Overview
- Presiding Judge Katada Nobuhiro ordered Nagoya Driving School to pay about ¥3.36 million to two former employees in a remanded appeal decision on Feb. 26.
- The plaintiffs, former driving instructors rehired as contract workers after statutory retirement, saw basic pay and bonuses slashed even though their work did not change.
- The court found their duties matched those of regular staff and held that a large disparity in basic pay compared with younger regular employees was unreasonable.
- Applying the Supreme Court’s 2023 directive to scrutinize the nature and purpose of basic pay, the high court rejected the earlier blanket approach that treated cuts below 60% as illegal.
- In the plaintiffs’ circumstances, the court deemed setting basic pay below roughly 55–57% of pre‑retirement levels unlawful.