Japan's Fair Trade Commission issued a recommendation Tuesday to music school operator Sheer to pay freelance instructors for unpaid trial lessons [1].
This action signals a strict enforcement of the Freelance Act, aiming to protect independent contractors from exploitation by larger companies in Japan's gig economy.
The commission found that between November 2024 and February 2026, Sheer required freelance instructors to provide trial lessons without compensation [1]. The regulator said that the company failed to clearly specify the terms of these transactions, which constitutes a direct violation of the Freelance Act [1, 2].
According to the commission, the scale of the violation was extensive. The company utilized 1,674 freelance instructors [1] to conduct more than 53,000 trial lessons [1]. When calculated based on standard fees, the total value of the unpaid labor is approximately 34 million yen [1].
Under the recommendation, the Fair Trade Commission has ordered Sheer to promptly pay the instructors for the work performed during the specified period [1, 2]. The agency's move follows a broader trend of increasing oversight into how companies manage contracts with non-employee workers.
While other reports have mentioned different companies in similar contexts, the commission's specific recommendation on Tuesday focused on the practices of Sheer [1, 2]. The company operated these music schools across Japan, making the impact of the unpaid labor felt by instructors nationwide [1].
“The company utilized 1,674 freelance instructors to conduct more than 53,000 trial lessons.”
This ruling underscores the Japanese government's commitment to the Freelance Act, shifting the burden of transparency onto the hiring company. By quantifying the unpaid labor at 34 million yen, the regulator is setting a precedent that 'trial' or 'promotional' periods cannot be used to bypass minimum compensation requirements for independent contractors.
