Key points
- Whether someone is a worker is decided by the actual situation, not by labels such as "visit", "trial" or "training" (Labor Standards Act, Article 9; 1985 report of the Study Group on the Labor Standards Act).
- A workplace visit — looking around, hearing explanations and asking questions — normally points away from being work. But if the person takes on part of the job under instructions, they are more likely to be judged a worker.
- If they count as a worker, then even for a single day you must pay at least the minimum wage, state the working conditions, and cover them with workers' accident compensation insurance. Time spent on explanations and training needed for the job is also working time.
- The FY2026 regional minimum wage (council recommendations) has a national weighted average of ¥1,177. The effective date differs by prefecture.
- We found no MHLW notice or guideline that deals with trial work itself. For individual cases, check with a Labor Standards Inspection Office or a licensed labor and social security attorney.
Scope: a general overview for workplaces that host workplace visits, or pre-hire trial work and trial shifts. It is not an official view of the authorities on any individual case.
Showing candidates around before hiring, or having them work alongside you for a day, is a good chance for both sides to see what the job is really like. But if you have someone do unpaid work because "it's just a trial" or "it's part of the visit", it may legally count as work — and work must be paid. This guide sorts out where a workplace visit ends and where work begins.
01Worker status depends on the facts
Article 9 of the Labor Standards Act（労働基準法）defines a worker as "a person who is employed at a business and is paid wages". Whether someone has worker status（労働者性）— that is, whether they legally count as a worker — is judged using the 1985 report of the Study Group on the Labor Standards Act（労働基準法研究会報告）. The core test is "subordination"（使用従属性）: whether the person works under the employer's direction and supervision, and whether the pay is in return for their labor. In practice, it looks at factors such as these:
Freedom to refuseCan they turn down requests for work or instructions?
Direction and supervisionAre they given specific instructions on what to do and how to do it?
Control of time and placeAre their place and hours of work set and managed?
SubstitutabilityCould someone else do the work in their place?
The basic principle: even if it is called a "visit", "trial", "training" or "volunteering", the person can be judged a worker if the facts fit these criteria.
02Visits, trial work and one-day jobs compared
Applying the criteria above gives roughly the following picture. (We found no MHLW notice that deals with trial work itself, so this is based on the general criteria.)
| Arrangement | Worker status | Wages | Workers' accident insurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workplace visit（見学） Looking around, hearing explanations, asking questions | Normally points to no worker status (no work under direction and orders) | No duty to pay (covering travel costs is optional) | Not covered. The workplace should consider how to cover accidents |
| Trial work（体験入職）/ trial shift（お試し勤務） Joining a shift and doing part of the job under instructions | Likely to be recognized | Must pay at least the minimum wage | Covered if they are a worker |
| Short (one-day) job under an employment contract | Worker | Must pay | Covered. Working conditions must also be stated |
03Four signs a "trial" is really work
We found no notice that deals directly with trial work for job seekers. However, there is an official interpretation for student internships, which is the closest public yardstick. A leaflet from the Nagano Labor Bureau says an intern counts as a worker if the facts look like this:
- There is little element of observation or hands-on experience
- They receive direction and orders about the work
- They engage directly in productive activity, and the profit or benefit goes to the workplace
- In practice, some form of pay is given
For example, in a care setting, if you leave bathing assistance or record-keeping to the person as a member of staff, signs 2 and 3 are likely to apply. If they stand beside staff, listen to explanations and don't take part in the work, it is more likely to stay within the scope of a visit. And even if you call it a "thank-you payment" or "travel expenses", paying according to time spent or amount of work done can count as actual pay (sign 4). Changing the label does not make worker status go away.
Don't use it to fill gaps on short-staffed days
The same leaflet says internships must not be used to secure labor during busy periods. Avoid using trial days as a way to cover staffing shortfalls.
04What you owe if they count as a worker
If a trial or trial shift counts as work, you need to do the following — even for a single day.
| Item | What it means | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Wages at or above the minimum wage | Pay at least the regional minimum wage. Any agreement below it is void and treated as set at the minimum wage. Violations carry a fine of up to ¥500,000 | Minimum Wage Act（最低賃金法）, Articles 4 and 40 |
| Time for explanations and training | Training required for the job, and study done on the employer's instructions, count as working time. You cannot treat an orientation as "unpaid training" | MHLW guidelines on properly tracking working hours（労働時間の適正な把握のためのガイドライン, 2017） |
| Premium pay | Premium rates apply to late-night work (10 p.m.–5 a.m.) and to work beyond 8 hours a day | Labor Standards Act, Article 37 |
| Stating working conditions | State wages, working hours and other terms when the contract is made | Labor Standards Act, Article 15 |
| Wage ledger | Make an entry each time wages are paid (a worker register is not required for people hired by the day) | Labor Standards Act, Articles 107 and 108 |
| Workers' accident compensation insurance（労災保険） | If they are a worker, accidents during work or commuting are covered — even for one day | Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act（労働者災害補償保険法） |
| Social insurance and employment insurance | People hired by the day do not become health insurance members unless they are employed continuously for more than one month. People not expected to be employed by the same employer for 31 days or more are, in principle, not covered by employment insurance | Health Insurance Act（健康保険法）, Article 3; Employment Insurance Act（雇用保険法）, Article 6 |
05A day's minimum pay (FY2026)
For reference, we calculated the minimum for an 8-hour day using the FY2026 (Reiwa 8) regional minimum wages (MHLW's status of council recommendations, as of September 2026). In practice, many workplaces probably pay at the usual hourly rate for the same job, but we found no public data on pay levels for one-day trial work.
| Region | Minimum wage (hourly) | Effective date (planned) | For 8 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | ¥1,280 | Oct 1, 2026 | ¥10,240 |
| Kanagawa | ¥1,279 | Oct 1, 2026 | ¥10,232 |
| Osaka | ¥1,231 | Oct 1, 2026 | ¥9,848 |
| Aichi | ¥1,195 | Oct 1, 2026 | ¥9,560 |
| Fukuoka | ¥1,114 | Oct 4, 2026 | ¥8,912 |
| Miyazaki | ¥1,085 | Oct 24, 2026 | ¥8,680 |
| National weighted average | ¥1,177 | — | ¥9,416 |
06Licensed work: check the license first
Nursing work (care for the sick and injured, and assisting with medical treatment) may not be done without a registered nurse license (Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives and Nurses（保健師助産師看護師法）, Article 31). Violations are punishable by imprisonment of up to 2 years, a fine of up to ¥500,000, or both (Article 43 of the Act). If you have someone do work that requires a license during a trial shift, first check their qualification, for example by seeing their license. Do not let people who are only expecting to qualify, or students, do work reserved for license holders. The same thinking applies to other licensed work, such as driving and electrical work.
07Not the same as "trial employment"
The names are similar, but the government's Trial Employment Subsidy（トライアル雇用助成金）is a scheme for hiring job seekers who have difficulty finding work, referred through Hello Work (Japan's public employment service offices) or similar channels, on a trial basis under fixed-term employment of, in principle, 3 months. It is separate from one-day trial work or trial shifts, and has requirements such as the referral route and "not having started selection before the referral". For details, see Government subsidies for hiring and retention in Japan (FY2026).
Use the checklist before hosting anyone
The points to check when designing workplace visits and trial shifts as separate things are collected in our pre-hiring checklist.
Sources
- 労働基準法研究会報告「労働基準法の『労働者』の判断基準について」Report of the Study Group on the Labor Standards Act: "On the criteria for determining a 'worker' under the Labor Standards Act"
- 労働基準法（第9条・第15条・第37条・第107条・第108条）Labor Standards Act (Articles 9, 15, 37, 107 and 108)
- 最低賃金法（第4条・第40条）Minimum Wage Act (Articles 4 and 40)
- インターンシップ生受入れにおける留意点Points to note when hosting interns
- インターンシップを始めとする学生のキャリア形成支援に係る取組の推進に当たっての基本的考え方Basic approach to promoting internships and other support for students' career development
- 労働時間の適正な把握のために使用者が講ずべき措置に関するガイドラインGuidelines on measures employers should take to properly track working hours
- 令和8年度 地域別最低賃金 答申状況FY2026 (Reiwa 8) regional minimum wages: status of council recommendations
- 健康保険法（第3条）・雇用保険法（第6条）Health Insurance Act (Article 3) and Employment Insurance Act (Article 6)
- 保健師助産師看護師法（第31条・第32条・第43条）Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives and Nurses (Articles 31, 32 and 43)
- トライアル雇用助成金（一般トライアルコース）Trial Employment Subsidy (General Trial Course)
This article is a general explanation based on Japanese laws and public sources as of Sept 25, 2026. Rules change. For individual cases, check with the Prefectural Labor Bureau (労働局), Labor Standards Inspection Office (労働基準監督署), Hello Work, or a licensed labor and social security attorney (社会保険労務士). Sources are mostly in Japanese.