Pay, conditions and careers at work

This is the vocabulary of contracts, payslips and personnel decisions, so much of it is formal: the payslip says 給与(きゅうよ) where people say 給料(きゅうりょう). Japanese companies also have their own ladder of ranks — 主任(しゅにん), 係長(かかりちょう), 課長(かちょう) — and their own way of moving people: the 人事異動(じんじいどう), a round of transfers announced all at once, can mean a new post or a new 勤務地(きんむち). Look out for pairs that sound alike: 昇給(しょうきゅう) is a pay rise, 昇格(しょうかく) a step up in grade.