Work-Life Balance
Support Guide
Osaka Prefecture University
For Faculty Members and Staﬀ
Published FY2020

This brochure describes the programs oﬀered at Osaka Prefecture University (OPU)
designed to enable faculty and staﬀ to maintain a good work-life balance
when raising children or looking after elderly/unwell family members.
For details, including when to apply and how your salary will be aﬀected,
please contact the responsible divisions listed on Page 4.

OPU Center for Women in Research
Address: C4 Bldgs., Nakamozu Campus, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan
TEL/FAX： 072-254-9856 (Direct) / 5056（Extension）
E-mail： w-support@ao.osakafu-u.ac.jp
URL： http：//genki.osakafu-u.ac.jp/

General Childcare Support Programs
Program
Pregnancy leave

Leave for pregnancy checkups

Pregnancy

Commuting relief during pregnancy

No overtime work, late-night work,or work on weekends and holidays
Leave due to miscarriage up to the11th week… MaleDetails
Description：
An expecting mother may request pregnancy leave if she finds it difficult to work due to pregnancy
Duration：
Up to 2 weeks
Description：
An expecting mother may request a time off for health guidance or medical examinations during pregnancy
Duration：・Up to the 23rd week：Once every 4 weeks
・From the 24th to 35th week：Once every 2 weeks
・From the 36th week to delivery：Once a week
* Each instance of leave should be up to a day
Description：
An expecting mother may request to commute to the office during a less congested time when it is consideredthat the congestion may negatively impact the health of the mother and/or the baby
Duration：
Up to 1 hour per day, provided that the change will not negatively affect work duties. The relief may be granted
between the time the expecting mother receives her maternity health record book and the time she takes prechildbirth leave
Description：
An expecting mother may request exemption from overtime work, late-night work, and/or work on weekends andholidays
Duration：
Throughout pregnancy
Description：
An expecting mother may request leave if she experiences a miscarriage by the 11th week
Duration：
Up to 2 weeks

Leave due to miscarriage/stillbirth

Description：
A mother may request leave that may not be covered by the pre- and post-childbirth leave provisions due tomiscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth, or other unforeseeable events
Duration：
Up to 16 weeks (24 weeks for multiple gestation), from the start of pre-childbirth leave

Pre-childbirth leave

Description：
A part of the maternity leave stipulated by the Labor Standards Act of Japan
Duration：
Up to 8 weeks, before the expected delivery date (up to 16 weeks for multiple gestation if 8 weeks is insufficient)

Extension of pre/post-childbirth
leave

Delivery

Spousal leave

Description：
Pre/post-childbirth leave can be extended with a doctor’s certificate when it is deemed necessary for the motherto-be to take additional rest connected to pre/post-childbirth leave
Duration：
Up to 1 week
Description：
Staff may request days/time off to look after their spouse and child/children, have the birth registered, etc.
Duration：
Up to 3 days, between the day the spouse is hospitalized and 2 weeks after delivery

Post-childbirth leave

Description：
A part of the maternity leave, which requires a mother to take 8 weeks off after delivery, stipulated by the Labor
Standards Act of Japan
Duration：
At least for 8 weeks, and up to 16 weeks (24 weeks for multiple gestation) from the start of pre-childbirth leave tothe end of post-childbirth leave

Spousal childcare leave

Description：
Staff may request days/time off to look after the newborn or older sibling(s) under school age
Duration：
Up to 5 days, between 8 weeks (16 weeks for multiple gestation) before the expected delivery date and 16 weeks
after delivery

Leave for postnatal checkups

Description：
A mother may request to take a day off for postnatal checkups
Duration：
Up to 1 day, at any time within a year after delivery

Time off a day for childcare

Description：
This program allows parents to request time off for childcare twice a day
Duration：：
Twice a day until the child turns 18 months old; for 30 minutes per time during 1 day, and for 1 hour at anothertime during the same dayChildcare leave

Childcare

Description：
OPU exempts teaching/office staff from having to attend work for a fixed period for the purpose of childcare
Duration：
Until the day the child reaches the age of 3

No overtime work/late-night work

Description：
This request may be made by a staff member who had a baby within 1 year, or who looks after a child under theage of 3

Flexible work time for childcare

Description：
After the period for childcare leave is over, a staff member may request to work at the office with flexible hours fora given period of time, leaving/arriving at work early/lateDuration：
2 hours or less a day (in 30-minute increments) for looking after a child/children under school age

Time off for drop-off/pick-up atnursery school

Description：
Staff, except for one who requests over 90 minutes off a day with "Flexible work time for childcare", may take atime off for dropping off/picking up a child under school age at a nursery school or equivalent* Conditions of childcare and commute etc. will be taken into consideration
Duration：
Up to 30 minutes a day, at the beginning/end of working hours or at a stretch of "Flexible work time for childcare"

Restricted hours for overtime work

Description：
A staff member may request restricted overtime work to look after a child/children under school age

Child nursing care leave

Description：
A staff member may request leave to look after an unwell child/children under junior high school age
Duration：
Up to 5 days per calendar year (Up to 10 days for a staff member who looks after 2 or more children)

Leave for child immunizations/checkups

2Eligibility… FemaleDescription：
A staff member may request a day off to take their child/children for immunizations and/or medical checkups. Can
be used until the end of the fiscal year when the child has reached 18 years of age
Duration：
1 day per year

* Child includes adopted children and children under foster care

OPU-Specific Childcare Support Programs
Program

EligibilityTsubasa Nursery
OPU students arealso eligible

Pregnancy/childcare
support programs for
fixed-term teaching staff

Details
Description：
Tsubasa Nursery was founded in 2011 by OPU to support the work-life balance of university faculty and staff and to promote
the closing of the gender gap in social participation
Childcare service days：
Monday to Friday (closed on Saturdays, Sundays, National holidays, and New Year holidays (Dec. 29 – Jan. 3)* Schedule subject to change as necessary
Basic service hours：
08:30 - 18:15
Extended service hours：
08:00 – 08:30; 18:15 – 19:00
Service age range：
Age 0 (57 days old) to children under school age* Care for sick or recuperating children is not provided

Description：
Fixed-term teaching staff may request to have the term of their contract extended if they have taken pregnancy and/or
childcare leave

Nursing Care Support Programs
Program

Eligibility

Details

Leave for nursing

Description：
Offered when care is required for a staff member’s eligible family member(s) who may have difficulty looking afterthemselves (those holding a Certification of Needed Long-Term Care)
Eligible Family Members：Spouse, parent, child, or parent of spouse in need of care;
Grandparent, grandchild, or sibling in need of care and living with the staff member
Duration：
Up to 5 days per calendar year (up to 10 days if there are 2 or more family members in need of care)

Leave for family care

Description：
Offered when a staff member must take care of a family member in need of care for 2 weeks or more due to injury, sickness,or physical/mental disabilities (those holding a Certification of Needed Long-Term Care)
Eligible Family Members：
Spouse, parent, child, parent of spouse, grandparent, sibling, or grandchild in need of care;
Spouse of parent, spouse of spouse’s parent, child’s spouse, or spouse’s child in need of care and living together with thestaff member
Duration：
Until the family member can resume normal daily life, up to 180 days
* Can be taken in separate durations (up to 6 times)

Partial leave for family
care

Absence for nursing

Restrictions on overtime
work hours for nursing

Restrictions on late-night work hours fornursing

Description：
Offered when a staff member must take care of a family member in need of care for 2 weeks or more due to injury, sickness,or physical/mental disabilities (those holding a Certification of Needed Long-Term Care)
Eligible Family Members：
Spouse, parent, child, parent of spouse, grandparent, sibling, or grandchild in need of care;
Spouse of parent, spouse of spouse’s parent, child’s spouse, or spouse’s child in need of care and living together with thestaff member
Duration：
Until the family member can resume normal daily life, up to 3 years* Obtained at the beginning or end of working hours for less than 2 hours per day in 30-minute increments
Description：
Offered when a staff member must take care of an eligible family member in need of assistance in rehabilitation orhospitalization due to injury, sickness, or advanced age
Eligible Family Members：
Spouse, relative within the second degree of kinship, spouse of spouse’s parent
Duration：
Less than 30 separate times per calendar year, up to 1 day each time
Description：
Restricted hours for overtime work may be requested by staff members who must look after an eligible family member whomay have difficulty looking after themselves due to injury, illness, or advanced age
Eligible Family Members：
Spouse, parent, child, parent of spouse, grandparent, sibling, or grandchild in need of assistance;
Spouse of parent, spouse of spouse’s parent, child’s spouse, or spouse’s child in need of assistance and living together withthe staff member
Details：
1) Overtime work will be exempted for between more than a month and up to a year per request
2) Provided that normal business operations are not disrupted, up to 24 hours per month and 150 hours per year of overtime
work will be exempted
Description：
Restricted hours for late-night work may be requested by staff members who must look after an eligible family member whomay have difficulty looking after themselves due to injury, illness, or advanced age, provided that the staff member does notlive together with a family member aged 16 or older who is able to provide care on their behalf
Eligible Family Members：
Spouse, parent, child, parent of spouse, grandparent, sibling, or grandchild in need of assistance;
Spouse of parent, spouse of spouse’s parent, child’s spouse, or spouse’s child in need of assistance and living together withthe staff member
Details：
Provided that normal business operations are not disrupted, no work will be prescribed between 10 pm and 5 am the nextmorning* Spouse includes a person who is in a common-law marriage* Child includes adopted children and children under foster care

3

Research Support Programs
ProgramBabysitter Subsidies

Eligibility

Full-time faculty
members(fixed-term contract
teachers included)

Research Support

Personnel Program

Full-time faculty
members(fixed-term contract
teachers included)… Female

Details
Description：
This program provides OPU faculty members with Babysitter Discount Coupons, which partially subsidize the cost of babysitting
services. This program is available for faculty members who utilize the service provided by All Japan Childcare Services Association
Applicable to：• A guardian of a child between the age of 0 and in elementary school third grade (up to sixth grade if the child has a disability)• A guardian who has difficulty working without the use of a babysitting service due to their own medical conditions, having aspouse who works full-time, or other such reason
Terms of Use：
• 1 coupon (2,200 yen) per day• 1 coupon per child per day
Example: 3 coupons can be used for 3 children on the same day if these children are of eligible age
Description：
This program is designed to help researchers at OPU continue their research projects and improve their research skills by
providing them with assistants if they find it difficult to set aside time for their research while looking after their children and/or
elderly/unwell parents, or during pregnancy and delivery
Applicable to：Female/Male faculty member who needs assistance due to following circumstances: Pregnancy/Childbirth Childcare (the youngest child must be up to elementary school sixth grade, or middle school third grade if the child has adisability*) Nursing care
Hours of assistant support：
Up to 10 hours per week
*disability ……
① Certified with " 身体障害者手帳 (Physically Disabled Person's Handbook)" or " 療育手帳 (Intellectually Disabled Person's Handbook)"② In conditions equivalent to ① , such as being a target of welfare services for children with disability at the local public entity

Tsubasa NurseryContacts
Childcare Support Programs
Nursing Care Support Programs

Tsubasa Nursery

Research Support Programs

Human Resources Division, General Affairs Department, Administrative Organization

072-254-9105
Permanent Faculty Members/Staff: 2213（Extension）
Contract Faculty Members/Staff:2150（Extension）

Human Resources Division, General Affairs Department, Administrative Organization

072-254-9105
2090／2113（Extension）
tsubasa-hoiku@ml.osakafu-u.ac.jp

Center for Women in Research072-254-9856
5056（Extension）
w-support@ao.osakafu-u.ac.jp
http://genki.osakafu-u.ac.jp

4… Male