In Japan, in many spot work apps, it has been standard practices under their terms and conditions to define the formation of an employment contract as the moment a worker scans a QR code installed at the workplace. Based on the reasoning that no employment contract has yet been formed prior to that point, companies have argued that they are under no obligation to pay an allowance for suspension of work if a job is cancelled for the company’s convenience between the time of application and the scheduled start of work. As a result, a persistent problem has been that workers suffer disadvantages such as earning less than expected or suddenly finding their schedules unexpectedly cleared.

Against this backdrop, plaintiffs of lawsuits over unpaid wages in the spot work sector have continued to win. In what may be the first court ruling of its kind, a university student living in Kanagawa Prefecture used an app to secure a matched job and later filed a lawsuit after the restaurant cancelled the shift at the last minute. The student argued that the cancellation was unjust and sought payment of unpaid wages and related compensation. The Tokyo Summary Court ordered the restaurant to pay ¥6,800 (32 pounds) as claimed. The restaurant did not appear in court and did not contest the case.