Key Points on People Management in the FY2021 - Local Labor Administration Management Policy

 

◆What are the points of concern?

The "FY2021 Local Labor Administration Operation Policy" has been formulated to show the trend of future supervision and guidance policies by the Labor Standards Inspection Offices. Let's take a look at the points of interest.

◆Support for the maintenance and continuation of employment

After the emergency response period to the new Corona, the center of gravity of policy seems to be shifting to post-Corona.

It says that the company will support the use of enrolled secondments and outplacement support using subsidies for stable industrial employment and trial employment. It will be important to confirm employee’s intentions regarding the secondment contract and secondment.

◆Promotion of women's participation and advancement and men's use of childcare leave, etc.

The number of companies obligated to formulate action plans under the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace has been expanded to 101 or more employees from this April. In addition, the so-called male version of the maternity leave system (the main pillar of which is to allow male employees to take four weeks off during the first eight weeks after the birth of a child) is scheduled to be newly established, and the system is scheduled to come into effect in the fall of 2022.

◆Telework and work-related injury

It seems that efforts are being stepped up for telework, which has now become a matter of course. There is support through subsidies for securing human resources. Telework will become essential knowledge for HR managers, both from a technical standpoint and in terms of people management such as working hour management and health management.

It is also important to be aware of work-related injuries caused by the new corona infection. There have been cases where workers' compensation due to corona has been recognized not only for medical-related occupations, but also for cleaners in the building maintenance industry, construction managers, salespeople and construction workers, port cargo handlers, and sales clerks.

Although supervision and guidance are mainly related to the correction of long working hours, this year's management policy also mentions workplace harassment, intervals between working hours, and equal pay for equal work, so we need to pay attention to investigations and guidance that reflect recent trends.

*The intervals between work hours are the way to ensure that workers have time to live and sleep by providing them with a certain amount of time to rest after work.

How much progress has been made in improving the treatment of part-time and fixed-term employees?

From a survey conducted by the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT)

Enforcement of the Part-Time and Fixed-term Employment Labor Law

In order to eliminate unreasonable differences in treatment between regular employees (full-time workers with indefinite employment) and part-time and fixed-term workers within the same company, the Part-Time and Fixed-term Employment Labor Law (hereinafter referred to as the Part-Time and Fixed-term Employment Labor Law) came into effect in April 2020. The law will apply to small and medium-sized companies from April 1, 2021.

The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT) has released a questionnaire to companies that was conducted prior to the implementation of the law.

To what extent can you explain the reasons for differences in treatment?

Under the Part-Time and Fixed-term Employment Labor Law, the reason for the difference in treatment between full-time and part-time/fixed-term employees must be explained to the employee upon his/her request.

69.3% of the companies that "know the details" of the Part-Time and Fixed-term Employment Law answered that they could explain most of the differences in treatment, while only 45.1% of the companies answered that they did not know the details.

Efforts to eliminate differences in treatment

The report also summarizes what we have done so far and what we plan to do in the future to eliminate unreasonable differences in treatment between regular, full-time employees and other workers.

Of these, the following initiatives were selected by a greater percentage of respondents as those that they plan to implement in the future.

*Introduction of retirement benefits and review of calculation methods for retirement benefits, etc.

*Introduction of various allowances and review of calculation methods, etc.

*Review of the system and utilization of dispatched workers

In addition to reviewing basic wage calculation methods and factors, it is necessary to be aware of the above points in future efforts.

The survey provides information on trends in wages, bonuses, benefits, and leave systems, so why not use it as a reference for future initiatives?

Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, "Results of a Survey on the Utilization of 'Part-Time' and 'Fixed-term' Workers: Company Survey.
https://www.jil.go.jp/institute/research/2021/207-1.html

Consider a personnel system that anticipates longer tenure

 

The age of 100 years of life

The Survey on "Career Development and Employment Management Issues in the Era of 100 Years of Life" conducted by the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILP) includes some points that can be helpful when taking action in anticipation of longer service periods.

Treatment when promotion to management positions is no longer expected

Regarding the treatment of full-time employees who are no longer expected to be promoted to managerial positions, the highest percentage of 77.9% said they would continue to work without promotion or advancement. This was followed by treating them as specialists equivalent to managers (34.4%) and rating them as employees equivalent to managers (30.5%). The above percentages are for small and medium-sized companies, but the trend is similar for large companies.

Personnel system for career development and its effects

Regarding human resource systems such as the goal management system and career interviews, the "mentor system" seems to be particularly effective for younger employees up to age 39.

It seems that the introduction of the system is generally less effective for older employees, and in particular, the self-reporting system is less effective or even counterproductive in some cases (60 years old and above) compared to younger employees, but the system for "participation in social contribution" seems to be effective.

The most common human resource development benefits of "social contribution participation" activities such as volunteering are the opportunity to come into contact with society's values (69.5%), the expansion of external networks (48.6%), and the acquisition of new perspectives (37.0%). The trend is similar for both large and small companies.

Handling of concurrent and side jobs

44.0% of SMEs prohibit concurrent or second jobs in their employment regulations. On the other hand, 32.3% of the respondents answered that they have no regulations. It is important to consider your company's policy so that you do not panic in case of emergency.

Enforcement of the Revised Law Concerning Stabilization of Employment of Older Persons

The revised Law Concerning Stabilization of Employment of Older Persons will come into effect on April 1. It includes a provision that makes it an effort obligation to secure employment for employees until the age of 70. Although it is an obligation to make efforts, we should prepare for it on a planned basis.

Support system for secondment by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

◆Support system for secondment

Companies that are temporarily downsizing their operations due to the effects of the new coronavirus infection are taking steps to use "secondment" (sometimes called "employment sharing" or "employee sharing") with companies that are short on labor in order to maintain employment for their employees.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has also introduced measures to support the efforts of such secondment for the purpose of maintaining employment at Corona Damages, which are introduced below.

◆What is secondment?

The so-called secondment refers to the process by which a worker, while maintaining some kind of relationship with the company from which he or she is transferred, enters into a new employment contract relationship with the company to which he or she is transferred, and continues to work for a certain period of time. The term "enrolled secondment" refers to a worker who signs an employment contract with both the company from which he/she was seconded and the company to which he/she was seconded.

◆Subsidies for stable industrial employment

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) provides support for both the company from which the employee is transferred and the company to which the employee is transferred.

This subsidy is for employers who have been forced to temporarily reduce their business activities due to the effects of the new coronavirus infection, and who wish to maintain the employment of their workers through secondment. This subsidy was newly established on February 5, 2021.

The program subsidizes a part of the expenses required during the secondment, such as wages, education and training, and labor management coordination expenses, to be borne by the secondment employers and destination employers (secondment operating expenses). In addition, subsidies are also provided for measures required for the establishment of the secondment, such as the cost of preparing work rules and secondment contracts, education and training conducted in advance of the secondment by the originating employer, and the maintenance of equipment and supplies for the acceptance of the secondment by the destination employer (initial expenses for secondment).

Please keep in mind that this is a subsidy to maintain employment, so it is assumed that the employee will return to work at the original place of business after the secondment period is over.

◆Matching system

Other support measures include a matching system by Industrial Employment Stabilization Center of Japan. The Center provides free matching services for companies that have temporarily over-employed due to the effects of the new coronavirus and wish to utilize on-the-job secondment with companies that are short on manpower in order to protect the employment of their employees. (The Center has offices in 47 prefectures throughout Japan and provides consultation services to companies.)

Knowledge of the materials and effectiveness of masks for preventing new coronavirus infection in the workplace

 

State of emergency declared again in 11 prefectures

On January 13, Japanese government declared a state of emergency in Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Gifu, Tochigi, and Fukuoka, following the three prefectures of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama.

According to the recommendations of the Subcommittee on Countermeasures for Infectious Diseases of the New Coronavirus on January 5, countermeasures are mainly focused on eating and drinking places, based on a paper published in the British scientific journal Nature, etc. However, it is also said that "there is a risk of rapid spread of infection nationwide," and it is necessary to implement thorough infection prevention measures widely.

What is the preventive effect of wearing a mask?

Hand disinfection, wearing masks, and ventilation are recommended as infection prevention measures, but the preventive effect of masks depends on the material used.

The results of an experiment published last October by the Toyohashi University of Technology show numerical changes when wearing a mask (non-woven fabric, cloth, or urethane), a face shield, and a mouth shield.

According to the results of the same experiment, the amounts of discharged droplets out of the body can be reduced to about 20% with non-woven fabric and cloth, but 50% with urethane and 90% with a mouth shield. As for the amounts of droplets inhaled, non-woven fabrics can reduce droplets to about 30%, while urethane can reduce droplets to 60-70%, and face shields and mouth shields have no effect on small droplets.

What is the relationship between vocalization and droplet volume?

In addition, in response to the problem of infections caused by Karaoke, eating, and drinking, experiments are being conducted to see how the expiratory flow rate changes when talking, shouting, singing, eating, and drinking.

　According to the results of the experiment, the amounts of large droplets increase about 10 times more in Karaoke and loud conversations than in normal conversations, and the momentum of the droplets increases about 1.5 to 2 times. In addition, the distance that the droplets can reach is increased by about 1.5 times, so it is necessary to keep a sufficient distance between people and to ventilate sufficiently because the number of small droplets is also doubled.

To prevent infection in the workplace

On January 8, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) asked labor-management organizations and economic organizations to cooperate in the active use of telework, prevention of infection in the workplace, and strengthening of health management. For the sake of your company's business continuity, please take proactive measures to prevent infection in the workplace.

More companies are using telephone answering service providers

 

The "telephone answering service" is attracting attention in the Corona disaster

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, many companies have introduced telework, but companies with few employees and departments that answer a lot of phone calls face the problem of having to come to work to answer the phones. In addition, answering the phone requires interruption of the original work, which reduces productivity.
To solve these problems, more and more companies are using "telephone answering services".

Features of Telephone Answering Service

A telephone answering service, also known as a secretarial service or telephone secretarial service, is a service in which an outside operator listens to incoming office calls on your behalf and takes them to the person in question. If the operator is unable to take the call, he or she will contact you by phone or email (the method of contact varies depending on the service company, but chat, line, etc. are also available). This also allows you to keep a record of the contents.

In addition, since operators who have received education and training in telephone answering are available, it can also improve the image of the company.

How do you choose the right service company for your needs?

Currently, there are many telephone answering service companies, and the services they can provide vary from company to company. For example, in the case of law profession offices and real estate companies, legal terms and industry knowledge are required, so there are services where operators specializing in the industry are available. There are also companies that can provide services outside of business hours, such as at night or on holidays.

There are also other services that provide mail order product explanations, take orders on behalf of customers, and even handle complaints.

Note that the cost of using a telephone answering service varies depending on the number of calls per month and the number of operators. When considering the use of this service, it is necessary to compare the content of the service, the quality of the operators, and the cost to find the service that best suits your needs.

Outing Privacy is a tort

 

◆What is outing?

Outing refers to the act of another person revealing a secret related to sexuality (such as being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or having gender identity disorder) to those around them without the consent of the person concerned. For example, if a person who has been told by the person in question that he or she likes him or her tells a third party that he or she is homosexual, or if a person who has been consulted by the person in question says that he or she is actually a former man (or woman), it is outing without the consent of the person in question.

◆If you do outing

In The person who has been outed will suffer deeply. If the outing is done in the workplace, it can lead to not only resignation but also mental illness such as depression, harassment trials, and in the worst-case scenario, even death. In fact, there have been trials on the issue of outing, and the high court ruled that outing is "a serious violation of personal rights and the right to privacy, and an unacceptable act" (Hitotsubashi University outing case). There was also a report that a company apologized to its employees and paid a settlement for the damage caused by outing.

◆Measures are the duty of employers

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Guidelines for the Prevention of Power Harassment also clearly states that outing, or revealing to other workers sensitive personal information such as a worker's sexual orientation, gender identity, medical history, fertility treatment, etc., without the consent of the worker in question, constitutes power harassment. In other words, employers are obliged to take measures to prevent such harassment. Specific preventive measures include clarification, dissemination, and enlightenment of policies in the workplace, development of a consultation system, prompt and appropriate response to problems when they occur, and development of a system to protect privacy. Respecting diversity and building an environment where employees can work with peace of mind will lead to the development of your company.