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Whistleblowing in Japan
Data privacy in Japan
Equal treatment for temporary agency workers in Japan
Anti-discrimination law in Japan
Equal pay for equal work in Japan
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As an employer in Japan, you need to understand and adhere to various labour laws and regulations to protect your business and your employees. This way, you can avoid legal issues while keeping your operations running smoothly.
In this guide, we will provide everything you need to know about employee protection legislation, including whistleblowing protections, data privacy, equal treatment for agency workers, anti-discrimination laws, and more.
Employers in Japan are mandated to follow different regulations, including but not limited to working hours, wages, employment contracts, and workplace safety. Above all, this ensures safe working conditions and protects workers. Some key legislations include:
The Whistleblower Protection Act was initially enacted in 2004 to protect workers who report illegal or harmful activities by their employers or public entities. Its main goal is to protect whistleblowers from retaliation, such as dismissal or unfavourable treatment, due to their disclosure of information. Any dismissals related to whistleblowing are considered invalid, and disadvantageous treatment is prohibited.
In 2020, the Act underwent important updates, which took effect on June 1, 2022. Here are the key changes:
For companies with over 300 employees, there is a new requirement to appoint a designated contact person for whistleblower reports and create a supportive system for handling complaints. These changes aim to foster a safer environment for employees to express their concerns without fear.
The Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) is the main legislation governing data protection in Japan. APPI outlines the requirements for the handling, use, and protection of personal information.
In the workplace, the APPI has provisions that impact how employers handle employees’ personal information. Employers must adhere to the principles of the APPI when collecting, using, and managing personal data of their employees. This includes obtaining consent from employees for the processing of their personal data, implementing measures to safeguard personal information, and ensuring the accuracy of the data collected.
Under the APPI, employers are mandated to provide a clear purpose for the collection of personal information and limit its use to that scope. They are also required to take appropriate security measures to prevent leaks, loss, or damage to personal information. This means that employers should limit access to personal data to authorised persons and ensure that personal information is handled in a manner that respects privacy rights.
As an employer, you should be aware of the important aspects of the APPI and establish internal policies for data protection and privacy of employees. Some practices you can implement are:
Temporary agency workers should receive treatment comparable to regular employees in terms of wages, working conditions, and other employment benefits, provided they perform the same work.
The Worker Dispatching Act governs the dispatch of workers by temporary staffing agencies and protects the rights of temporary agency workers. To prevent wage discrimination, the act ensures that the pay for temporary agency workers is not significantly lower than that of permanent employees doing the same job.
The Act has undergone several amendments to adapt to changing economic conditions, employment situations, and labour policies in Japan. These revisions have addressed regulations regarding the types of jobs in which temporary agency workers can be employed, employment periods, and more, to ensure the protection and fair treatment of temporary workers.
For instance, to ensure equal pay for equal work between regular workers (permanent and full-time employees) and temporary agency workers, including fixed-term and part-time employees, amendments to related legislation became effective on April 1, 2020.
Employers should also keep in mind the following principles under the Act:
Yes, Japan has anti-discrimination laws that provide various protections for workers. The Labour Standards Act prohibits discrimination regarding wages, working hours, or working conditions based on nationality, creed, or social status.
This Act also mandates that employers must not engage in discriminatory treatment between men and women concerning wages. Moreover, Japan has strengthened its protection against workplace harassment, addressing issues such as sexual harassment and “power harassment” (pawahara), with new legal measures that became effective on June 1, 2020, for larger employers and will apply within three years for smaller organisations.
Aside from the Labour Standard Acts, there are various laws in place to combat discrimination in the workplace and ensure fair treatment and equal opportunities for all workers. Here are the key labour laws you need to keep in mind:
The Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA) in Japan addresses harassment in the workplace, particularly sexual harassment. It explicitly prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, defining it as any unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that creates an uncomfortable work environment.
Employers are required to take proactive measures to prevent sexual harassment. This includes establishing clear policies, providing training to employees, and creating a safe environment for reporting incidents. The Act also encourages companies to set up procedures for employees to report harassment without fear of retaliation. Employees should have access to confidential and effective complaint mechanisms.
If employers fail to address or prevent harassment in the workplace, they may face legal consequences, including liability for damages if an employee suffers harm due to harassment.
Moreover, a recent change to the Equal Opportunity Act, which took effect in June 2020, strengthens these requirements. Now, employers must also work with other companies when one of their employees harasses someone at a different company. This cooperation helps improve how both companies handle such situations and aims to prevent future harassment between employees of different organisations.
Yes, Japan has implemented laws to ensure equal pay across various types of employment. The amendments to the Part-Time/Fixed-Term Employment Act and the Worker Dispatch Act, which came into effect in April 2020, introduced requirements for workers to receive fair and equal treatment, irrespective of their job status. These reforms eliminate disparities between regular and non-regular workers (part-time, fixed-term, and dispatched workers) in terms of wages and working conditions.
The reforms to the Part-time/Fixed-term Employment Act focus on ensuring that part-time and fixed-term workers receive pay and benefits similar to full-time employees doing the same job. Employers must clearly explain how they determine pay and working conditions.
These reforms also promote equal access to training, promotions, and other career development opportunities for part-time and fixed-term workers.
For part-time and fixed-term workers, employers cannot set their base salary, bonuses, or benefits in a way that creates unreasonable gaps compared to regular employees. What counts as “reasonable” depends on:
Employers are not allowed to discriminate against part-time or fixed-term employees in terms of their job duties or positions just because of their employment status.
On the other hand, the reforms in the Worker Dispatch Act ensure that dispatched workers (temporary workers sent to client companies) get equal pay and working conditions compared to regular employees doing similar jobs.
These reforms also encourage companies to hire dispatched workers directly when they can, which helps improve job security and stability. Employers are required to clearly share information about the rights and benefits available to dispatched workers for them to understand what they’re entitled to.
Understanding what you can and can’t do as an employer is one of the biggest challenges of hiring in Japan. Get it wrong, and you could face legal action and damage to your reputation.
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