Opening or running a petrol station: what to watch in labour and hazardous-materials staffing

Bottom line first: A petrol station's labour is built around late-night premiums (Labour Standards Act Article 37) and variable working-hours systems (Articles 32-2 and 32-4), with the placement of a licensed hazardous-materials handler and the self-service monitoring regime woven into the staffing plan. Qualifications and facility permits are the area of the fire department and a Gyoseishoshi; the labour side is a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's area.

A service station (SS) differs from other businesses in two ways that bind the shift roster and staffing at the same time: long hours that run into the night and early morning, and the fact that you cannot operate without a licensed hazardous-materials handler. Design the working-hours system and the hazardous-materials staffing separately and one of them breaks. This article sets out the order an owner should grasp before opening or succeeding to the business.

How is a petrol station's labour different from other industries?

Because petrol (a Class 4 hazardous material) is handled, you must appoint a hazardous-materials safety supervisor and keep a licensed handler present or monitoring during opening hours — in both full-service and self-service formats. So you cannot simply "cut people to run leaner": working hours are built around the qualified staff's shifts.

At the same time, the rules of the Labour Standards Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act — working hours, breaks, holidays, premium wages, health checks — apply just as in any other industry. The special hazardous-materials regime does not loosen labour law.

How do you build 24-hour and late-night shifts with variable working hours and late-night premiums?

First, calculate the late-night premium correctly: at least 25% for work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. (Labour Standards Act Article 37(4)). On top of that, where demand rises and falls by day or time, a variable working-hours system is used to level out contracted hours.

System	Basis	When to use
Late-night premium	Labour Standards Act Article 37(4)	10 p.m.–5 a.m.: at least 25%, added on top of overtime/holiday premiums
1-month variable working hours	Labour Standards Act Article 32-2	Monthly peaks; average 40 hours a week
1-year variable working hours	Labour Standards Act Article 32-4	Seasonal peaks; needs a labour-management agreement and filing
Overtime / holiday work	Labour Standards Act Article 36	A filed Article 36 agreement is required first

Even under a variable system, the late-night premium is calculated separately. See choosing between variable working hours and flexitime.

How do hazardous-materials handlers and self-service monitoring affect staffing?

A filling station must appoint a hazardous-materials safety supervisor (Fire Service Act Article 13(1); Cabinet Order on Hazardous Materials Article 31-2) — a Class A, or Class B (including Category 4), handler with at least six months' experience. Handler licences come in Class A, B and C (Fire Service Act Article 13-2); Category 4, such as petrol and diesel, needs a Class B (Category 4) or Class C licence.

Item	Basis	Effect on staffing
Safety supervisor	Fire Service Act Art. 13(1); Order Art. 31-2	Appoint Class A or B with 6 months' experience; needed at all times
Handler attendance	Fire Service Act Art. 13	An unlicensed person handling fuel needs a licensed handler present
Self-service station	Order on Hazardous Materials Art. 17(5)	A licensed handler monitors customers and authorises fuelling from the console

A self-service station still requires a staff member (a licensed handler) to monitor and authorise fuelling from the console (Cabinet Order Article 17(5) and the related rules and Fire Agency guidance). Whether you can secure at least one licensed handler throughout opening hours decides your roster and hiring plan. Obtaining the licence itself is done by the employee; the permit to install or alter the facility is the area of a Gyoseishoshi and the fire department.

How do you run the twice-a-year health check for night-shift staff?

Employees who regularly do work that includes night work are "specified-task workers" and must have a health check on reassignment and once every six months — twice a year (Industrial Safety and Health Regulations Article 45), versus once a year for the ordinary periodic check (Article 44). Some items, such as chest X-rays, need only be done once a year. Where 50 or more workers are regularly employed, a results report goes to the head of the Labour Standards Inspection Office (Article 52). See the duty to provide periodic health checks and who pays for the time.

What social-insurance and labour-insurance filings and deadlines arise on opening or succession?

A company is covered by health and pension insurance even with a single director, and hiring staff triggers labour insurance. On succession, new-application or closure filings and acquisition/loss of insured status follow.

Filing	Where	Deadline guide
Health/pension new-application	Pension Office	Within 5 days of the event
Labour-insurance establishment	Labour Standards Inspection Office	Within 10 days
Employment-insurance office set-up	Hello Work	Within 10 days
Acquisition of insured status	Pension Office / Hello Work	On each hire (social insurance within 5 days)

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Which filings apply depends on the form of succession (sole-proprietor transfer or share transfer). This article does not give an individual conclusion.

Who handles permits, qualifications, labour and tax?

Permits to install or alter hazardous-materials facilities and fire-related procedures belong to a Gyoseishoshi and the fire department; the handler licence is obtained by the employee; working hours, shifts, social insurance and workers' compensation belong to a Shakai Hoken Roumushi; capital-gains and equipment-investment tax to a tax accountant; registration to a judicial scrivener. Each is engaged as a separate, independent entity under separate contracts, and this office takes no referral fee.

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Frequently asked questions

Q. Can a self-service station run the night shift with unlicensed student part-timers alone?
A. No. Even at a self-service station, monitoring customers and authorising fuelling is the role of a licensed hazardous-materials handler, and you cannot operate with unlicensed staff alone (Cabinet Order on Hazardous Materials Article 17(5) and related rules). A roster that secures a licensed handler throughout opening hours is the premise.

Q. Is a once-a-year health check enough for night-shift staff?
A. No. Workers who regularly do work including night work are specified-task workers and need a check on reassignment and once every six months — twice a year (Industrial Safety and Health Regulations Article 45), more often than the once-a-year periodic check (Article 44).

Q. If we adopt a one-year variable working-hours system, can we stop paying overtime?
A. No. A variable system levels out contracted hours over a period; it does not remove premium pay. Work beyond the pre-set hours needs an overtime premium, and work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. needs the late-night premium (Article 37). The one-year system requires a labour-management agreement and a filing (Article 32-4).

Q. Can a Shakai Hoken Roumushi obtain the hazardous-materials handler licence for us?
A. No. The licence is taken by the individual through an examination and cannot be done on their behalf. Facility install/alter permits belong to a Gyoseishoshi and the fire department. A Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles the labour side — shifts, working hours, social insurance and workers' compensation built around the qualified staff.

This article's basis

• Labour Standards Act (Act No. 49 of 1947) Article 32-2 (1-month variable working hours), Article 32-4 (1-year variable working hours; needs a labour-management agreement and a filing with the head of the Labour Standards Inspection Office), Article 36 (overtime and holiday work; the Article 36 agreement), Article 37 (premium wages; para. 1 overtime at least 25% / holiday at least 35%, para. 4 late-night work from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. at least 25%)
• Industrial Safety and Health Regulations (Ministry of Labour Order No. 32 of 1972) Article 44 (periodic health check once a year), Article 45 (specified-task workers, including night work, on reassignment and once every six months; some items once a year suffice), Article 52 (employers of 50 or more regular workers submit the periodic health-check results report)
• Fire Service Act (Act No. 186 of 1948) Article 13 (appointment of a hazardous-materials safety supervisor; handling and attendance by licensed handlers), Article 13-2 (handler licences: Class A, B, C)
• Cabinet Order on the Regulation of Hazardous Materials (Order No. 306 of 1959) Article 17(5) (technical standards for stations where customers fuel themselves, i.e. self-service), Article 31-2 (facilities that must appoint a safety supervisor, including filling stations)
• Fire and Disaster Management Agency notice on the operation of self-service stations (13 March 1998, Shobo-ki No. 25 and others): monitoring of customer fuelling by a licensed handler and authorisation of fuelling (accessed 1 October 2026)
• Whether a particular filing is needed on succession, and whether an individual employee is a specified-task worker, vary case by case. This article does not give an individual conclusion (unverified).

This article is general information. An individual judgment on your circumstances is made by a qualified professional after a meeting. At the Yotsuba Shakai Hoken Roumushi Office we can advise on shifts and variable working hours built around licensed handlers, late-night and fixed-overtime pay design, the Article 36 agreement, industrial safety and health including specified-task-worker checks, and social- and labour-insurance filings. Facility permits belong to a Gyoseishoshi and the fire department, the handler licence to the employee, tax to a tax accountant, and registration to a judicial scrivener — each a separate, independent entity engaged under separate contracts, with no referral fee. Common questions are gathered in the FAQ. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Licensed Real Estate Transaction Agent).