Labor Union Membership Rate at 16.3%, Record Low, MHLW Estimates

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) announced on December 20 that the labor union membership rate was estimated at 16.3% as of the end of June this year. This represents a 0.2 percentage point decrease from the previous year and is the lowest rate since 1953, when the current method of counting labor union membership was introduced. The total number of union members decreased by 55,000 from the previous year to 9.938 million.

RENGO and ZENROREN, two major organizations, decreased by 19,000 to 681,700 and 13,000 to 464,000, respectively. The number of members increased in lodging, restaurants, and services industries, while it decreased in the manufacturing industry. The number of part-time union members increased by 6,000 to a record 1.41 million, and the number of female members increased by 2,000 to 3.473 million.

The organization rate, which was 36.3% in 1953, has continued to decline in recent years.

The "50-people barrier" and the increase in mental health problems

◆50 people Barrier

The "50-employee barrier" refers to the management issues that arise when the number of employees exceeds 50. This is the time when multiple managers are needed in addition to the president to conduct management, and the personnel system becomes more complex, so the level of management also increases. In addition, the quality of communication within the organization is said to decline as the number of employees increases, making information sharing and communication more difficult.

Consistent with this 50-people barrier, the percentage of people with mental health problems seems to increase.

◆Companies with mental health problems increased significantly for companies with more than 50 employees.

In the "Survey of Corporate Attitudes Toward Health Management Initiatives" conducted by Teikoku Databank, the following results were obtained when companies were asked whether they had "workers with excessive working hours" or "workers with mental health problems" over the past year. The number of companies that responded validly to this survey was 11,039, which can be considered a general trend in Japan.

<Number of employees and percentage with mental health problems (%)>

Fewer than 5 ............... 5.0%

6 to 20 people ............10.8%

21-50 people ..............19.5%

51 - 100 people...........31.6%

101-300 people ..........45.5%

301 to 1,000 people ... 59.0%

Over 1,000 people.......62.0%

(21.0% [1 in 5 companies] answered "Yes" in the overall total)

As can be seen, the percentage increases with the size of the company and exceeds the overall figure when the number of employees exceeds 50.

The larger the company grows, the more important personnel and labor management becomes. To prevent mental health problems, it is important to ensure regular health checkups, take measures against smoking and harassment in the workplace, and optimize work density by managing working hours and reviewing work procedures.

Details of the package for immediate response to the "annual income barrier" and strengthening of support

 

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has announced details of a package of enhanced support as an immediate measure to address the so-called "annual income barrier" problem, in which workers adjust their employment to avoid a decrease in their take-home pay due to the burden of social insurance premiums. The package will be implemented gradually starting in October.

◆Correspondence to the 1.06 million yen barrier

1) Establishment of a new course of Career Upgrade Subsidy

Employers who make efforts to increase the income of workers when they newly insure short-time workers are eligible to receive subsidies (up to 500,000 yen per worker) for a certain period of time.

The subsidized efforts include not only wage increases and extension of scheduled working hours, but also the provision of an allowance equivalent to the reduction in take-home pay due to the burden of insurance premiums (allowance to promote social insurance coverage).

2) Exclusion from calculation of standard remuneration for social insurance coverage promotion allowance

Employers are entitled to pay the "allowance for promotion of social insurance application" to such workers separately from their salaries and bonuses. In order to reduce the burden of insurance premiums on both employees and employer, the allowance for promotion of social insurance application is excluded from the calculation of standard monthly remuneration and standard bonus for up to two years, up to the amount equivalent to the worker's portion of the insurance premiums.

◆Correspondence to the 1.3 million yen barrier

Facilitate certification of dependents through certification by employers

If the most recent annual income is expected to exceed 1.3 million yen, the certification as a dependent will not be immediately revoked, but will be made promptly based on a comprehensive assessment of the expected future income.

In addition to previous tax documents, pay stubs, and job agreements, a person can be confirmed as a dependent by providing evidence from the employer that the salary change is only a temporary result of longer working hours caused by labor shortage.

◆Correspondence to spousal benefits

Facilitate a review of corporate spousal benefits

The existence of a spouse allowance with income requirements, along with the social security system, has become a factor in employment adjustment. In order to review this system, it is necessary to pay attention to the Labor Contract Act and judicial precedents, and it is also necessary for companies to deepen their understanding of the necessity, merits, and procedures of the review. In order to promote the review of spousal benefits even among small and medium-sized enterprises, easy-to-understand materials such as a flowchart showing the review procedure should be prepared and made public.

Annual income barrier --- ¥500,000 subsidy for companies - A new allowance will be created to cover insurance premiums. The Prime Minister announced that it will be implemented in October.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated on October 25 that measures will be implemented starting in October to address the "annual income barrier," a barrier that prevents part-time employees who are supported by their spouses from working fewer hours in order to avoid paying social insurance premiums. He announced the establishment of a subsidy of up to 500,000 yen per person to be paid to companies that shoulder the insurance premiums of their employees. He also expressed his intention to create an allowance that would prevent a reduction in take-home pay. He stated, "We will decide on a package of measures to strengthen support within the week."

In addition to the ¥500,000 subsidy, companies provide a "social insurance coverage promotion allowance" to their employees as a measure against the "¥1,060,000 barrier" that prevents a decrease in take-home pay. This allowance is excluded from the calculation of social insurance premiums, thus avoiding the burden of insurance premiums.

The prime minister stated at the Prime Minister's Office that he will ensure that take-home pay rises proportionately with salary income, even after surpassing the threshold.

As minimum wages will be raised in various regions starting in October, there may be a growing trend to curb working hours with an eye to the annual income barrier. Companies facing labor shortages have been searching for solutions.

Subsidies of up to ¥500,000 per person will be provided to companies that pay promotional allowances or raise wages, with no upper limit on the number of eligible employees.

For companies with less than 100 employees, dependents are removed from the support system if their annual income exceeds 1.3 million yen. The policy will also include a measure to clarify the requirements of the current system, which allows dependents to remain covered for up to two consecutive years in the event of a temporary increase in income due to overtime work or other reasons.

Additionally, the government will implement measures to combat the "1.03 million yen barrier" that hindrances certain companies from providing spousal allowances. The government will create instructional materials that showcase the process for evaluating spousal allowances and urge companies to undertake the review.

There is concern that the measures may create inequity for individuals who already earn above a certain annual income level and pay insurance premiums. The government will review the system during discussions on the revision of the pension system in 2025.

(Kyodo News)

The "Criteria for Recognition of Mental Disorders Due to Psychological Overload" has been revised.

◆Background of the Amendment

　The "Criteria for Recognition of Mental Disability due to Psychological Overload" was revised and notified on September 1, 2023. Until now, the "Criteria for Recognition of Mental Disorders due to Psychological Overload" formulated in 2011 was used to certify cases of mental disorders and suicides as workers' compensation cases. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's "Expert Panel on the Criteria for Recognition of Workers' Accident Recognition for Mental Disorders" reviewed the issue in light of changes in social conditions and the latest medical knowledge, and compiled its report in July of this year, which led to this revision.

◆Points of revision

The following three points are key to the revision of the certification criteria.

(1) Review of the psychological load evaluation chart due to work

- Specific event: "Significant customer harassment, including complaints from customers, suppliers, and facility users,” has been added.

- Specific event: "Engaged in work with a high risk of infectious diseases or other illnesses or accidents" has been added.

- Examples of different levels of psychological load (strong, medium, and weak) have been provided with specific illustrations of all six types of power harassment.

(2) Revise the scope of work-related aggravation of mental disorders.

If there was no "special event" within six months prior to the decline in the condition, but the decline was a result of intense psychological strain caused by work, the affected part is considered work-related.

(3) Streamlining the method of collecting medical opinions

The protocol for decision-making in medical cases has been amended. Previously, a consensus of three medical specialists was required to make a decision. Now, in most cases, a decision will be based on the opinion of only one medical specialist, except for particularly difficult cases.

*The psychological load evaluation chart is a chart that evaluates the strength of the load (stress) by applying actual work-related events to the "specific events" shown in the chart.

[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Revised Workers' Accident Recognition Criteria for Mental Disorders Caused by Psychological Overload."

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_34888.html

Settlement between Nagasaki University and a foreign assistant professor in a lawsuit for termination of employment.

 

A settlement was reached at the Fukuoka High Court on March 15 in a lawsuit filed by a Belgian man who was an assistant professor at Nagasaki University, claiming that he was unfairly terminated from his position just before he obtained the right to convert his fixed-term labor contract to permanent employment after a total of five years. The university expressed regret over the way it handled the case and will pay 28.5 million yen as a settlement. The man will start working at the university in October 2023 as an assistant professor on an indefinite term. According to the plaintiff's attorney, it is rare for a plaintiff to return to work with indefinite employment.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230915/p2a/00m/0na/038000c

61% of respondents have "declined a selection decision" in their job search

For companies that want to hire talented people quickly, having their mid-career candidates turned down is a headache as the labor shortage continues. Recently, En Japan Inc. conducted a survey on the topic of "declined selections" in their job-hunting activities, and the results have been made public.

*Survey period: May 29-June 27, 2023; number of valid responses: 8,622

◆61% of respondents have turned down a selection. Those who have turned down two or more companies accounted for 63%.

When asked the question, "Have you ever turned down a job offer in your job search?" 61% of respondents answered "Yes," up 5 points from the same survey conducted last year in 2022.

When those who had turned down a selection were asked how many companies they had turned down, 37% said one company, and 63% said two or more companies (breakdown: 2 companies: 28%, 3 companies: 16%, 4 companies: 5%, 5 companies: 5%, 6 to 9 companies: 4%, 10 or more companies: 5%).

Regarding the timing of the declination, 46% of the respondents declined "before" and 45% "after" the interview, while 37% declined "after" the job offer was obtained.

◆The most common reason given for declining was "passed the selection process of other companies" before the interview, and "the story was different from the job information" after the interview.

The most common reason given for declining selection before the interview was that "passed the selection process of other companies" (37%), followed by "I read a bad online review" (27%) and "the company I applied to was not responsive." (20%).

The most common reason for declining selection after the interview was "the story was different from the job information" at 49%, while " passed the selection process of other companies" was second at 35%.

The top two reasons for declining a job offer after receiving it were "passed the selection process of other companies" and "the conditions offered were not good enough" at 44% each.

Reasons for declining a job, such as "the story was different from the job information" or "the company I applied to was not responsive" may not be immediately illegal, but they are a major problem that undermines a company's credibility. Companies should also be aware that word of mouth on the Internet has become one of the factors used by job seekers to select a new employer.