Salary Increase Notice (昇給通知書)
Documents a pay raise: the prior salary, the new salary, the effective date, and the basis (annual review, promotion, market adjustment). The cleanest paper trail for compensation transparency.
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The bilingual Salary Increase Notice generator (Japanese / English preview, inline editing, PDF export) is in development. In the meantime, the explainer below covers when to issue this notice, what to include, and the legal basis. The structure mirrors how the live generator will ask for input.
Official sources
This template is built on the following primary Japanese government sources. Open each link to verify the underlying rule against the issuing authority.
- Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構) - Occasional revision (随時改定 / 月額変更) When a pay raise causes the standard monthly remuneration grade to move by 2+ levels for 3 consecutive months, the employer must file an occasional revision (月額変更届).
- NTA (国税庁) - Withholding tax on monthly salary NTA reference for the Monthly Tax Table (月額表) used to recompute withholding tax after a salary change.
Reference
What the Salary Increase Notice (昇給通知書) is
A salary increase notice (昇給通知書) is the document an employer issues to record a pay raise. It captures the old monthly base, the new monthly base, the effective date, and the underlying reason. The notice serves both as the employee's confirmation that the change is intended and as the employer's HR record of the compensation history.
When to use
When to issue this notice
- Annual review cycle (typically April or July) raise
- Promotion-linked raise (paired with the promotion notice)
- Market-adjustment raise (for retention or to address an external benchmark)
- Skill / certification milestone raise
Mandatory items
What to include in the notice
- Current monthly base salary
- New monthly base salary
- Annualized impact (new annual salary)
- Effective date of the increase
- Basis for the increase (annual review, promotion, market adjustment)
- Any related changes to allowances, bonuses, or other compensation components
- Note on social-insurance grade (標準報酬月額) revision if the increase triggers a change
- Employer signature and date
Legal basis
Legal background and constraints
Salary increases are generally favorable to the employee and do not require special formalities under Japanese labor law. However, a written notice is best practice because (a) it documents the new monthly amount that becomes the employee's new contractual baseline, (b) it triggers any required social-insurance standard-monthly-remuneration recalculation if the increase is significant, and (c) it serves as the contemporaneous record if the employee or employer later disputes the compensation history.
Frequently asked
Common questions about the Salary Increase Notice
Does a salary increase trigger a social-insurance recalculation?
Yes, if the increase causes the employee's standard monthly remuneration (標準報酬月額) to move by 2 or more grades and the higher level holds for 3 consecutive months. This triggers an occasional revision (随時改定 / 月変). Smaller increases just feed into the next regular revision cycle (定時決定) in September.
Does the employee need to consent to a salary increase?
No. Increases are favorable changes and take effect on the employer's notice. Best practice is still to have the employee acknowledge receipt of the notice for record-keeping, but consent is not legally required.
When should the notice be issued, before or after the effective date?
Best practice is to issue the notice on or before the effective date. Issuing after the fact is allowed but creates a gap where the employee may not know the new amount until the first paycheck reflects it. Pre-effective-date notice is the cleanest pattern.
What's the difference between 昇給 and 給与改定?
昇給 (shokyu) specifically means a pay increase. 給与改定 (kyuyo kaitei) is the broader term covering any compensation change, increases, decreases, restructuring of allowances, shifts between fixed and variable components. Use the salary increase notice for clean upward changes; use the compensation revision notice for everything else.
Should retroactive raises be issued by salary-increase notice?
Yes. State the retroactive effective date clearly and include the back-pay amount (lump-sum adjustment) if applicable. The notice and the payment go together. Retroactive cuts, in contrast, are highly restricted and generally invalid.
Important. This template is provided for general planning purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Japanese employment law is complex and case-specific. Before issuing this notice in any non-routine situation, consult a Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant (社会保険労務士) or a qualified labor lawyer (弁護士).