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.

It is now time to review the system introduced by the Corona disaster

Staggered work hours remain unchanged at about 15%

According to the results of the 7th Survey on Workers' Attitudes conducted by the Japan Productivity Center, 15.1% of workers have staggered their workday (as of October). 16% of workers in the first survey in May 2020 also staggered their workday, so there has been no significant change.

The main reason for staggered work hours in Corona disasters is probably to avoid crowds. With Corona on the wane in Japan, this may be a good time to test the effects in your company.

While telework is becoming more and more popular

In the same survey, the telework implementation rate was 22.7%. In various surveys, there is a response that "telework was effective", but it seems that the most important reason is that there is no stress and fatigue of commuting, rather than an increase in the efficiency of work.

On the other hand, disadvantages of telework have also begun to be pointed out, such as the difficulty and inconvenience of internal communication and consultation, long working hours, and overwork due to the blurring of the boundaries between work and life. If you ask your employees, you will probably find that there are many things that need to be improved, such as the inability to give instructions and consultations all at once, the lack of control due to varying levels of proficiency and usage of chat and other tools, and the fact that some people are burdened with tasks that used to be done by everyone.

The time to review is now

I believe that now is the time to calmly analyze and judge the effects and challenges of the various measures that we have begun to implement in Corona, to see how they actually affect our own operational efficiency. 

It is important to make adjustments to the company's system, not only to deal with the corona disaster. We want to avoid a situation where we introduce a system once and then do nothing with it.

It is becoming increasingly important for people to manage the way employees work. Let's reflect the opinions of employees and create a sense of conviction as we proceed with the review.

Let's start preparing for the enforcement of the revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law!

 

◆Major Changes in the Childcare Leave System

The revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law will come into effect on April 1 next year, and in addition to the establishment of a new "Papa Ikukyuu" leave, it will be necessary to provide workers with information on the company's childcare leave system and confirm their intentions on whether or not to take childcare leave, and it will be possible to take childcare leave in installments.

Naturally, it is necessary to review the childcare and nursing care leave regulations and maintain internal forms regarding the use of the system, but that is not all.

◆A labor-management agreement must also be concluded

Under the amendment, the requirements for taking childcare leave will be relaxed for part-timers, etc., who are currently not eligible to take childcare leave depending on the period of employment. Therefore, it is necessary to conclude a labor-management agreement and decide whether those who have been continuously employed for less than one year are eligible to take childcare leave or not.

◆Preparation of materials to inform workers about the company's system is also necessary

As mentioned above, after the enforcement of the revised law, when a worker or her spouse requests for pregnancy or childbirth, the employer is obliged to provide information about the system and confirm the intention to take childcare leave. It is not enough to just provide the regulations, but you also need to provide information on where to apply for childcare leave, childcare leave benefits, and how to handle social insurance premiums during the leave period.

If the documents are already prepared, it is only necessary to check whether they meet the prescribed requirements, but if they are newly prepared, it is also necessary to check what kind of system the company has in place and whether there are any oversights that are not explicitly stated.