The Labour Ministry publishes labor standards inspection reports annually to publicize labor standards inspection offices’ various activities. This article looks at “regular inspections” data in the fiscal 2021 report, which concern many companies.
[1] Ten most common violations found in regular inspections
Labor Standards Inspection officers conducted a total of 149,379 on-site inspections at companies in fiscal 2021. Among them, 122,054 (81.7%) were regular inspections, based on the monthly inspection plans, while 16,101 cases (10.8%) were report inspections, which are conducted following reports from workers, and 11,224 (7.5%) were re-inspections. As the data indicates, most of the visits were regular inspections.
The following list shows common violations found in regular inspections.
|
|
Items |
2021 |
2020 |
|
1 |
Industrial Safety and Health Act, Articles 20 to 25 (safety standards) |
23,823 cases |
22,432cases |
|
2 |
Industrial Safety and Health Act, Articles 66 to 66-6 (medical checkups) |
22,139 cases |
20,153 cases |
|
3 |
Labor Standards Act, Article 32 (working hours) |
18,007 cases |
19,493 cases |
|
4 |
Labor Standards Act, Article 37 (premium wagesj |
16,521 cases |
16,701 cases |
|
5 |
Labor Standards Act, Article 108 (wage ledger) |
10,030 cases |
9,893 cases |
|
6 |
Labor Standards Act, Article 15 (explicit statement of working conditions) |
10,025 cases |
10,817 cases |
|
7 |
Labor Standards Act, Article 39 (annual paid leave) |
9,783 cases |
3,486 cases |
|
8 |
Labor Standards Act, Article 89 (employment rulesj |
9,148 cases |
9,088 cases |
|
9 |
Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act, 24-7 (annual paid leave management record) |
7,370 cases |
5,443 cases |
|
10 |
Industrial Safety and Health Act, Article 66-8-3 (assessment of working hoursj |
6,414 cases |
5,607 cases |
[2] Violations of the rules on “annual paid leave”
Among the list above, violations of the seventh rule on the Labor Standards Act, Article 39 (annual paid leave) have increased significantly to 2.8 times the level of the previous year. Violations of the ninth rule, Ordinance for Enforcement of the Labor Standards Act 24-7 (annual paid leave management record) have also risen to 1.4 times the level in the year earlier.
Many of the violations were related to the rules on annual paid leave, which have been amended as part of the government’s work-style reform, for instance, ensuring that workers granted 10 or more days of annual paid leave have taken paid holidays within a year, or that records are kept on the dates and times of paid leave or starting date of the annual paid leave calculation period. Companies should examine whether the situations of their workplaces conform to the rules.
Please also check the descriptions of other rules and ensure no defect will be found in the inspection.
