Full-Scale Discussion on Monetary Settlement of Termination of Employment - MHLW Study Group Report

On April 11, an expert panel of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) held a meeting to discuss a system whereby companies would pay money to workers who have been wrongfully dismissed, rather than returning to work. The committee compiled a report outlining legal issues, and the Labor Policy Council, whose members are representatives of labor and management, is expected to hold a full-fledged discussion on the pros and cons of the introduction of the system. The report envisions a system whereby workers whose dismissals are invalidated by lawsuits or labor tribunals would receive money from the company to end their labor contracts if they so desire.

Discussions on a monetary settlement system for layoffs began after the government included it in its growth strategy in 2015. While the government and the business community have been active in introducing the system, labor unions and others have opposed it, claiming that it will be misused for restructuring, and discussions at the Labor Policy Council are expected to be difficult.

The report defined the system as covering workers whose dismissals notified by their employers were found to be invalid for lack of reasonable cause. The motion for monetary settlement was limited to workers. The proposal was not included in the discussion because there are issues that are not easy to solve under the current circumstances, such as allowing a company to dismiss a worker again.

The amount of salary, years of service and age are presented as requirements for consideration in the calculation of the "labor contract termination payment" to be paid to workers. Setting a maximum or minimum amount to increase predictability should be discussed in the future.

There are already mechanisms, such as lawsuit settlement procedures and labor tribunal conciliation, whereby a worker who considers his or her dismissal unfair but does not wish to return to work can receive a monetary payment from the company to end the labor contract. However, the government has been pushing for the introduction of a new system, saying that it would give workers more options.

In May 2017, another expert panel of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) compiled a report stating that "a certain degree of necessity is recognized," but later, at a subcommittee of the Labor Policy Council, members of the labor side of the introduction of the system were opposed, saying that there were concerns that it would be used as a means of restructuring or lead to more options for dismissal.

The MHLW established a study group of legal scholars in 2018 to further clarify legal issues, and discussions were ongoing. (Kyodo News)

Change in handling of persons with close contacts of novel coronavirus infection

 

◆Changed government policy on anti-corona measures
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) issued the "Identification of persons in close contact with infected persons at each location of outbreaks based on the characteristics of the Omicron strain while the Omicron strain is the predominant strain and the restriction of activities and the implementation of active epidemiological surveillance.” In addition, the Prime Minister's Office revised the "Basic Policy on Countermeasures against New Coronavirus Infections" on March 17. As a result, the handling of persons in close contact with infected persons at business establishments, etc., has been changed.

◆Not required to identify close contacts in the workplace
According to the MHLW's administrative communication, "The Omicron strain is highly infectious and transmissible, with a short incubation period and onset interval, resulting in a rapid spread of infection and a subsequent rapid increase in the number of people in close contact with the strain, and therefore the same uniform response to all of these would have a very significant impact on the functions of health centers and socio-economic activities.” 

Therefore, active epidemiological investigations by health centers, etc., and the identification and restriction of activities of persons in close contact are no longer required in the event of an outbreak of infected persons at establishments other than those in the same household. (excluding facilities for the elderly and persons with disabilities, medical institutions, daycare centers, kindergartens, Centre for Early Childhood Education, elementary schools, compulsory education schools, special needs schools and after-school children's clubs where many people at high risk of serious illness such as the elderly or those with underlying medical conditions are admitted or hospitalized.)

◆Shorten waiting period
In the event of an outbreak of infected persons in the same household, family members living in the same household will be considered "close contacts" and will be required to restrict their activities under the guidance of the public health center or other authorities. In principle, the waiting period for close contacts is 7 days (to be lifted on the 8th day), starting from the day when the person living together with the person who has the outbreak of the disease is confirmed negative by the antigen qualitative test kit on the 4th and 5th days. (In this case, individual confirmation by the health center is not required for the decision to lift the waiting list.)

Revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law Fact-Finding Survey ~from en Japan Inc.

 

◆"Revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law": 90% awareness of the contents applicable from April 2022 and 73% awareness of the contents applicable from October 2022.

Have you heard about the "Revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law," which will go into effect in stages starting in April 2022? When asked, 79% of the respondents answered that they were familiar with the concept (16% were familiar with it well and 63% were familiar with only an overview). By employee size, 77% of companies with fewer than 300 employees (14% and 63%, respectively) and 84% of companies with 300 or more employees (22% and 62%, respectively) were aware of the system, indicating that awareness is higher among large companies.

With regard to the specific details that will be implemented in stages as a result of this legal revision, 73% of respondents (14% were familiar with the law and 59% were only aware of the outline) were aware of the "creation of an environment conducive to taking childcare leave, individual notification, and mandatory measures to confirm intentions," which will be imposed on all companies from April 2022, and the "relaxation of conditions for taking childcare leave for workers with fixed-term employment. Awareness of the "creation of postnatal paternity leave (childcare leave at birth)" and "the possibility of taking childcare leave in installments" from October 2022 was also 73% (same: 19% and 54%, respectively).

However, according to a survey of 1,000 male employees by LegalForce,Inc. the following responses were obtained.

*80.4% of respondents were unaware of the revision of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law starting in April 2022.

*79.0% of respondents did not know how to apply for childcare leave.

*32.3% of the respondents answered that it would be easier to take childcare leave if they could "secure replacement personnel" and "hold explanatory meetings for all employees".

◆35% responded that they have a record of male employees taking childcare leave. 59% of companies with 300 or more employees have a record of male employees taking childcare leave.

Thirty-five percent of male respondents answered that they have taken childcare leave when they were asked about the use of childcare leave by gender. By company size, 26% of companies with fewer than 300 employees had taken childcare leave, while 59% of companies with 300 or more employees had taken childcare leave, indicating that more than half of the large companies had taken male childcare leave. Overall, 79% of women took childcare leave, and 73% of small and medium-sized companies with fewer than 300 employees answered that they had taken childcare leave. We found that there is a difference of more than 40 percentage points in the number of men and women who have taken childcare leave.

How Will Defined Contribution Pension Plans Change in 2022?

Defined contribution pension plans have been revised so that they can provide a better economic foundation for the long-term elderly and so that more companies and individuals, including small and medium-sized companies, can take advantage of the plans.

The revisions that will take effect in FY2022 are as follows.

◆The upper age limit for the start of receiving benefits has been extended to 75

From April 2022, you will be able to choose when you would like to start receiving old-age benefits for your company-type DC and iDeCo (individual-type Defined Contribution pension plan) between the ages of 60 (after losing your eligibility) and 75. You can choose when to start receiving the old-age benefit.

◆Expanding the Age for Enrollment in Corporate-type DC

Currently, people under the age of 65 are eligible to join the corporate DC, but from May 2022, the age will be expanded to include people under the age of 70. However, the age at which you can join differs depending on the company.

◆Expanding the Age for Joining iDeCo

Currently, people insured under the public pension system who are under 60 years old are eligible to join iDeCo, but this will be expanded to under 65 years old from May 2022.

◆Enforcement in October - Making it easier for corporate DC participants to join iDeCo

For those who are currently enrolled in a company-type DC to join iDeCo, an agreement between labor and management of each company is required, but in principle they will be able to join from October 2022.

However, the employer's contribution to the corporate DC, the contribution to the iDeCo, and the total amount of these contributions must each be as follows. In addition, you cannot join an iDeCo if you are making matching contributions to the corporate DC.

If you are a member of a company-type DC and want to join an iDeCo

1) Employer's premiums for corporate DC : JPY 55,000 or less

2) iDeCo premiums : JPY 20,000 or less

1) + 2) : within JPY 55,000

If you are a member of a corporate DC or a defined benefit plan (DB, employee pension fund, etc.) and want to join an iDeCo

1) Employer's premium for corporate DC : within JPY 27,500

2) iDeCo premiums : JPY 12,000 or less

1) + 2) : within JPY 27,500

What is the Featured Behavioral Interview (STAR Interview)?

Recruitment methods that are now attracting attention

A method called "behavioral interviewing" (STAR interviewing) is gaining attention as a hiring method by Google and Amazon. It is said to prevent mismatches in hiring by exploring applicants' past behavioral characteristics, values, and thought patterns.

Web-based interviews have become mainstream due to the Corona disaster, and many companies may be interested in them because they can cover the disadvantages of not being able to understand personalities as well as face-to-face interviews.

What is the behavioral interview (STAR interview)?

The method of asking questions and analyzing past behaviors, such as Situation: what kind of situation, Task: what kind of task, Action: how did you act, and Result: what kind of result, is called a behavioral interview, and the acronym for each is "STAR" interview.

Points to keep in mind when introducing the system

For the interviewer, digging deeper into the questions will reveal the applicant's characteristics and personality, and for the applicant, it will make it easier to answer honestly.

When considering the introduction of such a system, it is necessary to properly establish the company's evaluation criteria, prepare for the questions so that the intentions of the questions are clear, and ensure that the interviewers share the same awareness so that they can rationally identify the personnel they want.

Do you approve of side hustle?

 

Although there seems to be a trend toward allowing side hustle...

According to the "Questionnaire Survey on Side Jobs and Double Jobs" conducted by Adecco, Inc., the results are as follows.
More than 40% of the companies allow " side hustles/double jobs". On the other hand, more than half of the companies still do not allow "side hustles/double jobs".
Less than 20% of companies that currently prohibit "second and multiple jobs" are considering allowing it in the future.
Less than 30% of companies "accept" the employment of people with second or multiple jobs, and more than half "do not plan to accept" them.

In this survey, side hustles are defined as "sub-jobs done in between main jobs" and multiple jobs are defined as "doing multiple jobs as one's main job (dual jobs), but in this article, they are collectively referred to as side hustles, etc.

This survey was conducted on managers and section chiefs working for listed companies, so the trend is not the same for other demographics, but it seems that they are gradually moving toward allowing side hustles.

Do you still allow side hustles?

There are many aspects of side hustles that need to be taken care of, such as understanding working hours (self-reporting of working hours, total rules, management based on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's management model, etc.), the obligation to pay extra wages, and health management. In addition, if an employee of your company suffers a work-related injury that requires time off from work at a second job, it will naturally affect your company's operations. For these reasons, as shown in the survey above, some companies, even listed ones, are reluctant to accept side hustles.

If you understand the issues related to side hustles, etc., and still want to consider allowing them, it is essential to have a written pledge with employees that they are obligated to devote themselves to their main business, including the obligation to report their working hours, and to have related employment regulations in place.

If we have a system where people are allowed to do side hustles under the service contract, this problem will be somewhat reduced. However, this may weaken the effectiveness of the system in increasing the attractiveness of the company, so it may be difficult to introduce such a system in the current situation. Even if you decide to adopt a system that allows for side hustles, etc., careful consideration will be necessary.

Do you pay attention to the humidity in your office?

 

There is a rule about humidity in the office

The Office Hygiene Standards Regulations of Japan, which were recently reviewed with regard to restrooms in the workplace, also stipulate that the humidity in the room must be kept between 40% and 70%.

Especially in winter

A survey conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported that many companies do not meet the standard of 40% or higher, especially in the winter (December to March) when people start using heaters. According to a survey conducted by the institute to measure the humidity in actual offices, 30-40% of the measurement locations had humidity levels below 40%, which did not meet the standard.

Creating a comfortable office environment

When an office becomes severely dry, it can affect the health of employees. In addition to dry and itchy eyes, symptoms such as dry and itchy skin, sneezing, coughing, and runny or stuffy nose can be caused by dryness.

In many cases, people wear masks in the office as a measure against corona, but in a society that is sensitive to coughs and sneezes, it is not a good feeling when you want to concentrate on your work and the person next to you is coughing or sneezing. Relationships are likely to lose their richness and become strained.

Many offices are ventilated, but we should also pay attention to humidity to achieve a comfortable office environment.