Can you put golf-course caddies on a contractor basis? How do you treat waiting time and seasonal swings?

In short: Even if you call a golf-course caddy a "contractor," whether they are a worker is decided by the reality of how they work, not by the title of the contract (Labor Standards Act, Article 9; the Labour Standards Act Study Group report of December 19, 1985). Where the company assigns work to match tee times, directs how the round is run, and bars work at other courses, worker status becomes stronger, and overtime pay and social insurance can be sought retroactively. Waiting between one round and the next is also working time (waiting time) if the caddy is under the company's direction and command (the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard case, Supreme Court, March 9, 2000). The seasonal swing — busy in spring and autumn, slack in midsummer and midwinter — can be reorganised into prescribed hours with the yearly variable working-hours system (Labor Standards Act, Article 32-4), but that requires a labour-management agreement and has caps such as 10 hours a day and 52 hours a week. From a shakai hoken roumushi's labour-management viewpoint, this page covers caddy worker status, waiting time, the variable working-hours system for seasonal swings, and what to decide first at opening — sending disputes over worker status and collective bargaining to an attorney or the labour relations commission, under separate engagements as independent business entities.

In running a golf course or driving range, a practice of treating caddies and front staff as contractors sometimes lingers, while long waiting time and seasonal swings overlap, so the line between employment and contracting and the design of working hours become problems at the same time. This page is for those who run a golf course or driving range, and for HR staff.

Does putting caddies on a contractor basis mean they are no longer workers?

Even with a "business-contracting agreement," if the reality is employment the caddy is treated as a worker. Whether someone is a "worker" under Article 9 of the Labor Standards Act is judged under the framework shown by the Labour Standards Act Study Group report of December 19, 1985 (On the criteria for judging a "worker" under the Labour Standards Act). The core is subordination in use: ① whether there is freedom to refuse a request for work; ② whether the person is under direction and supervision in performing the work; ③ whether there is constraint as to place and time; ④ whether another person can provide the labour instead (substitutability); and ⑤ whether the pay is calculated on a time basis. Business character and exclusivity are reinforcing factors.

On the course, worker status is stronger where the company assigns work according to the starting sheet (group allocation), directs in detail how the round is run and how customers are served, and prohibits work at other golf courses. If the reality is found to be employment, premium pay and social insurance premiums can be sought retroactively. The general line between contracting and employment is covered in The line between contracting and employment, and a concrete example of judging contracting and worker status is in Gym trainers, contracting and worker status.

Facts that tend to raise worker status	Facts that tend to lower it
The company allocates groups and assigns work	The caddy can choose their own group
The company directs how the round is run and customer service	The way of running it is at the caddy's discretion
Work at other golf courses is prohibited	Can take work at other courses too
Paid a fixed daily or hourly wage	Settled per round as a deliverable

The final judgment on worker status is made by the Labour Standards Inspection Office or the courts, in light of the actual situation. It is not decided by how the company labels it.

Is the "waiting time" between rounds working time?

A caddy has waiting before and after an assigned round and between one group and the next. If that waiting is under the company's direction and command, it is working time (waiting time) even if the caddy is not actually accompanying play. Working time is the time during which the worker is placed under the employer's direction and command, determined objectively by the reality and not by the work rules or the contract — this is the Supreme Court's position (the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard case, Supreme Court, March 9, 2000). Time when the caddy is told to wait for the next group and cannot leave their post is in principle working time.

By contrast, time during which the worker is completely freed from labour and guaranteed free use is a rest break and is not counted as working time (the free use of rest breaks is in Labor Standards Act, Article 34). Time spent on standby in the clubhouse ready for a call is waiting time; time during a set lunch period when the caddy may fully step away from work is a rest break — that is how they are distinguished. Not counting waiting time as working time can make the actual hourly rate fall below the regional minimum wage. The final line on what counts as working time is drawn by a qualified professional in light of the actual situation.

Category	Working time?	Thinking
Waiting for the next group / on call	Working time (waiting time)	Placed under direction and command
Standby where the post cannot be left	Working time	Free use is not guaranteed
A rest break fully away from work	Not working time	Rest break (free use; Labor Standards Act, Art. 34)

Can the busy-and-slack difference be absorbed by the yearly variable working-hours system?

A golf course has a large seasonal swing, with customers concentrated in spring and autumn and falling off in midsummer, midwinter and bad weather. The scheme that reflects this in prescribed hours is the yearly variable working-hours system (Labor Standards Act, Article 32-4). It requires a labour-management agreement to be concluded and filed, and within the range where average weekly hours over the target period (more than one month and up to one year) do not exceed 40, you set prescribed hours in advance — longer in the busy season, shorter in the slack season. There are caps such as 10 hours a day and 52 hours a week and a limit on consecutive working days (in principle 6); where the target period exceeds three months, a limit on working days (in principle 280 a year) also applies.

Hours worked beyond the prescribed hours set in advance, or beyond the variable framework, are overtime subject to premium pay (Labor Standards Act, Article 37; 25% or more, and 50% or more for overtime exceeding 60 hours a month). Which unit to choose (monthly or yearly) depends on the cycle of busy and slack periods; it is set out in How to choose a variable working-hours system. A golf course with seasonal peaks tends to suit the yearly unit, but if the agreement or the setting of prescribed hours is wrong the variable system itself becomes void and reverts to the ordinary premium calculation, so design it carefully.

	Monthly (Article 32-2)	Yearly (Article 32-4)
Labour-management agreement	Work rules also suffice	Required
Average cap	40 hours/week	40 hours/week
Daily/weekly cap	No individual statutory cap	10 hours/day, 52 hours/week
Suited cycle	Peaks within a month	Seasonal peaks

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Whom do you consult for disputes over worker status, and for work rules and social insurance?

Where a caddy asserts "I am a worker" and seeks unpaid overtime or retroactive social insurance, or a union requests collective bargaining, the representation in individual or collective disputes is the work of an attorney. Procedures over a breakdown in collective bargaining or unfair labour practices are handled by the labour relations commission. The final judgment on worker status itself is made by the Labour Standards Inspection Office or the courts, in light of the actual situation. These are contracted separately from shakai hoken roumushi work, as an independent business entity.

On the other hand, drawing up work rules and wage rules, concluding and filing the labour-management agreement for the yearly variable working-hours system, separating waiting time from rest breaks, and the application of and enrolment in social and employment insurance — all aimed at preventing disputes before they arise — are handled by a shakai hoken roumushi. At the stage of opening or reviewing the setup, deciding whether to arrange caddies as employment or as contracting, and building a working-hours system and pay structure that match, is what most reduces later retroactive risk.

What can 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 do for you?

四葉社会保険労務士事務所 in Kohinata, Bunkyo Ward, handles, for the labour of a golf course or driving range, organising caddy worker status, separating waiting time from rest breaks, concluding and filing the labour-management agreement for the yearly variable working-hours system, arranging the basis for premium pay and the wage rules, putting the work rules in order, and enrolment in social and employment insurance. The initial consultation is free. We quote according to the content and number of employees; for how fees are thought about, see the fee schedule, and the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

Dealing with individual disputes over caddy worker status or claims for unpaid wages, and representation in collective bargaining, are the work of an attorney, and procedures over collective bargaining and unfair labour practices are the field of the labour relations commission; we will guide you to contract with each separately, as an independent business entity. This office does not accept referral fees.

Frequently asked questions

Q. If we make all caddies "contractors," do overtime pay and social insurance not apply?
A. It is not decided by the title of the contract. Where the company allocates work by the starting sheet, directs how the round is run, and bars work at other golf courses — so that in reality the caddy is under direction and command — they are judged to be a worker, and premium pay and social insurance premiums can be sought retroactively (Labor Standards Act, Article 9; the Study Group report of December 19, 1985). The final judgment is made by the Labour Standards Inspection Office or the courts, in light of the actual situation.

Q. Do we not have to pay for the waiting time between rounds?
A. If the caddy is under the company's direction and command with a duty to wait for the next group or be ready for a call, it is working time as waiting time even without actually accompanying play, and so it is subject to pay (the thinking of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard case, Supreme Court, March 9, 2000). Time fully freed from labour and available for free use is a rest break and is not counted as working time (Labor Standards Act, Article 34).

Q. Can the busy-and-slack difference be absorbed by the yearly variable working-hours system?
A. Yes. You set prescribed hours in advance — longer in the busy season, shorter in the slack season — so that the average stays within 40 hours a week over the target period (Labor Standards Act, Article 32-4). However, a labour-management agreement must be concluded and filed, and there are caps such as 10 hours a day and 52 hours a week and a limit on consecutive working days. If the agreement or the setting of prescribed hours is wrong, the variable system becomes void and reverts to the ordinary premium calculation.

Q. A caddy says "I am a worker." Whom should we consult?
A. Claims for unpaid overtime, individual disputes over worker status, and representation in collective bargaining are the work of an attorney. Procedures over collective bargaining and unfair labour practices are handled by the labour relations commission, and the final judgment on worker status is made by the Labour Standards Inspection Office or the courts. Putting work rules, the variable working-hours system and social insurance in order to prevent disputes is handled by a shakai hoken roumushi, each contracted separately as an independent business entity.

Sources for this article

• Labor Standards Act (労働基準法, Act No. 49 of 1947), Article 9 (definition of worker), Article 32-2 (monthly variable working-hours system), Article 32-4 (yearly variable working-hours system), Article 34 (rest breaks and the principle of free use), Article 37 (premium pay for overtime, holiday and late-night work; 50% or more for overtime over 60 hours a month) (confirmed against e-Gov on October 27, 2026)
• Labour Standards Act Study Group report, "On the criteria for judging a 'worker' under the Labour Standards Act" (December 19, 1985). Judged by subordination in use (freedom to refuse, direction and supervision, constraint of place and time, substitutability, pay as consideration for labour) and reinforcing factors such as business character and exclusivity (referenced October 27, 2026)
• Supreme Court, First Petty Bench, judgment of March 9, 2000 (the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard case). Held that working hours are the time during which a worker is placed under the employer's direction and command, determined objectively and not by the work rules or the contract (referenced October 27, 2026)
• The labour-management agreement for the yearly variable working-hours system, the caps of 10 hours a day and 52 hours a week, the limit on consecutive working days (in principle 6), and the limit on working days where the target period exceeds three months (in principle 280 a year) are under Labor Standards Act, Article 32-4 and the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act, Article 12-4 (confirmed against e-Gov on October 27, 2026)
• The 50%-or-more premium for overtime over 60 hours a month applies to small and medium-sized enterprises from April 1, 2023 (the grace measure abolished) (referenced October 27, 2026)

This article does not go so far as to decide whom you should consult. Organising caddy worker status, separating waiting time from rest breaks, the labour-management agreement for the yearly variable working-hours system, the basis for premium pay, wage rules and work rules, and enrolment in social and employment insurance are the work of a shakai hoken roumushi. Representation in individual disputes over worker status or claims for unpaid wages and in collective bargaining is the work of an attorney, and procedures over collective bargaining and unfair labour practices are the field of the labour relations commission; each is carried out by an independent business entity and contracted separately. This office does not accept referral fees. The cost of consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 is set out in the fee schedule, and the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

This article is general information. Judgments that fit your particular circumstances are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant), Gyoseishoshi (Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist), Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).