Encourage those who have health checkup findings to take medical examinations!

◆"Encouragement of medical examinations" with many advantages for businesses

Are you just being made to undergo a medical checkup?

For workers who are found to be in need of reexamination, need close examination, or need medical care, it is appropriate for employers to "identify workers who are eligible for a secondary health checkup, recommend that they receive a secondary health checkup, and encourage them to submit the results of the secondary health checkup, which has been evaluated by a physician regarding the diagnosis category, to the employer. (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, "Guidelines for Measures to be Taken by Employers Based on Health Examination Results"). There have been cases in which companies have been charged with violating their duty of care for safety because they failed to make this medical examination recommendation, so caution should be exercised.

In addition, workers' health risks are reduced if they receive medical care before their illnesses become serious. If workers can continue to work in good health for a long period of time, it will lead to higher corporate productivity and, ultimately, better business performance.

Recently, many companies do not recommend medical examinations from the viewpoint of personal information protection and privacy, but the company should definitely be proactive in this regard..

◆Methods of recommending medical examinations

Although it is sometimes possible to verbally encourage the patient to seek medical attention, it is generally recommended that the recommendation to seek medical attention be made in writing. Examples of such documents are available on websites, etc., and it is advisable to prepare them with reference to them.

https://www.kyoukaikenpo.or.jp/~/media/Files/osaka/kensin/2021/jyusinkansyo_bunsyo.pdf

◆Actions to be taken when some workers do not receive medical examinations after being recommended to do so

It is possible that workers do not receive medical examinations even after being recommended to do so. From the viewpoint of the duty of care for safety, it is important to leave evidence that the company was doing its best to fulfill its duty, just in case. For example, it is important to record what kind of medical examinations were recommended by the company, and for what reasons the workers refused to receive them.

Minimum wage will be raised by 31 yen from October 2022

A subcommittee of the Central Minimum Wage Council (an advisory body to the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare) met in Tokyo on the afternoon of August 1 to discuss the minimum wage increase for FY2022. The committee summarized the guideline, which is 961 yen per hour as the national average. This is an increase of 31 yen from the current average and the largest increase since the current system was adopted in FY2002. Against the backdrop of soaring prices, the rate of increase is 3.3%. The new amount will take effect in October.

The standard increase was divided into four ranks, A to D, depending on the economic situation of the region. Six prefectures including Tokyo in A increased by 31 yen, 11 prefectures including Kyoto in B increased by 31 yen, 14 prefectures including Fukuoka in C increased by 30 yen, and 16 prefectures including Tottori in D increased by 30 yen.

As a result, the minimum wage in Tokyo will be 1,072 yen starting this October.

The minimum wage is the lower limit of wages applicable to all workers. The minimum wage is based on the Minimum Wage Law, and companies that pay less than the minimum wage are subject to fines. Currently, the national average is 930 yen, and in recent years, with the exception of FY2020, the increase has been about 3% over the previous year. The increase in FY2021 was 28 yen, and in FY2022, in light of the sharp rise in prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other factors, adjustments continued among representatives of labor and management, as well as experts, for an increase even higher than this.

The minimum wage is revised every fiscal year, taking into account the cost of living and wages in each worker's region and the ability of companies to pay.