Amendments to the Childcare and Caregiver Act passed the Diet in 2024 and promulgated on May 31. New rules will be implemented in phases from April 1, 2025. This article provides the amendments' outline.
[1] Measures to enable flexible working styles according to children’s ages
Measures to realize flexible working styles (Implemented on a day designated by government ordinance within the period of one year and six months)
To support employees raising preschool children aged three or older, companies are required to adopt at least two of the five measures below:
- Change work start time
- Allow teleworking, etc.
- Establish and manage day-care facility, etc.
- Establish new leave system
- Allow short work hours
Expansion of the scope of employees exempted from overtime work (Implemented on April 1, 2025)
Workers raising children under the age of three can use the limited overtime work system by so requesting (overtime exemption). The scope of applicable workers will be extended to those raising preschool children.
Review of the leave to care for sick children (Implemented on April 1, 2025)
Workers may take “short-term leave for sick/injured childcare” when their children become sick or injured or when they receive vaccination or medical examination. The new rule adds class closure due to the spread of infectious diseases, entrance ceremony (schools or kindergartens) and graduation ceremony (nursery schools or kindergartens) to the reasons. The leave name will be changed to “short-term leave for sick/injured childcare, etc.”
The new leave system is applicable to “children who have yet to reach school age” up to “children in their third grade.” As for workers who can be excluded by the labor-management agreement, the requirement of “the continuously employed period is less than six months” will be abolished.
Obligation of understanding preference of individual workers and give necessary consideration (Implemented on a day designated by government ordinance within the period of one year and six months)
Companies will be required to understand preferences of individual employees who notified pregnancy or childbirth or raising children under three, regarding how to keep balance between work and childcare and give necessary consideration.
[2] Expansion of the scope of companies required to disclose the status of the use of childcare leave (Implemented on April 1, 2025)
Companies with 300 or more employees will be required to disclose the status of the use of childcare leave. Previously, companies with 1,000 or more employees were subjected to this rule.
[3] Reinforcement of support measures to prevent workers from leaving for family care (Implemented on April 1, 2025)
Obligation to notify about the system, understand preferences and provide information individually
Companies will be required to inform employees whose family members need nursing care about available support systems and understand their preferences regarding how to provide care while keeping the job. Companies also have to provide employees who have not faced the need to care for family members (e.g. employees who turned 40) with information about the support systems.
Obligation to improve working environment
To improve the workplace environment and encourage workers to use support systems, companies will be required to implement one or more measures from multiple options, such as providing training about caregiver leave or establishing a consultation desk on caregiver leave system.
Change in applicable workers of caregiver leave
Regarding employees who can be excluded from the system by the labor-management agreement, the requirement: “the continuously employed period is less than six months,” will be abolished, as in the “short-term leave for sick/injured childcare.”
Companies are also required to make efforts to allow employees raising children under three or caring for family members to choose telework.
The Labor Ministry is expected to disclose further information upon the issuance of government ordinances.
[Reference]
The Labor Ministry, “Childcare and Caregiver Leave Act”
