What measures are being taken by companies that are not experiencing labor shortages?

According to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as of December 2022, Japan's population aged 15-64 decreased by 0.28% from the same month last year, or 208,000 fewer people. In addition, the number of people under 15 years old, who will be of working age, decreased by 293,000 over the same period. The total population has been declining at an accelerated pace since 2019, and as of May 2023, the total population is estimated to be 570,000 less than the same month last year.

◆What companies that do not have a shortage of labor are doing to address it

While many companies are increasingly feeling short-staffed following the lowering of the Infectious Diseases Act classification of the new coronavirus to 'category 5', the same as seasonal influenza, some companies are not short-staffed. According to the results of a survey conducted by Teikoku Databank, many companies cited the following measures as the main factors (multiple answers) for not having a labor shortage.

(1) Raise wages and bonuses (51.7%)

(2) Creating a comfortable work environment (35.0%)

(3) Extension of retirement age and rehiring of seniors (31.2%)

(4) Improved welfare benefits (26.6%)

(5) Fair and equitable personnel evaluation (22.0%)

A ' comfortable work environment' in (2) includes maintaining cleanliness, rest areas and an internal consultation service. In addition, (4) and (5) are measures to make the workplace a place where workers can feel a sense of personal growth and security.

◆Need for wage increase

In the midst of declining real wages due to soaring global prices, companies that are unable (or unwilling) to raise wages and bonuses will experience a decline in employee satisfaction and a sense of security, resulting in an exodus of talented personnel, a decline in competitiveness that will make it difficult to hire new employees, and even if they are lucky enough to hire new employees, they will not be able to afford to nurture them, resulting in early employee turnover.

As the old saying goes, "A man is a stone wall, and a man is a castle", the most powerful force supporting a company is the power of the people you trust. In order to develop as many employees as possible who trust the company, the company should take the initiative to change and show the way forward.

Workers' compensation for reprimand. Executive claims she was subjected to "workplace harassment."

On April 24, it was learned that a female executive in her 50s working for the Japanese subsidiary of Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch Group was certified by the Chuo Labor Standards Inspection Office (Tokyo) as having suffered a mental disorder due to persistent reprimands by a foreign female president who had been assigned to the Japanese subsidiary. The labor union to which the woman belongs, the Sogo Support Union, revealed the incident.

The woman claimed that she was subjected to workplace harassment by the president, who called her "stupid," "low level," and other abusive comments. She presented the recorded data and demanded an apology, but the Japanese subsidiary has not responded. The Japanese subsidiary admitted to the interview that it had received a workers' compensation certification, and responded that "the Labor Inspection Office has not certified it as workplace harassment" with regard to the president's words and actions.

According to the workers' compensation certification document, the woman joined Swatch Group Japan (Tokyo) in 2008 and was in charge of public relations.

She was severely scolded by the president, who took office in March 2021, over the budget for the public relations project, and in August 2021, her personnel evaluation was severely downgraded, and in September she developed an adjustment disorder. The union is calling for her resignation as she is not fit to be president.

May 24, 2023 Kyodo

Overtime is an important factor in choosing a new job

On May 8, 2023, En Japan Co., Ltd. released the results of a survey of 10,000 working adults on overtime work. The survey was conducted on "En Tenshoku," a comprehensive job site operated by En Japan, and responses were received from 12,940 users.

◆84% of respondents answered that presence or absence of overtime work and average hours of overtime work influenced their choice of career path.

In response to the question, "To what extent do the availability and average hours of overtime affect your choice of company when you are changing jobs? The most common response was "Very much" (49%), followed by "Slightly" (35%), for a total of 84% of the respondents.

By age group, more than half of those in their 20s and 30s responded "it affects me a lot" (55% of those in their 20s and 56% of those in their 30s), and when combined with "it affects me a little," 89% of those in their 20s and 88% of those in their 30s said it affects them a lot.

In terms of gender, 44% of men responded that it "greatly affects" their work, while 54% of women responded that it "greatly affects" their work, a difference of 10 points. It is clear that women consider overtime hours more important in choosing a company than men.

◆Overtime "is increasing" for 26% and "is decreasing" for 24%. Half of the respondents "No change".

"Over the past few years, have your overtime hours been increasing? Has it been decreasing?" 50% of the respondents answered "No change", accounting for half of the total. The "increasing trend" was 26%, and the "decreasing trend" was 24%, almost the same percentage.

By industry, the consulting/professional business industry had the largest increase in overtime hours at 36%, while manufacturers (machinery, electrical, electronics, etc.) had the largest decrease at 32%.

◆Reason for increase in overtime hours is "labor shortage", reason for decrease is "corporate overtime restrictions".

When those who responded that overtime work is on the rise were asked the reason for the increase, the most common response, at 75%, was "Due to insufficient staffing”. This was followed by "Due to increased workload" at 67%.

On the other hand, the most common reason given by those who responded that their overtime hours were "on the decrease" was "because overtime work has been restricted," at 42%.

◆Only less than 40% of respondents are aware of the overtime premium system.

When asked if they were aware that "the premium rate for overtime wages exceeding 60 hours per month will be increased to 50%," 39% of those working in small and medium-sized enterprises were aware (9% knew much about it, including the details, and 30% knew only an outline), which was less than 40% of all respondents.

A total of 80% of respondents (47% "very favorable" and 33% "favorable") expressed a favorable view of the hike. On the other hand, less than 10% said they "think the increase is not good" (1% think it is very bad and 8% think it is bad).

After childcare leave, subordinates went from 37 to 0. Amex ordered to pay compensation for "violation of Equal Employment Opportunity Law"

A woman who worked for American Express, a major U.S. credit card company, claimed that she was given no subordinates after her maternity and childcare leave ended, even though she was in charge of 37 subordinates. A woman working for American Express, a major U.S. credit card company, claimed that such treatment violated the Equal Employment Opportunity Law and other laws, and demanded compensation for damages from the company. 

The Tokyo High Court ruled that the company should be compensated 2.2 million yen, changing the Tokyo District Court ruling that dismissed the woman's lawsuit, stating, "This constitutes disadvantageous treatment prohibited by the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, abuse of personnel rights, and violation of public order and morals."

According to the ruling, the woman joined the company in 2008. She was promoted in the sales department for individual customers and became a department manager with 37 subordinates in January 2002. She took sick leave in February 2003 due to physical problems associated with her pregnancy, and then took maternity and childcare leave around the time of her delivery in July of the same year.

She returned to work in August 2004, but the team led by the woman had disappeared during her absence due to organizational changes. Although at the same managerial level, she was placed in a newly established post to develop new sales channels without subordinates and was instructed to make telephone sales calls.

The court ruled that "even a change in assignment that does not immediately result in economic disadvantage, if the quality of the work is significantly reduced and may affect career development, it constitutes treatment that has a disadvantageous effect." Such treatment for pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare leave would violate the Equal Employment Opportunity Law and the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law.

Asahi Newspaper

Rules on the Specification of Working Conditions to be Revised in April 2024

◆Additional matters to be clearly stated in the working conditions

Due to amendments to the Enforcement Regulations of the Labor Standards Law, the rules for clearly stating working conditions will change from April 2024. Specifically, new items will be added to the list of items that must be clearly stated when concluding or renewing a labor contract. Let's take a look at the new items to be added for each of the timing periods in which clarification is required.

1 At the time of conclusion of all labor contracts and at the time of renewal of fixed-term labor contracts

Explicit statement a: Scope of change in place of work and duties

The "scope of change" here refers to the location of employment and job duties that may change due to future reassignment, etc. For example, for a worker whose job description is limited, the scope of the change would be stated in addition to the description immediately after hiring.

sample description

place of work:

(Immediately after hiring) Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo (Tokyo Head Office)

(Scope of change) Tokyo metropolitan area

Duties to be performed:

(Immediately after hiring) Human resource

(Scope of change) Human resources, general affairs, and accounting operations

2 At the time of conclusion and renewal of a fixed-term labor contract

Explicit item b: Existence and details of renewal limits (total contract period or maximum number of renewals)

In addition, if the renewal limit is established or shortened after the initial labor contract is signed, the reason for the change must be explained to the worker in advance.

3 At the time of renewal of a contract for which the right to apply for indefinite conversion based on the indefinite conversion rule arises

Explicit statement c: Opportunity to apply for indefinite conversion; 

Explicit statement d: Working conditions after indefinite conversion

◆Review the working conditions notice.

Regarding the first item above, for every labor contract and every renewal of a fixed-term labor contract, it is necessary to clearly indicate the "scope of change" in addition to the place of employment and the nature of work "immediately after hiring". Please review the format of the working conditions notice to ensure that it complies with the revision. In addition, note that for workers on fixed-term contracts, it is necessary to provide a clear explanation based on the company's policy in accordance with 2 and 3 above.

Chubu Electric Power Employee's Suicide, Workers' Accident Recognized; Nagoya High Court Reverses Court Decision

The mother of Yosuke Suzuki, 26, who worked at the Mie Branch of Chubu Electric Power Company, committed suicide in 2010 because of power harassment and overwork, including abusive language from his supervisor. The Nagoya High Court on March 25 reversed the ruling of the first trial court, which had dismissed the claim, and rescinded the decision by the Tsu Labor Standards Inspection Office.

The Nagoya District Court ruling in the first instance stated that there was no evidence to support his mother's claims of verbal abuse, such as "Is this how you graduated from university? " or "We don't need you." However, High Court Judge Yasuhiro Hasegawa, in his ruling, found that Mr. Suzuki's friend had testified that there had been verbal abuse. The judge found that the verbal abuse was "beyond the scope of work guidance and constituted a denial of his character and humanity.

He also pointed out that the supervisor did not provide sufficient explanation or guidance to Mr. Suzuki, a new employee who did not understand how to proceed with a difficult task. It is clear that the psychological burden was strong overall, and the onset of the mental disorder and the suicide were attributed to the work.

At a press conference in Nagoya City, the mother said, "It proved how hard Yosuke's work was with the help of various people. I am really happy for him."

Tsu Labor Standards Bureau's Deputy Chief commented, "We would like to make a decision after reviewing the content of the ruling and consulting with the relevant authorities. Chubu Electric Power said, "We are aware of the court decision, but since we are not a party to the lawsuit, we refrain from commenting on it."

According to the ruling, Mr. Suzuki joined the company in April 2010. After being assigned to the Mie Branch, he developed a mental disorder and committed suicide in October of the same year. His mother applied for workers' compensation, but the Tsu Labor Standards Bureau denied his claim in 2002.

(Kyodo News)

the Embassy of Canada in Tokyo does not have employment insurance

On April 1, it was revealed that the Embassy of Canada in Tokyo does not have employment insurance, which is required by Japanese law, and that a female employee in her 30s who was hired in Japan and gave birth in Japan is not receiving childcare leave benefits under her employment insurance. She is also not covered by the Canadian social security system.

The General Union (Osaka), a labor union to which the women belong, pointed out that this constitutes an unfair labor practice, and will soon file a petition for relief with the Osaka Labor Relations Commission, demanding that the women join unemployment insurance and hold collective bargaining sessions.

According to the labor union, similar problems are also occurring at embassies and consulates in other countries. It is believed that this is due to the widespread misunderstanding that Japanese laws do not apply to such cases, and the compliance of each country is being questioned.

She is feeling discouraged, saying that they are being neglected, even though their embassy is in a country that values diversity and women's advancement in society.

A spokesperson for the Embassy of Canada responded to the interview, "The terms and conditions of employment for locally hired (Japanese) employees take into account Japanese standards and practices, and we offer benefits comparable to the Japanese system.