company employs the chef directly, the main document is the employment contract between that company and the chef, drafted under the law of the country of work (section 6). For choosing between the two arrangements, see secondment vs local hire.

2. Rules on secondment orders and stating working conditions

Abuse of the right to order a secondment (Labour Contracts Act, Article 14)

Article 14 of the Labour Contracts Act provides that even where an employer is able to order an employee to go on secondment, the order is void if it is found to be an abuse of rights in light of its necessity, the circumstances of how the employee was selected and other circumstances. An overseas secondment changes a chef's life a great deal, so be ready to explain why this chef and why this period.

Stating working conditions (Labour Standards Act, Article 15, and its Enforcement Ordinance, Article 5)

Article 15(1) of the Labour Standards Act requires employers to state pay, working hours and other working conditions when concluding an employment contract. The items are listed in Article 5 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labour Standards Act and include "matters concerning the place of work and the duties to be performed (including the scope of changes to the place of work and duties)". The MHLW notes that stating the scope of changes has been required since April 2024.

If you hire for a role that may later involve secondment to an overseas restaurant, the logical place to say so is the statement of working conditions at hiring, by including overseas workplaces in the scope of possible changes.

Article 15(2) also lets an employee terminate the contract immediately if the stated conditions turn out to be untrue, and Article 15(3) requires the employer to pay the necessary travel costs if an employee who moved home for the job returns home within 14 days of termination. A mismatch of conditions with a chef you have brought abroad can be costly for the company too.

3. What goes in the company to company agreement

What the secondment agreement says feeds directly into social insurance and tax. At minimum, settle the following.

A note on who pays. According to a Japan Pension Service leaflet, pay from the overseas workplace still counts toward the remuneration on which contributions are calculated if the sending company's pay or secondment rules show it is in substance paid by the sending company. A single sentence in the rules can change contributions, so draft the secondment rules and the secondment agreement together.

On workers' accident insurance, the MHLW explains that a worker sent by an employer in Japan to work in an overseas business can be covered by special enrolment. The sending employer applies.

4. What the chef receives in writing

Along with the secondment order, set out the working conditions during the secondment in writing. Covering these points reduces misunderstandings after arrival.

• The host company, the restaurant's address and the duties
• The secondment period and whether it may be extended
• Pay: what is paid in Japan and what locally, currency, pay dates and how exchange rates are handled
• Allowances: overseas allowance, housing (company housing or allowance), travel on departure and return, trips home
• Working hours, days off and leave, set out concretely in line with local law and the restaurant's hours
• Social insurance: continuation of Japanese health insurance and pension, any social security agreement, how medical costs are handled
• Tax: the expected Japanese residence status and how local tax will be handled
• Position and treatment after return

For housing and travel, see housing, flights and relocation allowances. For social insurance, see pension and health insurance for chefs working abroad, and for tax, tax for employees working abroad.

5. Be careful with clauses to repay travel costs

Employers often want a clause such as "if you resign within two years of arrival, you repay the full cost of your flights". Article 16 of the Labour Standards Act provides that an employer must not make a contract that sets a penalty for breach of the employment contract or fixes an amount of damages in advance.

How a clause requiring repayment of costs on early resignation is assessed against this rule depends on its content and the nature of the costs. That applies to secondees under Japanese law, and for local hires under the law of the country of work you also need to check for similar limits there. If you want such a clause, have it reviewed by a professional.

6. Employment contracts for local hires

When the overseas company hires directly, the employment contract follows the labour law of the country of work. Minimum wage, working hours, probation and dismissal all have local rules, and in some countries the contract is reviewed as part of the work visa application. For English contract items, see the chef employment contract checklist, and for offers, the chef offer letter template.

7. Checklist before drafting

1. Does the statement of working conditions at hiring include overseas workplaces in the scope of possible changes?
2. Can you explain the need for the secondment and why this chef was chosen (Labour Contracts Act, Article 14)?
3. Have you decided whether the period is a year or more, and in an agreement country whether it exceeds five years?
4. Have you decided who pays the salary and how the secondment rules treat it?
5. Who handles the certificate of coverage, accident insurance special enrolment and local insurance?
6. Which costs does the law of the country of work put on the employer?
7. If you want a cost repayment clause, has a professional reviewed it?

General information, not legal or employment advice. The validity and interpretation of secondment agreements and employment contracts depend on the facts and the law that applies. Check the official sources below, verified in September 2026, and consult a sharoshi, a lawyer or another qualified adviser.