The survey, however, found less than half, or 48.1 percent of women who had a child and only 0.02 percent of men utilized the system.Vol.33-No.04 April 1,1994
The spread of a childcare leave system has progressed particularly at big businesses since enforcement in 1992 of the Childcare Leave Law and approximately half of private companies have introduced the system, the Ministry of Labour said in its 1993 basic survey on female employment management.
The survey, however, found less than half, or 48.1 percent of women who had a child and only 0.02 percent of men utilized the system.
The survey was carried out on May 1, 1993, to comprehensively determine the actual situation of employment administration of women workers in major industries. The survey revealed an overwhelmingly high ratio, or 91.3 percent of the firms permit women workers to take leaves of absence until a child is one year old. In actuality, however, about 60 percent offer their women workers less than a six month leave.
Approximately 30 percent of the firms pay workers on childcare leave. Of them, 60 percent pay them monthly and three quarters offer "an amount equivalent to social insurance premiums paid by the worker." Furthermore, at 86.7 percent of firms, workers on childcare leave "return to their jobs." In 1992 84.6 percent of women and 100 percent of men returned to work after the leave.
Meanwhile, 16.3 percent of all corporations allow their workers to take leave to care for invalid family members. The larger the company size, the higher the percentage of those which introduce the system; however, spread of the scheme is slower than that of the childcare leave system.
The Ministry said, "Since, enforcement in 1992 of the Childcare Leave Law, the spread of the childcare leave system is progressing. In July 1992 we drew up guidelines for encouraging leave to care for invalid family members and have been endeavoring to let them known thoroughly. However, smaller-scale firms have been slow in adopting both systems." Thus, the Ministry plans to go ahead with priority-based measures to spread and diffuse the systems among small businesses in the years to come.
According to Personnel Authority's survey on taking of childcare leave by government employees in the general category, in 1992, 4,201 (49.2%) of 8,538 women employees with a child of 12 months or younger took childcare leave, while 23 male employees took it. Almost all the female and all the male employees returned to their jobs after the leave.
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