The 3-day weekend system

◆Government is also pushing for the introduction of a 3-day workweek

A three-day workweek system with three days off per week. Creating an environment in which employees can work comfortably, such as by preventing employees from leaving the company due to childcare or nursing care needs or by allowing time for self-development (skill improvement), will also increase the attractiveness of the company when hiring. Major companies such as IBM Japan, Yahoo Japan, Mizuho Financial Group, and Uniqlo have introduced this system.

In the "Basic Policies for Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2021", the government also stated, "With regard to the selective three-day workweek system, we will promote the introduction and spread of the system in companies by collecting and providing good examples, since it can be used for childcare, nursing care, volunteer work, and dual employment in rural areas.”

◆How to operate

There are three main patterns of operation: (1) income decreases as the number of work days decreases, (2) hours worked on work days increase and income remains the same, or (3) hours worked on work days remain the same and income remains the same. Many companies seem to adopt (1).

◆Is keeping the level of income a key to retention?

According to a survey by the job-transfer information site "Mynavi Jobchange," approximately 60% of respondents answered that a three-day workweek was "not possible" because of the "workload" and "labor shortage" reasons. In addition, nearly 80% of respondents "do not want to use" the 3-day workweek if their income would decrease in proportion to one less day of work. By age group, respondents in their 20s "want to use" the system even if their income is reduced (slightly less than 30%), higher than other age groups, indicating a tendency for a higher percentage of respondents to prioritize holidays over income.

As for measures to introduce a three-day workweek, responses such as "improving operational efficiency," "changing the mindset of upper management," and "increasing manpower" were raised, and it appears that the key points are to improve productivity and reduce manpower shortages.

Why do new hires quit? From "the Survey on Pre- and Post-Hire Troubles 2022."

◆May is a time when new employees leave the company.

May is a time when an increasing number of people experience symptoms of feeling unwell, known as "May illness" after the Golden Week holiday, and we also see the resignation of newly hired employees.

It is also a time when new employees, who have been feeling tense as they dive into a new environment, lose their tension and begin to feel dissatisfied with the company.

◆The reality of "30% job turnover within 3 years.”

According to the "Survey on Pre- and Post-Employment Troubles 2022" conducted by the Japan Trade Union Confederation (targeting 1,000 men and women in their second to fifth year of employment nationwide who had graduated from college and started working as full-time employees), 7.7% had "left" the company they joined after graduation (within six months). 6.2% of the respondents "left their jobs (within 1 year after 6 months)," 10.4% "left their jobs (within 2 years after 1 year)," 5.2% "left their jobs (within 3 years after 2 years)," and 3.7% "left their jobs (after 3 years)," indicating that the often- mentioned "30% of workers left their jobs within 3 years" is also true here.

◆Why did the new employee quit?

When asked why they quit their companies in this survey, the most common reason given was that "the job did not suit me" (40.1%). This was followed by "Working hours, holidays, and vacation conditions were not good" (31.0%) and "Wage conditions were not good" (27.4%), indicating that a greater percentage of respondents cited a mismatch in work than in compensation. The percentage of "Left job (total)" was 41.9% for those who did not receive new employee training or guidance/advice from senior/supervisor, 11.0 percentage points higher than those who did receive guidance/advice (30.9%), indicating that there is a large difference depending on the support provided by the surroundings.

The employers want to avoid employee turnover after hard work and effort in hiring. Workplaces with new employees will need to be considerate of those around them.

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.