일본에서의 사립대학 학부 등의 폐쇄에 따른 교직원 정리해고의 유효성 판단기준

Abstract

According to the simplification of the ‘university establishment criteria’ in Japan, the numbers of private universities have been increased rapidly, while the population at age of 18 has been decreased due to the low birth late, and Japan has faced the issue of unfilled private universities earlier than Korea. Japan started to renovate private university structures since the 1980s and recently, there have been various innovations such as improving the curriculums of private universities and developing career abilities for the faculty of private universities. For instance, according to the source from ‘Japanese Private School Promotion and Mutual Aid Foundation’, there are innovation of management in private schools, overcoming difficulties in management by schools, and responding to their bankruptcy. Among them, the specific contents include supporting students’ transfer in case of a school’s bankruptcy, review on the structure for educating until smooth graduation of the left students due to the bankruptcy, and supporting turnover of teaching staffs. For the characteristics of reconstruction of private universities in Japan, unlike national universities, first, there is assessment on the management status. The results are classified into ① normal, ② difficulty in management, ③ difficulty in self-reliance(Yellow Area), and ④ failed status(Red Area) and then, differential supports and consulting are offered depending on each situation. Recently, there have been reconstructing or closing of divisions and departments in private universities in Japan and then, mass layoff on the faculty who belonged to the closed divisions and departments has been made. However, there are few lawsuit cases about layoff the faculty in private universities because the Japanese legal cases seem to make the layoff as void when there are mass layoffs on the faculty in private universities according to closing their divisions and department. In addition, if private university is bankrupt, the management of the school pursues actively turnover of the faculty and introduction to them for other jobs. For instance, the private university foundation has the database for the personal information about the faculty in private universities through collaboration with private university groups or the experts from various sectors, and it offer the information to schools who need the talented personnel. In this article, the cases of Nara School case about legitimacy of mass layoff on the faculty in a private university due to closing undergraduate division, and Shukuto school case which the effectiveness of its layoff was recognized as it was seen as normal layoff when short-term college is closed, are introduced, and then, the similar legal cases about the layoff of the faculty according to closing divisions and departments are also reviewed. In Korea, such a situation of mass layoff in private universities would be in the reality soon, Then, it is expected that the Japanese cases will be a kind of criteria, protecting the faculty in private universities from layoff or unstable status in employment.