# 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

(Goals of the entire society in 2020)

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.

(3) Reduction of non-scheduled working hours

○ Introduction and improvement of “no overtime day” and “no overwork week”

○ 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

Year	Japan	U.S.A.	U.K.	Canada	Germany	France
2006	1811	1802	1648	1734	1352	1447
2007	1808	1799	1655	1734	1354	1468
2008	1792	1797	1634	1727	1351	1475
2009	1733	1776	1630	1699	1309	1469
2010	1754	1786	1620	1704	1340	1469

Source: OECD Employment Outlook (2011)

(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. The figures for 2010 for France are estimates.

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