# 労働契約法 / Labor Contracts Act — 第十八条 (Article 18) This is the Markdown twin of https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18. Every law, and how to address a provision: https://japanlaw.org/llms.txt. The same laws as MCP tools (no sign-in): https://japanlaw.org/mcp. - Law: 労働契約法 (Labor Contracts Act), 平成十九年法律第百二十八号 - English title "Labor Contracts Act": Ministry of Justice translation - Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say. - Provision: 第十八条 (Article 18)（有期労働契約の期間の定めのない労働契約への転換） — address `art-18` - Text in force since: 2020-04-01 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18 - Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it. - Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below. Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names. They are never merged and never substituted for one another. --- ### 第十八条（有期労働契約の期間の定めのない労働契約への転換） — (Conversion of a Fixed-term Labor Contract to a Labor Contract Without a Fixed Term) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-18 · https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18 **第一項** 同一の使用者との間で締結された二以上の有期労働契約（契約期間の始期の到来前のものを除く。以下この条において同じ。）の契約期間を通算した期間（次項において「通算契約期間」という。）が五年を超える労働者が、当該使用者に対し、現に締結している有期労働契約の契約期間が満了する日までの間に、当該満了する日の翌日から労務が提供される期間の定めのない労働契約の締結の申込みをしたときは、使用者は当該申込みを承諾したものとみなす。この場合において、当該申込みに係る期間の定めのない労働契約の内容である労働条件は、現に締結している有期労働契約の内容である労働条件（契約期間を除く。）と同一の労働条件（当該労働条件（契約期間を除く。）について別段の定めがある部分を除く。）とする。 art-18/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18/par-1 If a Worker whose total contract term of two or more fixed-term labor contracts (excluding any contract term which has not started yet; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) concluded with the same Employer (referred to as the "total contract term" in the next paragraph) exceeds five years applies for the conclusion of a labor contract without a fixed term before the date of expiration of the currently effective fixed-term labor contract, to begin on the day after the said date of expiration, it is deemed that the said Employer accepts the said application. In this case, the labor conditions that are the contents of said labor contract without a fixed term are to be the same as the labor conditions (excluding the contract term) of the currently effective fixed-term labor contract (excluding parts separately provided for with regard to the said labor conditions (excluding the contract term)). Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 当該使用者との間で締結された一の有期労働契約の契約期間が満了した日と当該使用者との間で締結されたその次の有期労働契約の契約期間の初日との間にこれらの契約期間のいずれにも含まれない期間（これらの契約期間が連続すると認められるものとして厚生労働省令で定める基準に該当する場合の当該いずれにも含まれない期間を除く。以下この項において「空白期間」という。）があり、当該空白期間が六月（当該空白期間の直前に満了した一の有期労働契約の契約期間（当該一の有期労働契約を含む二以上の有期労働契約の契約期間の間に空白期間がないときは、当該二以上の有期労働契約の契約期間を通算した期間。以下この項において同じ。）が一年に満たない場合にあっては、当該一の有期労働契約の契約期間に二分の一を乗じて得た期間を基礎として厚生労働省令で定める期間）以上であるときは、当該空白期間前に満了した有期労働契約の契約期間は、通算契約期間に算入しない。 art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18/par-2 In between the expiration date of the preceding fixed-term labor contract and the start date of the following one with the same Employer, if there is a period of time outside of these two contract terms (excluding a period outside of either of the said contract terms which falls under the standards provided by Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, provided that these contract terms be regarded as continuous; hereinafter referred to as a "vacant term" in this paragraph) and the said vacant term is six months or longer (if the contract term of one fixed-term labor contract which expired just before the said vacant term (if there is no vacant term between the contract terms of two or more fixed-term labor contracts including the said first one, the aggregate term of the said two or more contracts; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) is less than one year, the length of a term given by Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, based on the length of a term determined as being one half of the said first contract term), the contract term of the fixed-term that expired before the said vacant term is not included in the total contract term. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-18/par-1: この条 → 労働契約法 第十八条 (Article 18), art-18 — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18 - art-18/par-1: 次項 → 労働契約法 第十八条第二項 (Article 18, paragraph (2)), art-18/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18/par-2 - art-18/par-2: この項 → 労働契約法 第十八条第二項 (Article 18, paragraph (2)), art-18/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18/par-2 ## Cited by 7 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 労働基準法施行規則 第五条第一項第一号の二 — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-standards-act-enforcement-ordinance/art-5/par-1/item-1-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/322M40000100023/art-5/par-1/item-1-2 - 労働基準法施行規則 第五条第五項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-standards-act-enforcement-ordinance/art-5/par-5 · https://japanlaw.org/l/322M40000100023/art-5/par-5 - 労働基準法施行規則 第五条第六項 — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-standards-act-enforcement-ordinance/art-5/par-6 · https://japanlaw.org/l/322M40000100023/art-5/par-6 - 労働契約法 第十八条第一項（有期労働契約の期間の定めのない労働契約への転換） — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18/par-1 - 労働契約法 第十八条第二項（有期労働契約の期間の定めのない労働契約への転換） — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/art-18/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/art-18/par-2 - 労働契約法 附則第二項（経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/suppl-4241-56/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/suppl-4241-56/par-2 - 労働契約法 附則第三項（検討） — https://japanlaw.org/en/labor-contracts-act/suppl-4241-56/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/419AC0000000128/suppl-4241-56/par-3 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 労働契約法 — the text in force from 2020-04-01 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/419AC0000000128/20200401_430AC0000000071), retrieved 2026-09-10 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Labor Contracts Act — Ministry of Justice translation (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3744/tb), retrieved 2026-09-10 - This site's parser, version 211 — 労働契約法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-09-10