Staffing and night-shift labour management at a fee-charging elderly home with care (specified facility)

In short: Labour management at a fee-charging elderly home with care (specified facility residents' daily-life care) turns on meeting the designation's staffing standard on a "full-time-equivalent" basis while designing night-shift working hours and premium wages exactly as the law requires. The staffing standard is set out in the "Standards concerning personnel, facilities and operation of designated in-home service businesses" (Ministerial Ordinance No. 37 of 1999); the combined number of nursing and care staff must be at least one per three residents needing care, on a full-time-equivalent basis. Staff placed at night and late at night are normally on actual night-shift work that involves assistance and monitoring; here a late-night premium (10 p.m.–5 a.m., 25% or more) and an overtime premium for time beyond statutory hours (Labor Standards Act, Article 37) arise. Even if it is labelled "night duty," unless it meets the permission standard of ordinarily almost no need to work (Article 41, item 3; Notice Hatsuki No. 17 of 13 September 1947), it is treated as working time. This article sets out the range of the standard that a Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles, how to count full-time equivalents, the difference between night shift and night duty, and working-hours management for 16-hour night shifts.

"We meet the designation's staffing standard, but I'm unsure whether the night-shift premium calculation is right," and "I want to use dedicated night-shift staff, but how do we manage working hours?" — these are questions we often hear from labour staff who open and run a fee-charging elderly home with care. This page organises the labour design — working hours, premium wages and work rules — on the premise of the specified facility's staffing. Whether the designation standard is met and whether the designation application succeeds is the domain of the designating authority (prefecture/city) and application practice; this article focuses on the labour thinking.

How far does a Shakai Hoken Roumushi get involved in the specified facility's staffing standard?

The staffing standard is both a requirement for obtaining the designation and, at the same time, a labour issue of designing working hours and employment contracts so as to keep meeting those numbers on a full-time-equivalent basis. The outline of the standard is as follows (general type; the fine figures change with the system and the local authority's handling, so final conformity is confirmed with the designating authority's guidance).

Role	Placement guideline (full-time equivalent)
Living consultant	At least 1 per 100 residents
Nursing staff and care staff combined	At least 1 per 3 residents needing care / 1 per 10 needing support
Of which nursing staff	1 up to 30 residents; where over 30, plus 1 for every 50
Care staff	At least 1 at all times (at least 1 full-time)
Functional training instructor	At least 1 (may be concurrent)
Care-plan coordinator	At least 1 care manager (standard: 1 per 100 residents)
Manager	1 full-time person devoted to the duty

Of these, what a Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles is not "the number to place" but "how to build the work that meets that number": designing shifts that meet the full-time-equivalent count, putting in order employment contracts, work rules and wage regulations, managing night-shift and overtime working hours and calculating premium wages, and social-insurance acquisition and loss procedures. Interpreting the staffing standard itself, and preparing the designation application and change filings, are the work of a Gyoseishoshi, governed by different laws. For counting full-time equivalents in disability welfare, see how do you calculate full-time equivalents in disability welfare and care.

How do you count full-time equivalents and reflect them in shifts?

The full-time-equivalent number is the total scheduled working hours of the establishment's staff divided by the hours a full-time staff member should work.

Item	Content
Formula	FTE = (total scheduled hours of all staff) ÷ (hours a full-time worker should work per week)
Full-time hours	The prescribed hours set in the work rules (e.g. 40 hours/week). The ceiling under Article 32 is 8 hours/day, 40 hours/week
Part-time staff	Counted into the total by their actual working hours
Handling of fractions	Build with a margin so as never to fall below each role's required number

Note that the full-time equivalent is seen by the "total volume of working hours," not by headcount. One full-time worker at 40 hours a week and two part-timers at 20 hours each are both "1" in FTE terms. That is exactly why, when the total hours fall due to paid leave, absence or training, there is a risk of falling below the standard. Build shifts with a margin, within statutory hours (8/day, 40/week) and the overtime/holiday agreement (Article 36, the 36 Agreement). Work rules must be prepared and filed at establishments with 10 or more workers at all times (Article 89). See from how many workers must you prepare and file work rules.

How do night shift and night duty differ, and how do premium wages change?

Night placement at a fee-charging elderly home with care is normally actual night-shift work — assistance, toileting support, monitoring and recording. This is "working time" under the Labor Standards Act, unlike night duty (work exempt from the working-hours rules if permission is obtained).

Aspect	Night shift (actual)	Night duty (where permitted)
Actual work	Ordinary care, monitoring, recording	Scheduled rounds, standby for emergencies, intermittent work
Working time	Counts as working time	Exempt from working hours, breaks, days off
Late-night premium (10 p.m.–5 a.m.)	25% or more required	In principle not required
Overtime premium	25% or more for time beyond statutory hours	In principle not required
Permission	Not required (managed as working time)	Permission of the labour standards inspection office director required

To take work out of the working-hours rules as night duty, it must meet the standard of ordinarily almost no need to work and obtain the permission of the director of the labour standards inspection office (Article 41, item 3; Enforcement Ordinance, Article 23; Notice Hatsuki No. 17 of 13 September 1947). A care facility's night hours, which frequently involve assistance and monitoring, rarely meet this and generally do not qualify as night duty. Time worked at night is therefore subject to the late-night premium (Article 37, paragraph 3), and time beyond statutory hours also to the overtime premium (paragraph 1). For night-duty permission standards, see what kind of duty qualifies for night-duty permission in medical and care settings; for the night-shift/night-duty difference at a disability group home, see how do night shifts and night duty differ for labour management at a group home.

What to watch in working-hours management for dedicated and 16-hour night shifts?

Care sites sometimes run a "16-hour night shift" from evening to the next morning, or "dedicated night-shift" staff. The points to grasp are as follows.

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• Absorb designs over 8 hours/day and 40 hours/week with a variable working-hours system. A monthly-unit (Article 32-2) or yearly-unit (Article 32-4) variable system lets you set certain days over 8 hours while averaging the period to within 40 hours a week. Under the yearly unit, the 44-hour special exception is unavailable even for establishments under 10 workers, so you calculate at 40 hours
• The late-night premium is still separately required. Even within statutory hours under a variable system, work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. attracts the late-night premium (25% or more)
• Secure breaks. A 16-hour engagement requires at least 1 hour of break, free from work (Article 34). Time when one "must respond to a call even during a nap" can be hand-waiting time and thus working time
• Overtime and holiday work within the 36 Agreement. Work beyond the agreement's ceilings cannot be assigned (Article 36)

The extinctive prescription of a wage claim is, for the time being, 3 years (Article 115 and Supplementary Provisions). An error in the night-shift premium calculation risks three years' worth being claimed together, so recording start/end times and the reality of breaks and naps objectively is a premise. Handling an individual unpaid-wage claim is the work of an attorney, outside the scope of this article. For choosing a variable working-hours system, see how do you choose between a variable working-hours system and flextime; for the scope of the 36 Agreement, see how far can you entrust the 36 Agreement and overtime to a Shakai Hoken Roumushi.

Whom should you separate the staffing standard and the labour work to?

In opening and running a specified facility, who decides divides by role. Separating the roles and entrusting each to its professional is safer.

What is done	Whose domain
Work rules, wage regulations, the 36 Agreement, a variable system; night-shift premium calculation; social insurance	Shakai Hoken Roumushi (四葉社会保険労務士事務所)
Interpreting the staffing standard; the specified-facility designation application and change filings	Gyoseishoshi (四葉行政書士事務所)
Care-fee billing and tax	Operator and tax accountant
Unpaid-wage claims and disputes, labour tribunal and litigation	Attorney

四葉社会保険労務士事務所 and 四葉行政書士事務所 are independent business entities. Labour goes to the Shakai Hoken Roumushi and the designation application to the Gyoseishoshi, so you contract with each separately — a separate-engagement arrangement. No referral fees are exchanged. For labour matching a staffing standard, see labour management for staffing standards; for care and disability welfare, see labour management for care and disability welfare. Consultation is free. For fees, see the fee schedule; for FAQs, see the FAQ.

FAQ

Q. Can we make the night shift at a fee-charging elderly home with care "night duty" and not pay premium wages?
A. Usually not. To take it out of the working-hours rules as night duty, you need the permission of the labour standards inspection office director for intermittent work with ordinarily almost no need to work (Article 41, item 3; Notice Hatsuki No. 17). A care facility's night hours, with frequent assistance and monitoring, rarely meet the requirement and are normally actual night shift subject to late-night and overtime premiums.

Q. Can the full-time equivalent be met just by headcount?
A. No. The full-time equivalent is seen by the total volume of working hours — the total scheduled hours of all staff divided by the hours a full-time worker should work. When total hours fall due to paid leave, absence or training, there is a risk of falling below the standard, so a shift design with a margin is a premise.

Q. Does a 16-hour night shift violate the Labor Standards Act?
A. Not immediately, but a design over 8 hours/day and 40 hours/week must be brought within 40 hours a week on average over the period using a monthly- or yearly-unit variable working-hours system (Articles 32-2 and 32-4). The late-night premium, securing breaks, and staying within the 36 Agreement are met separately.

Q. Can we entrust conformity with the staffing standard and the labour work to the same person?
A. Because the governing laws differ, they are considered separately. Interpreting the staffing standard and preparing the designation application are for a Gyoseishoshi; work rules, premium wages and social insurance are for a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. At Yotsuba, 四葉行政書士事務所 and 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 are independent business entities, dividing the work under separate contracts.

Sources

• Standards concerning personnel, facilities and operation of designated in-home service businesses (Ministerial Ordinance No. 37 of 1999), Article 175 and others (staffing for specified facility residents' daily-life care — living consultant, nursing and care staff, functional training instructor, care-plan coordinator, manager; nursing and care staff combined at least 1 per 3 residents needing care, 1 per 10 needing support, full-time equivalent). Fine figures and specific night numbers are confirmed with the designating authority's (prefecture/city) ordinances and guidelines (as of September 2026)
• Labor Standards Act (Act No. 49 of 1947), Article 32 (statutory hours: 8/day, 40/week), Article 32-2 (monthly-unit variable system), Article 32-4 (yearly-unit variable system), Article 34 (breaks), Article 36 (overtime/holiday agreement), Article 37 (premium wages: overtime 25%+, late-night 25%+, holiday 35%+), Article 41, item 3 (exemption for surveillance or intermittent work = night-duty permission), Article 89 (preparation and filing of work rules), Article 115 and Supplementary Provisions (extinctive prescription of wage claims; 3 years for the time being)
• Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act (Ministry of Health and Welfare Ordinance No. 23 of 1947), Article 23 (permission for intermittent work in night or day duty; Form No. 10)
• General night/day duty permission standard = Notice Hatsuki No. 17 of 13 September 1947 (ordinarily almost no need to work; the night-duty allowance is at least one-third of the average daily wage per person of the same kind; night duty once a week, day duty once a month; adequate sleeping facilities)
• Whether hand-waiting and nap time count as working time depends on whether the worker is under the employer's direction and supervision; a general proposition from administrative interpretation and case law. Specific night-placement numbers at a specified facility vary by local operation, so this article avoids asserting them (treated as unverified)

This article does not decide whom to consult. Work rules, wage regulations, the 36 Agreement and variable systems, night-shift premium calculation, and social insurance are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. Interpreting the staffing standard and preparing the designation application are for a Gyoseishoshi; care-fee billing and tax for the operator and a tax accountant; unpaid-wage claims and disputes for an attorney. 四葉行政書士事務所 and 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 are independent business entities, contracted separately.

This article is general information. A judgment on individual circumstances is made by a qualified professional after a consultation. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).