Applications for support money for absence from work in response to the new coronavirus infection have begun

What is the support payment for absence from work in response to the new corona for individuals?
Workers at companies that cannot make use of the employment adjustment subsidy are eligible for this program, and 80% of their wages are paid according to their absence from work (up to ¥330,000 per month).
Student part-time workers, foreign workers, and technical interns are eligible for this subsidy, even if they are not insured by unemployment insurance, as long as they are employed. Registered temporary workers and day laborers are also covered if they meet the requirements, but overseas workers, day laborers, and part-time public servants of local governments are not covered.

How to apply 　
The application can be made by either the worker or the employer. 　
To apply, you need an application for payment and a confirmation of payment requirements, identification documents, a copy of the cash card or a copy of the bankbook, and a copy of a document that confirms the amount of wages paid before and during the absence from work.

In the case of the application in person, the employer must fill out a confirmation of requirements form 　
The Confirmation of Payment Requirements form includes a box for the employer to fill out to certify the absence from work, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's Q&A states that, at a minimum, the employer must confirm the fact of the worker's employment, wage payment and absence from work. 　
If the employer refuses to provide proof of absence from work, the worker is required to report the fact that the employer's cooperation cannot be obtained, along with the background circumstances, and the employer is required to report to the Labour Bureau. 　
In addition, if an employee intentionally makes a false certification to receive the support payments, the employer is ordered to not only cancel the decision to receive the payments, but also to pay the full amount of the payments, as well as a late fee of 3% per year from the day following the date of the illegal receipt until the date of payment, and an amount equivalent to twice the amount of the return.

Documents to confirm the amount of wages during absence 　
If the amount of wages cannot be confirmed by the wage ledger, pay slips, or wage payment book, the payment cannot be made (for new graduates who have not worked a day, the contract of employment, notice of working conditions, etc. must be attached). The cooperation of the employer is also required to provide these documents.

Six principles of risk communication in an infectious disease crisis

First, it is important that all parties involved have a proper understanding of risk communication.
New coronavirus infections have many unknowns, and therefore tend to cause more anxiety than necessary.
To prevent inappropriate information from being spread and harassment of infected people in the workplace, it is necessary to ensure that appropriate risk communication is carried out as described below.

Be First: It's not just about communicating information, it's about who's communicating it

Be Right: Communicate both what you know and what you don't know

Be Credible: Scientifically sound information builds trust in the recipient

Express Empathy: Communicate information from the recipient's perspective

Promote Action: Emphasizing that each person's actions can help prevent infection

Show Respect: Be considerate of the other person's position and rights

Anti-harassment measures in the workplace have been beefed up since June 1, 2020!

Power harassment prevention measures are now mandatory for employers!

*It will become compulsory for small and medium-sized business owners from April 1, 2022.

Until then, it is obligatory to try an effort. Please act as soon as possible!

Power harassment in the workplace means that all the following elements are met

(1) Coercive words or actions based on the superior relationship;

(2) Exceeding the business necessity and reasonable scope of the business, and

(3) Those that are harmful to the work environment of the workers.

*Objectively, proper work instructions or guidance given to the extent necessary and reasonable for the job does not constitute power harassment.

Measures to be taken to prevent power harassment in the workplace

Employers must take the following measures as obligation.

Clarification of the employer's policies and other relevant information and awareness-raising

(1) Clarify the nature of power harassment in the workplace, the policy of non-power harassment, and disseminate them to workers.

(2) To stipulate a policy of stern treatment of the offender and the details of such treatment in the rules of employment and other documents, and disseminate them to workers.

Development of a system necessary to respond to consultation and respond appropriately

(3) Establishing a consultation service and making it known to the workers in advance.

(4) Ensure that the person in charge of the consultation service can respond appropriately according to the content and situation.

Prompt and appropriate responses after power harassment in the workplace

(5) Prompt and accurate verification of facts.

(6) Prompt and appropriate measures that take care the victim.

(7) Taking appropriate action against the offender after confirming the facts.

(8) Take measures to prevent recurrence.

Other measures to be taken in combination

(9) Taking necessary measures to protect the privacy of the consultant and the privacy of the doer, etc. and making that fact known to the workers.

*This includes sensitive personal information such as sexual orientation, gender identity, medical history, and fertility treatment.

(10) To stipulate that workers will not be dismissed or otherwise treated disadvantageously because they have consulted with the company, and to disseminate them to workers.

Prohibition of disadvantageous treatment of workers who have consulted with their employers, etc.

Dismissing or disadvantaging a worker who has consulted on power harassment in the workplace or stated the facts in cooperation of an employment management action is prohibited by law.

The various forms of waste that had infested Japan's large corporations

The corona crisis had the unintended effect of exposing the various forms of waste that had infested Japan's large corporations. These include redundancies, unnecessary meetings, and jobs that would not be greatly affected by their elimination. The inefficiencies that everyone had long suspected were exposed.

There will surely come a time when companies that are currently busy dealing with the crisis will have to face up to these inefficiencies and take fundamental measures to deal with them.

The future of Japan's wage and salary system must be viewed from a forward-looking perspective in order to chart its course.

How is telecommuting being implemented? --From a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and LINE Inc.

Telework spreads rapidly due to the new coronavirus
Telework has spread rapidly from the perspective of preventing the risk of infection with the new coronavirus. Many workplaces must have been forced to respond in a hurry in the midst of the turmoil. It may be difficult to implement in some areas depending on the type of business and the status of the measures taken to date, and the content of implementation may vary greatly from workplace to workplace, but what is the national implementation rate?

Telework implementation rate is 27%
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), in cooperation with LINE Corporation, has conducted a nationwide survey of service registrants on the official account of LINE Corporation for three times, and announced the results of the analysis (the first survey was conducted from March 31 to April 1, the second from April 5 to 6, and the third from April 12 to 13).
According to the survey, at the time of the third survey, the national average rate of telecommuting among people who are office work oriented (clerical, planning, development, etc.) was 27%. Although the number has increased compared to before the declaration of the state of emergency, the government's target of reducing the number of office workers by at least 70% has not been reached at this point.
Looking only at the seven prefectures that were the first to declare a state of emergency, there is a difference of 52% in Tokyo, which is the most advanced, and 20% in Fukuoka Prefecture, which is the least advanced. In addition, it seems that many areas of the country are not reaching even 10% of the population.

Telework is not limited to corona measures
This survey shows the situation up to mid-April, so it is expected that the situation will change again after that. In fact, even companies that had previously thought that telework was impossible or irrelevant may be trying to implement telework through trial and error in the midst of this uproar, or trying to perform their work without problems under telework.
Telework is not limited to corona measures alone. This is something that will become necessary for childcare, nursing and various disaster response aspects. Since the implementation of telecommuting may have a significant impact on corporate management in the future, it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to seriously consider it at your company.

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_11109.html

Confined living advice, from astronauts to submarine captains, new corona countermeasures

Billions of people around the world are suddenly engaged in strategies to avoid human contact as part of the fight to limit the spread of new coronavirus infections (COVID-19). In fact, some people, from astronauts to submarine captains, are accustomed to living a life of seclusion at work. We asked those people for practical advice on staying healthy and avoiding stress for a few weeks of retreating to their homes.

Have a daily routine

　Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent about a year on the International Space Station (ISS), told AFP that a mindset is crucial. We need something that's going to be predictable while we don't know when it's going to be over.

This may be a long term situation, but the mindset we need is this. 'It's like living in space for a year. Set a daily routine anyway. It's about getting up at the right time and going to sleep at the right time.

　He also stresses that exercising for mental and physical well-being is key when you're at home. You also need to make exercise a part of your routine. If you can't go outside and don't have a garden, take off the awning, open the windows and face out. It's about making it part of your routine.

Find your mission.

　For Vincent Larnaudie-Eiffel, the former captain of a nuclear submarine, all it takes to get the job done in a confined space is to find your own "mission" and focus on it. All of us, cooped up in our own apartments, share a mission to protect others, protect the medical community, and get through this grueling ordeal successfully.

　He also stressed the importance of deciding what to do every day and sticking to it. Don't retreat... think of it as a grace period and do something about it.

Start something new

　Marine adventurer Isabelle Autissier is the first woman to circumnavigate the world on a yacht alone. During that time, Ms. Otissier spent a lot of time alone, but she never felt lonely. She says that this is because "I chose to be alone.

　Otissier's advice to those holed up in the house is to use that time to "do something new, read or listen to different music than usual, write a journal, take pictures, or start a painting. She says that the most important thing is not to think too much about the future.

　When Ms. Otissier was faced with the unpredictable length of time she spent at sea and alone, "the first thing I did was to stop counting the days," she said.

It's natural to lose motivation.

　Cyprien Verseux, an astrobiologist at the University of Bremen, Germany, lived in a small dome for a year with five volunteers in an experiment simulating a Mars mission.

Verseux said, "It's natural to be unmotivated and unproductive. It's not a sign of weakness. Don't add more guilt where there is a problem.”

　He recommends choosing one or two activities and putting in the hard work for them. Then there's sports. There are ways to stay in shape without a lot of space - dumbbells, yoga, Zumba.

Never miss a chance to interact with people

　Former Belgian astronaut Frank De Winne was the first European to command the ISS in 2009. According to De Winne, keeping in touch with people and each other is crucial, even if it's limited to online communications.

　Now on the ground in isolation, he has video calls with his elderly mother at the same time every day without fail. "My mother can see my face. Plus, she knows she's going to get a call from me (on the video call), so she can make her plan.”

[March 27, AFP]

Mandatory effort to retire at age 70

Employment of older people

　When it comes to hiring older people, the first issue is the retirement age. If we look again at what the retirement system is, it is a system in which the labor contract ends when the worker reaches a certain age.
　In the past, the main age for this "fixed age" was 55, but since the 1970s, the policy of extending the retirement age has been promoted, and since then, the retirement age of 60 has become common. Even today, most companies have set a retirement age of 60.

　Employment of older people is regulated by the Older Persons Employment Security Act, but with the increase in the age at which pensions begin to be paid, the regulations on employment of older people have also changed as follows.
(1) The retirement age must be 60 years or older.
(2) If the retirement age is less than 65 years old, take one of the following actions.
(a) Raising the retirement age to 65 years old.
(b) Introduction of a continuous employment schedule until age 65
(c) Retirement age was abolished.

　Most of the companies have set the retirement age at 60 and have introduced a continuous employment system until age 65 as in (2)-(b). In other words, once you have retired at age 60, you can be rehired as a contract employee (fixed-term employee).
In this case, since the employee has retired as a full-time employee, the wage structure is different from that of a full-time employee, and in most cases, the wages are lower.
A lawsuit has been filed against the company for unfairly lowering wages due to the reemployment of employees after retirement, and the company is subject to the same work and equal pay system to be introduced under the Labor Standards Reform Law, so it is necessary to pay close attention to what the future wage levels will be in the case of reemployment after retirement. This does not mean that wage reductions are categorically unacceptable, but whether or not they are effective depends on the circumstances and the extent of the reduction.

Mandatory effort to retire at age 70

　In the midst of these ongoing revisions to the law requiring companies to continue hiring older workers, at the end of March, the revised Older Persons Law (Law Concerning Stabilization of Employment of Older Persons, etc.) was enacted, requiring companies to make efforts to ensure that employees work until age 70. It is expected to come into effect in April of next year.
　The main point is that the retirement age should be set at 70 years old (however, it is an effort obligation).
　In addition to (a)raising the retirement age to 65 years old, (b)introducing continuous employment system and (c)phasing out retirement age, the following measures are made mandatory for companies to make efforts to take the following actions.
(d) Support for reemployment to other companies
(e) Funding to work freelance
(f) Support for entrepreneurship
(g) Providing funds for NPO activities, etc.
　Unlike (a), (b), and (c), (d) to (g) call for support to enable people to continue working at other companies, etc., but the government's policy seems to be to create an environment in which people can continue to work until the age of 70 in some way.

In addition to the fact that life expectancy is getting longer and more people want to work and can work after 65, the aim of trying to get older people to work as a solution to the labor shortage caused by a declining population is listed as an objective, but there are also other ways to create an environment that further delays the age at which pension payments begin. (This is the main purpose of some of them.)

　The revised law does not seem to mean that each company will immediately violate the law because it is obligated to make efforts, including the 70-year retirement age system.
　However, intertwined with the issue of the start of pension payments, it is possible that eventually the age 70 retirement system, etc. may become an enforceable obligation rather than just an effort obligation.

　Although it depends on the industry and job type, some companies are extending or abolishing the retirement age to around 70. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to develop a wage system that is not based on age, since it is difficult to deal with the traditional seniority-based wage system.
　Since there is no common pay system that can be said to be the best for all companies (at least not yet), the development of a pay system is a difficult and troubling issue for companies. In addition, there are experts who recommend freelance work and advocate the introduction of fixed-term employment contracts for 10 or 20 years, which could lead to major changes in Japan's human resources system, including wage systems.
　In the midst of this trend of change, the mandatory retirement age of 70 is being introduced, but it may be time for companies to create a new HR system that includes a retirement age system.