A new system of support gets under way with the enactment of the revised Child Care and Nursing Care Leave Law

The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare revised the so-called Child Care and Nursing Care Leave Law, and launched a “Child Nursing Care Leave System” on April 1 (official name: “Law Concerning the Welfare of Workers who Take Care of Children or other Family Members including Child Care and Family Care Leave”).

The system permits workers to take vacations to take care of their preschool children who suffer sudden illness or injury. Until now, these workers generally used their annual paid leave to cope with these emergencies. Under the new system, they need not worry about using up their paid leave. Many companies are still in the process of establishing the necessary setup, however, and, to give them time, the revised law demands that they make “maximum efforts.” The system will be reviewed in 2005, three years after the enforcement of the revised law.

Another key issue was the establishment of subsidies offered to companies that support employees trying to work and raise children at the same time.

Two types of subsidies will established: Those offered to support workers with children, and those to encourage the introduction of the nursing leave system by companies. A sum of 300,000 yen (400,000 yen for smaller enterprises) will be offered to companies that introduce short-time working hours, flexible working hours, and nursing leave systems for the benefit of workers raising preschool children. These incentives will be provided if they are clearly indicated in Collective Agreements, Work Rules, and other official documents.

The revised law also allows workers, both male and female, who have preschool children to take care of or are nursing other members of their family, to demand that they shall be exempted from overtime work exceeding 24 hours per month and 150 hours per year. The revised law mandates that companies accept these demands.

Moreover, under the previous law, various programs that companies had to set up to support child raising by employees?such as delaying the time of starting work each day, and adopting a flexible time system?was applied only to employees with children “under the age of 1.” Under the revised law, however, the target age was lengthened to “under the age of 3.”

A law enacted earlier in November 2001 prohibits employers from treating in a disadvantageous manner, such as by dismissal, wage reduction, or change in work status, workers who claim their legal rights under these programs. (See JIL Labor Flash Vol. 12).

These new programs were put into force, based on a report submitted by the Labor Policy Deliberative Council (comprised of 30 members with ten representatives each from labor, management, and public interest sectors) following the deliberations at the Equal Employment Subcommittee Meetings comprised of the representatives of labor, management, and public interest sectors.
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