# Promotion of Measures to Support Balancing Work and Child Rearing/Family Care

## Overview

In order to realize a society in which all workers who are eager to work while raising their children or taking care of family members can do so with a sense of security efforts have been made in developing a good work-life balance support system in accordance with the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act and creating workplace environment in which workers can easily utilize the system, etc. and with the aim of improving the percentage of females who continue to work after giving birth and the percentage of males taking child care leave, etc.

## Outline of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Act

Child care/family care leave system

Securing the right of a worker to take child care leave until the child reaches the age of one (one year and six months in certain cases such as being unable to enter a day-care center) (both parents can take child care leave for one year until the child reaches the age of one year and two months if they take it together (Father and Mother Child Care Leave Plus))

○ Enabling fathers to take Child Care Leave again even if already taken within eight weeks of a child being born

○ Child Care Leave can be taken even if one’s spouse is a full-time housewife/househusband

○ Securing the right of workers to take family care leave once for each family member that is in need of constant care for up to a total of 93 days

$ ^{*} $ Fixed term workers that meet certain conditions can also take that type of leave

Measures to reduce work hours, etc.

○ Obligating business operators to adopt the measure of reducing the work hours (six hours a day in principle) of workers raising children aged 3 or younger

○ Obligating business operators to take one of the following measures for workers taking care of any family members that require constant care

[1] Reduced work hour system [2] Flexible work hour system

[3] Advancing or delaying start or finish hours

[4] Support measures for care expenses

## Limitation on overtime

○ A limit on overtime work to 24 hours a month and 150 hours a year if requested by workers raising children before the time of commencement of elementary school or they are taking care of family members

Exemption on overtime work

Exemption on any overtime work if requested by workers raising children aged 3 or younger

Limited late-night work

○ Limited late-night work if requested by workers raising children before the time of commencement of elementary school or they are taking care of family members

Sick/injured child care leave system

○ Obligating business operators to grant sick/injured child care leave for 5 days per year with one child before the time of commencement of elementary school or 10 days a year with two or more children

Family care leave system

○ Obligating business operators to grant family care leave for 5 days per year with one family member requiring care or 10 days a year with two or more family members

Consideration with transfers

○ Obligation for business operators to take into consideration a workers' situation with regard to child/family care when wishing to transfer them

Prohibition on disadvantageous treatment

○ Prohibition on dismissal and other disadvantageous treatment for the reason of taking child care leave, etc.

Securing Effectiveness

Creation of a system for supporting and conciliation for complaint handling/dispute resolution

○ Creation of a system for disclosing names of those that do not comply with the recommendations and a civil fine for not reporting or making a false report

* The underlined parts indicate those revised by the revised Act of June 2009. Effective date of the revised Act: June 30, 2010 in principle (July 1, 2012 for part of the provisions for business operators that consistently employ no more than 100 workers)

## Formulation/Implementation of Action Plans for Enterprises in Accordance with the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children

## (Temporary legislation with a 10-year term limit from April 2005)

Formulation of action plans

• Enterprises with 101 or more workers → Obligation

• Enterprises with 100 or less workers → Obligation to make effort

* Expansion of the obligatory subjects from April 2011 (formerly enterprises with 301 or more workers)

## Report/ implementation

• Report to Prefectural Labour Bureaus

• Announcement of the plans and dissemination among workers (*Obligatory from April 2009)

• Implementation of the plans toward achieving the goals

Completion of action plans/achievement of goals

• Formulation/implementation of action plans for the next term

• Request for authorization

Authorization by the

Minister of Health,

Labour and Welfare

• Authorization of enterprises that meet certain standards

• Enterprises may then use authorization marks on their products, etc.

Action plans (general business operator action plans)

[Action plans]

Plans formulated by enterprises in accordance with the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children in helping to balance the work and childcare of their workers [Matters provided in action plans]

[1] Period of action plans (approximately two to five years, after taking into consideration the actual situation of the respective enterprises)

[2] Goals to be achieved

[3] Measures used to achieve goals and implementation period

[Matters concerning the content of action plans]

1 Matters concerning the development of employment environments

(1) Efforts mainly made for workers raising children

2 Other measures to support the development of the next-generation Efforts other than employment environment and not limited to workers of enterprises

= Example action plans =

(Example 1) Raising the level of child care leave acquisition within the period of action plan as follows.

Male: xx or more persons taking child care leave per year,

Females: acquisition rate of xx% or more

dd/mm/yyyy Conduct training for managers

dd/mm/yyyy Hold seminars on returning to workplaces for regular employees on child care leave who are willing to participate

(Example 2) Establish a “no overtime day” each month.

dd/mm/yyyy Establish a discussion group in each department

dd/mm/yyyy: Implement a campaign via company newsletter, etc.

## Report status (as of the end of March 2014)

98.5% of enterprises with 101 or more workers

98.5% of enterprises with 301 or more workers

98.4% of enterprises with 101-300 workers

Number of enterprises of all sizes: 67,640

◦ Authorization status (as of the end of March 2014)

Authorized enterprises: 1,818

Next-generation authorization mark: "Kurumin"

* Underlined portion is revised by the Act on Partial Revision of the Child Welfare Act, etc.

## Authorization standards

• The period of the action plans to be 2-5 years.

• Action plans are implemented and the goals set in the action plans achieved.

• "Measures equivalent to child care leave system or measures to reduce work hours" were taken.

• During the period of the action plans one or more male workers took child care leave and the child care leave acquisition rate of females was 70% or more. etc.

## Favorable tax treatment system for authorized enterprises

• Additional depreciation deductions of 32% of the normally allowed depreciation limit for buildings, etc. acquired, newly constructed, extended, or reconstructed during a certain period of time (*) of the business year, including the date of authorization, will be approved.

* The period between the commencement date of the action plans subject to authorization and the end of the business year, including the date of authorization

• The system is applicable to business operators authorized under the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children in a business year commencing during the period of between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2014.