[Question]What’s the difference between Haken(tempoarry worker), Ukeoi (contract worker),and Itaku(independent contractor)?

[Answer]

Under Haken or temporary hiring, workers hired by a temporary staffing agency, are sent to other companies where they receive instructions pertaining to the job from them. This temporary hiring comes in two types. One is “specified worker dispatching undertakings” whereby a temp agency hires temporary workers on a regular basis and sends them on assignment to work at its client companies. The other type is “general worker dispatching undertakings” whereby a temp agency registers temporary workers and sends them to its client companies on a contingent basis by signing a per-job contract each time the agency receives an assignment from its client companies.

 Under Ukeoi or undertakings by contract, an independent contractor sees to it that an assigned project is accomplished as a result of labor, rather than provides labor itself. Independent contractors work for themselves at their own discretion. They operate their own business and do not work for an employer. They sometimes have to hire other workers directly to complete the assignment. (Source: Osaka Prefectural Labor Office)

 There are differences between temporary hiring and contract-based undertakings when it comes to how labor laws, including the Labor Standards Law and Labor Safety and Sanitation Law, are applied to workers. With temporary hiring, a temp agency and its client company are each obliged to take the responsibility for the workers, while independent contractors are entirely responsible for their workers. For more information, please contact the Osaka Labor Bureau.