Effective April 2021 for SMEs: Equal treatment of non-regular employees
The amendments under the equal-pay-for-equal-work concept came into force for large size companies on April 2020, the same will now be applied to small and medium enterprises from April 2021.The aim is to eliminate 'irrational' gaps in terms of treatment and ensure regular and non-regular employees receive equal treatments.
Brief Details:
-Irrational treatment gaps between non-regular and regular employees are prohibited. (Balanced treatment)
-Discriminatory treatments are prohibited if job description and responsibility level are the same (Equal treatment)
-If treatment gaps exist, employers must be able to provide reasonable explanations to employees if requested.
*Treatments: salary, bonuses, commuting allowances, benefit facility usage, trainings, etc.
*Non-regular employees: part-time employees, fixed-term contract employees
Steps to take:
1)You employ non-regular employees. If yes, continue to step 2. If no, no action for the moment.
2) List up all the differences for non-regular vs regular employees by comparing respective work rules in terms of wages, allowances, benefits and such.(If separate work rules do not exist, this will be a perfect opportunity to create one!)
3) Examine if each difference can be explained with rational, reasonable grounds.The key is to make sure the difference is based on working style and role.
4) Work on opportunity items identified in step 3.
5) Prepare Q&As for ‘rational’ items
Link:
MHLW-Irrational gaps between regular and non-regular workers will be prohibited! (English flyer)
For more information and advice on government guideline interpretation, please feel free to contact us.
