The Ministry of Employment and Labor is launching an investigation into the practice of "split hiring"—employing workers on contracts of less than one year—in the public sector.
The ministry announced on the 10th that it has selected 30 local governments suspected of such practices for planned inspections.
Central administrative agencies, local governments, and public institutions are prohibited from hiring workers on fixed-term contracts of less than one year for regular, ongoing work. To employ workers on sub-one-year contracts, organizations must pass a pre-screening review for non-regular employment. However, some central government ministries have been signing employment contracts for 364 days or 11 months.
The ministry is also considering extending inspections to other local governments and public institutions.
The government is developing measures to improve unfavorable working conditions for non-regular workers, including those affected by split contracts. A joint interministerial task force plans to announce "Measures to Improve Treatment of Non-Regular Workers" in April.
