Why Black Company Employees Were Forced to Use a Resignation Agency Service: “If You Quit, I’ll Claim Compensation!

Resignation agency” is a service in which a company handles the procedures for resignation on behalf of the employee. Many people may have heard of this service through advertisements on the Internet.

In this article, Ms. Marifu Kayo, a judicial scrivener who herself provides resignation agency services, explains the mechanism of resignation agency services and the outline of such services, based on examples of resignation agency services she has received.

Kaori Ito (pseudonym), who has been with the company for less than a year but is considering resigning, joined Z Corp. in April as a full-time employee. She found Z Co., Ltd. through a job advertisement on a social networking service, had an interview, and was hired.

The job description stated only that the salary was “230,000 per month (including overtime),” but Ms. Ito signed a written employment contract with the company without asking for more details at the pre-employment interview, because the position was an urgent one.

Z Corporation was a small company consisting of the president, the president’s wife who was also an auditor, two part-time housewives, one full-time employee, and Mr. Ito.

However, after handing over to Mr. Ito, the senior employee left the company within a week. Ms. Ito had to take on the work that the senior employee had been in charge of, and she had to leave the office around 11:00 p.m., which was hard work for her.

Despite these days, the salary paid was 230,000 yen. When he calculated the overtime hours, which he had been vague about, and discussed the matter with the president, he was shouted down : “We signed an employment contract under these conditions, and if you suddenly quit, I’ll file a claim for damages! Mr. Ito, who was not very good at work, was unable to say anything after that.

After several months of living in such a situation, Mr. Ito began to have gastrointestinal problems. However, his work did not decrease, and since Mr. Ito was the only employee, he endured the days of hard work while taking medication. I want to quit. He thought about it every night, but the president’s raspy voice was burned into his brain, and his legs trembled when he recalled it, making it impossible for him to say so.

One day, he learned that a classmate, Yuta Hayashi (pseudonym), was studying law with the aim of becoming a lawyer, and decided to consult with him. Mr. Ito discussed with him his desire to quit the company and, if possible, to claim overtime pay.

After listening to Mr. Ito’s story, Mr. Hayashi said, “When your wife is an auditor in the first place, it can be said that the company is not governed properly,” and pointed out the “monthly salary of 230,000 (including overtime)” in the job advertisement of Z Corporation, which was used when Mr. Ito applied for employment. He pointed out that such overtime pay is called “deemed overtime pay (fixed overtime),” and that the time and amount of fixed overtime pay must be clearly stated, and further that the amount of fixed overtime pay must be a prorated amount.

The Labor Standards Law stipulates that working hours are limited to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, and that premium wages must be paid for any hours worked in excess of these hours (Article 37 of the Labor Standards Law).

In addition, under the Civil Code, if the parties did not stipulate the term of employment, each party may request termination at any time, and employment terminates two weeks after the request is made (Civil Code Article 627). Mr. Ito has learned that the cause of his current difficult situation is illegal working conditions and that the company’s refusal to let him quit is an illegal act.

However, the thought of having to tell the president of the company directly that she was quitting made her feel dragged down. Therefore, Mr. Hayashi recommended that Mr. Ito use a resignation agency service.

A resignation agency service is a service that handles the resignation procedures on behalf of the resigning employee him/herself. There are three types of resignation agents: (1) lawyers, (2) labor union-run, and (3) private companies, and most of them charge no consultation fee.

Although each type depends on the purpose of use, the private firms are the least expensive, but there have been some cases in which the company has lost contact with the employee after payment has been made, so care must be taken in terms of reliability. In addition, private contractors do not have the right to negotiate, and are not allowed to enter into negotiations or discussions with the employer to resolve the issue. Hence, if it is just a requirement such as difficulty in telling the company, it can easily be used to have the resignation procedure done on behalf of the company.

Next, labor union management is a relatively cost-effective and relatively reliable retirement agency in terms of trust. Workers belonging to companies or firms that do not have labor unions can join a joint labor union (union) in which local peers can participate individually.

Within the scope of the three labor rights that are the rights of citizens, as a group they can negotiate and discuss with the company about the use of paid leave, unpaid wages, and overtime pay. Even in this case, however, it is not possible to go into the area of conflict with Article 72 of the Lawyers Act (handling legal affairs on behalf of the principal for the purpose of obtaining remuneration) to resolve the issue.

Finally, the most expensive in terms of cost is the lawyer, but as in this case, even if it costs more than others, such as in the case of a claim for payment of overtime wages, etc., it is the most certain and the most direct route to a resolution.

In this case, Mr. Ito used a resignation agency conducted by a lawyer. At first, Mr. Ito tried to refuse to use the resignation agency because he felt it would be rude, but Mr. Hayashi convinced him that he did not need to worry about courtesy since the company was making him work under illegal conditions in the first place, and he was able to successfully resign using the resignation agency service.

In cases such as the one in this case, it is not always possible for employees to resign amicably through their own negotiations. It would be a good idea to consult with a specialist before you do something that will damage your mind or body.