# Outline of Act on Special Measures for Improvement of Working Time Arrangements and Guidelines for Improvement of Working Time Arrangements

## Detailed Information

## I mprovement of working time arrangements

• Improvement of working time arrangements related matters, including working hours, opening/closing time, the number of day off, the number of annual paid leave, and seasonal working time, for covering diverse work styles with consideration given to Worker's health and life

• Employers are obliged to make efforts in taking necessary measures for improving working time arrangements

• The Government must make efforts in supporting employers, etc. and promoting necessary measures in an comprehensive and effective manner

## Guidelines for Improvement of Working Time Arrangements

To list reference matters that are helpful for business operators to respond to their obligation to make efforts in improving working time arrangements

Committee for the Improvement of Working Time Arrangements

• Committee for the Improvement of Working Time Arrangements is established to provide labour and management with opportunities for discussion

• Exceptions of the Labour Standards Act, such as substitution effects of labour and management agreement and notification exemption, are applied to committees that meet specific conditions

Implementation plan for improvement of working time arrangements

In case two or more employers jointly formulate the plan and receive ministerial approval, relevant ministers and the Fair Trade Commission shall check whether there's any violation of the Antimonopoly Act

## Points of Guidelines for Improvement of Working Time Arrangements

### 1. Basic ideas

(1) Efforts toward the realization of work-life balance, including the review of work time arrangements,

• are necessary for making Japanese society sustainable and stable, reversing the trend in falling birthrate, and enabling various people to get employed under the situations of declining population; and

• increase chances of securing, developing, and adapting talented human resources that are sources of energy and competitiveness of enterprises.

(2) It is important that executive officers take the lead in carrying out, and strive for raising awareness for the reform of working environments

(3) Taking measures in a systematic manner toward the realization of work-life balance according to the actual conditions of individual enterprises with consideration given to the goals of the entire society provided in the "Action Guidelines for Work-Life Balance Promotion" is important

o "To halve the ratio of workers who work for 60 hours or more per week by 2008"

o "To raise the acquisition rate of annual paid leave by 70%"

### 2. Measures that are important for the realization of work-life balance

(1) Development of opportunities for discussion between labour and management

○ Development of opportunities for discussion between labour and management such as Committee for the Improvement of Working Time Arrangements

(2) Development of environment where annual paid leave is easily taken

○ Creation of an atmosphere where annual paid leave is easily taken by encouraging its acquisition

○ Scheduled acquisition of annual paid leave

○ Introduction of a system to confirm the annual paid leave acquisition status

○ Discussion on setting the targets for the acquisition rate, etc.

o Introduction and improvement of "no overtime day" and "no overwork week"

o Control of working long hours (to avoid constantly working long hours), etc.

(4) Consideration for health and life of individual workers

○ Workers determined to be in particular need of maintaining their health

○ Workers that are raising their children or nursing their family members

Business bachelors

Workers making voluntary efforts in vocational ability development

## Detailed Data 1 Changes in Average Annual Hours Actually Worked per Person in 6 Major Countries

(Hour)

Year	Japan	U.S.A.	U.K.	Canada	Germany	France
2007	1808	1799	1658	1734	1340	1401
2008	1792	1797	1641	1727	1339	1409
2009	1733	1776	1637	1699	1296	1391
2010	1754	1787	1632	1704	1323	1395
2011	1747	1797	1611	1704	1330	1394

Source: OECD Employment Outlook (2012)

(Note) 1. Including part-time workers, but excluding self-employed persons.

2. The figures for Japan indicate hours worked by workers in offices with 5 or more workers. No limitation is imposed on the figures for other countries.

3. Note that statistical methods used for obtaining the data, including selection of the general population, are different in each country.