Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare “Model” Employment Rules Published. Childcare and Related Medical Issues Updated. December 13, 2022

The November 2020 version of the Model Employment Rules, which have been added by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), to which provisions on childcare leave for births, etc., has been published. It is essential for all employers to understand “Model” Work Rules and to incorporate them into their day-to-day employer/employee relationships and well-being. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare “Model” Employment Rules are vital for all empires to understand.

Source official documents, all in Japanese can be found here:

Full version [Word format]

Full version [PDF format]

Click here for foreign language versions (English, Chinese, Portuguese, Vietnamese)

Click here for the easy Japanese version

The MHLW prefaces this, and all publications regarding the Model Employment Rules with this important commentary, to which all employers should pay attention.  

A. Significance of Workplace Rules 

It is important for all workplaces, regardless of size or type of business, to create a bright workplace where workers can work with peace of mind. To this end, it is important to clearly define working conditions and standards of treatment for workers, including working hours, wages, personnel, and service rules, in advance, to prevent problems between labor and management.

B. Contents of Employment Regulations 

The matters that must be included in the employment regulations (“absolutely necessary items”) and those that must be stipulated in the rules within each workplace (“absolutely necessary items”). The matters to be included in the employment regulations are those that must be included in the rules of employment (hereinafter referred to as “absolutely necessary matters”) and those that must be included if rules are established within each workplace (hereinafter referred to as “relatively necessary matters”). (The Labor Standards Law (Law No. 49 of 1947, hereinafter referred to as the “Labor Standards Law”). Article 89). Article 89). In addition, there are matters that may be voluntarily stated by the employer

Verse Corporation publishes articles on timely issues in Japanese Social Welfare and Labour Law.

Employers, Please Note:

This article references only childcare and related medical leave. However, Workplace Rules form the platform for compliance, and employment satisfaction, and they must cover every aspect of employer / employee rules. 

At Verse, it is perhaps our most important support service to our clients.  Thus we welcome this publication and promotion of Model Work Rules. Every employer must establish work rules that can seem complex, even for Japanese companies, and must of course be handled in Japanese. As with all social welfare and labor law matters in Japan, please seek out professional Sharoushi (Certified Labour Law and Social Insurance Attorney) support to ensure you and your company remain in compliance.

Some Key Model Rule Components.

The following provisions have been added:

Article 22 Inter-Working Interval System

  • Example 1: When the part where the interval time and the prescribed working hours of the next day are considered to be duplicated. In any case, each employee shall be given at least a continuous rest time for ○ hours after the end of work of one day before the start of the next work. However, this does not apply if there is a disaster or other unavoidable. If the expiration time of the rest time in the preceding paragraph extends beyond the prescribed start time of the next work, the time from the start time to the expiration time shall be deemed to have been worked.
  • Example 2: When the interval time and the prescribed working hours of the next day overlap, when the start time is delayed

In any case, each employee shall be given at least a continuous rest time for ○ hours after the end of work of one day before the start of the next work. However, this does not apply if there is a disaster or other unavoidable.

If the expiration time of the rest time in the preceding paragraph extends beyond the prescribed start time of the next work, the start time of the next day shall be deferred to the expiration time of the break time in the preceding paragraph.

Article 28 Childcare and nursing care leave, nursing leave for children, etc.

Those who are in need of workers are childcare leave, childcare leave at birth, nursing care leave, nursing leave for children, nursing leave, overtime work for childcare and nursing care, restrictions on overtime work and late night work, and short prescribed working hours. Determining measures, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “childcare, nursing care leave, etc.”) You can receive the application of The handling of childcare, nursing care leave, etc. shall be stipulated in the “Regulations on Childcare, Nursing Care Leave, etc.”

Article 29 Infertility leave

Article 29 When a worker requests leave for fertility treatment, he or she shall be granted leave up to a year. When a worker requests leave for fertility treatment, he/her can be closed for up to one year for the period of five business years that continue, including the business year to which the start date of leave (from April 1 to March 31 of the following year).

If dismissal is prohibited, the following has been added to the explanation of “Article 53 Dismissal”. Dismissal on the grounds that a fixed-term employed worker asked for an explanation of the contents and reasons for the difference in treatment between the fixed-term employed worker and the normal worker (Part-time, Article 14, Paragraph 3 of the Fixed-Term Employment Act)

Article 59 Medical Examination

About the cost burden

Business operators must conduct general health checkups once a year (one every six months if they are engaged in the work specified in the late-night work and other occupational safety and health regulations (Ministry of Labor Ordinance No. 32 of 1972) Article 13, Paragraph 1, Item 3, once every six months) (rely on Article 66, Paragraph 1 of the Health Guard Act). As for the cost of the medical checkup, as long as the business operator is imposed on the implementation of the health checkup by law, of course, the business operator must bear it.

About the response to the agist

As a result of the medical examination, workers with findings must be consulted by doctors, etc., and based on their opinions, measures must be taken such as conversion of work, shortening working hours, and reducing the number of late-night work (Articles 66-94 and 66 of the Safety and Safety Act) 5th class of). In addition, it is mandatory to notify the workers who have been examined the results of the medical examination (Article 66-6 of the Safety and Security Act).

It is essential for all employers to understand “Model” Work Rules and to incorporate them into their day-to-day employer/employee relationships and well-being. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare “Model” Employment Rules must be well understood and implemented in Japan.