From Part-Time to Regular: How to Move Up Inside a Hotel

If you work part-time or on a contract at a hotel, you may have wondered whether you could move to regular employment, and what it would change. This article covers the pay gap in the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's figures, what the law says employers must do about conversion, the rule that can turn a fixed-term contract into an open-ended one, and how to ask.

It is general information, not advice on your own contract.

What it is worth

In the ministry's 2025 wage survey, regular employees (正社員・正職員) in accommodation and food service averaged ¥303,800 a month in scheduled pay. Non-regular employees averaged ¥211,600, which is 69.7% of the regular figure. The difference is ¥92,200 a month.

Some honest caveats. These are averages across the whole industry, including restaurants. The pay in the survey is scheduled pay, which leaves out bonuses, so the full gap over a year may be larger, depending on whether you would receive a bonus. And the survey covers people on general (not short-hours) terms, so the non-regular figure describes contract and similar full-time-type staff, not a part-timer working a few hours a week. It is a guide to what a change of status can be worth, not a prediction about your own offer.

We go through the whole pay picture in What Hotel Work Actually Pays.

What the law says about conversion

Under the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act, which took full effect on 1 April 2021, an employer must take at least one of three measures to promote conversion to regular employment.

1. When it recruits regular staff, it tells its existing part-time and fixed-term workers.
2. When it posts a regular position internally, it gives its existing non-regular staff the chance to apply.
3. It sets up a conversion exam system.

The ministry's guidance explains that this has to be a fair and objective system open to all part-time workers at the workplace. Inviting only a few people individually is not illegal, but does not count as meeting the duty. And where nobody has been converted for a long time, the ministry says the measure should be checked to make sure it isn't just on paper.

So you are entitled to ask, "What is the route here?" A hotel should be able to tell you which of the three it uses.

The rule about fixed-term contracts

A second rule works differently. If you have been on fixed-term contracts with the same employer, renewed so that the total is more than five years, you have the right to ask for an open-ended contract. Since April 2024 the employer must tell you in writing, at each renewal where that right arises, that you can ask, and what the conditions would be afterwards.

An important detail. An open-ended contract removes the end date. It doesn't automatically raise your pay or change your role, so it is not the same as becoming a regular employee. It is still worth knowing about, because it gives you much more security.

Equal treatment

The same law bans unreasonable differences in treatment between regular and non-regular staff doing comparable work. We aren't going to try to define "unreasonable" here, because it depends on the case. But if you do the same work as a regular colleague and have a very different bonus, allowances or benefits, you can ask the hotel to explain the difference. The employer is expected to be able to.

How to prepare

Keep a record. Write down what you do, what you have learned and what you have taken on that wasn't in the original job description: covering a colleague's absence, training a new person, handling a difficult guest well, finishing a course. Facts and dates are more persuasive than "I work hard".

Show you are ready for more. Take on a bit more of the next level's work, and ask for feedback on it. If you are at the front desk part-time, ask to learn the booking system or the closing report.

Learn what the regular job needs. Ask what the regular role involves and how it differs: shift patterns, responsibilities, overtime, transfers. A regular position may bring things you don't want, such as transfers between sites or less flexible shifts, and it is best to know that before you ask.

Use the Academy to show initiative. KankoHR Academy has courses that match the next step up, such as Front Office & Reception Operations or Hospitality Leadership & Management. The badge is self-assessed and not a qualification, so present it as a record that you studied.

How to ask

Choose a moment when your work is going well. Ask for a short meeting, and be specific. For example:

I've worked here for [two] years and I enjoy it. I'd like to talk about moving to regular employment. Could you tell me how that works here, and what I would need to show?

Then listen to the answer, and write it down.

If the answer is "not at the moment", ask what would change that, and whether you could review it again in six months. Then do what they say.

If the answer is vague, ask whether the hotel has a conversion route under the Act, and which of the three measures it uses. You are entitled to ask.

Questions to ask if you move to a new employer

If you are looking at a new hotel and want regular status from the start, ask:

• Is this a regular position, an open-ended contract or a fixed-term contract? What is the pay for each?
• How many part-time staff here have moved to regular status in the last two years?
• What is the conversion route?
• What does the first year look like, and what is the trial period?

These questions are in the same spirit as the ones in How to Read a Hotel Job Listing.

The money, worked through

Here is the sum, with invented numbers. Say you work on a contract at ¥1,200 an hour for 120 hours a month. That is ¥144,000. A regular role at a base of ¥230,000 would be ¥86,000 a month more on paper, about 60% higher. Now look at what else changes. Hours will probably rise. There may be fixed overtime in the pay. There may be transfers, a longer commute, or shifts you can't choose. Pay that looks higher can come with a lot more required of you, so write down both columns before you decide.

What can go wrong

The route exists on paper, but nobody uses it. Ask how many people have moved to regular status in the last two years.

The regular role has conditions you can't meet, such as transfers or fixed hours. Ask before you apply, not after you are offered it.

You are asked to do regular-level work on non-regular terms. If that is the case, you can ask the hotel to explain the difference in pay and conditions, as the equal-treatment rule above allows.

You lose flexibility you need. If so, the better answer may be to stay as you are for now.

If the hotel says no

Ask politely what the reasons are, and whether it can be reviewed on a set date. Keep your records, particularly your contract renewals, so you know when the five-year point arrives. If the answer is a clear no for the foreseeable future, you can look at other hotels for a regular post, using the questions above, and bring your record of what you have done.

Weighing it up

Regular status brings, on average, higher scheduled pay and more security. It can also bring less flexibility. If you are a part-timer because you need particular hours, the trade-off may not suit you now. That is a fair answer. Many people move to regular status later, when their circumstances change.

Where to start

This week, start the record: three things you did at work that were more than your job description. Then book the short meeting. On KankoHR, create a profile that describes your experience in plain terms, so that you can show it to employers who might invite you, inside or outside your current hotel.

Sources: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2025 Basic Survey on Wage Structure; Ministry guidance on the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (Article 13 and equal-treatment provisions); Ministry guidance on fixed-term contract conversion and the April 2024 changes to employment condition disclosure.