A 退職合意書 is the lowest-litigation-risk way to end an employment relationship in Japan. Both
parties sign, both parties get one original, and the mutual-release (清算条項) clause closes off
nearly all post-execution monetary claims. It is the standard tool for senior-role exits,
performance-based departures, and post-mediation settlements, and increasingly for routine
departures where the employer wants a clean documentary record.
1. The mutual-consent advantage
Japanese dismissal disputes almost always turn on Article 16 of the Labor Contract Act (objective
reasonableness + social acceptability). A mutual-consent separation does not invoke that test:
there is no unilateral dismissal to challenge. The agreement, when paired with a clearly worded
mutual release, takes most contestable scenarios off the table.
2. The settlement payment (解決金)
Optional but typical when the employer initiated the discussion. The payment buys the worker's
consent and release of claims; the amount is fully negotiable. Common ranges run from one to six
months of base salary for non-contested departures, more for executive or contested cases. The
payment is taxed as 退職所得 (retirement income) under favorable rules; use the Severance Pay
Calculator to estimate the net.
3. Separation-certificate category (会社都合 vs 自己都合)
The category the employer reports to Hello Work on the 離職票. Employer-side cause (会社都合)
gives the worker immediate unemployment-benefit eligibility with no waiting period and a longer
duration. Worker-side cause (自己都合) imposes a waiting period (currently around two months)
and a shorter duration. Many separation agreements expressly negotiate this point alongside the
settlement amount; it is often more economically meaningful to the worker than the cash itself.
4. The mutual release (清算条項)
The clause that turns the agreement into a clean break. It confirms that, beyond what the
agreement itself provides, neither party has any further claim against the other arising from the
employment. Without this clause the worker can later sue for unpaid overtime, unpaid bonuses,
pre-existing damages, or invalid dismissal, and the agreement would not preclude those claims.
5. Standard handover obligations
Return of company property, survival of confidentiality, and mutual non-disparagement are
bundled in by default. Non-compete survival is off by default; turn it on only if a non-compete
pledge or contract clause actually exists, since otherwise it is unenforceable and signals
sloppy drafting.
6. Edit anything that doesn't match your case
Click Edit on the toolbar above the preview and the agreement becomes editable
in place. Use this for anything the template does not anticipate: equity treatment, deferred
payment schedules, garden-leave provisions, references to ongoing projects, or carve-outs from
the mutual release.
7. Export to PDF
Click Download as PDF, enter your email, and the file generates locally in your
browser. Whatever language is currently visible in the preview is what gets exported.
Edge cases worth knowing
- Give the worker reasonable review time. Pressuring same-day signing is a common reason
agreements get attacked later under Civil Code duress / mistake doctrines.
- Recommend independent legal review for the worker on contested or executive cases. It
strengthens the enforceability of the mutual release.
- For workers with unpaid overtime claims, decide whether to include them in the release or
carve them out for separate handling. The wording matters; a generic 清算条項 may not bar
claims for facts the worker did not know at signing.
- For senior roles with equity, share-based comp, or bonuses, document the treatment
explicitly. The mutual release should not be the only place the equity question is
addressed.
- Have the final wording reviewed by a labor and social security attorney (社会保険労務士)
or qualified legal counsel for any contested or non-standard case.