Labor Practice
Basic ideas and policies
We are striving to improve the working environment to give employees more motivation and provide better working conditions so that they can maintain a good balance between their personal and working lives through discussions with stakeholders such as labor unions.
Commitment to respecting human rights
As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, we respect human rights in all aspects of our business activities by operating in accordance with the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, strive to prevent and mitigate negative impacts on human rights, and comply with national and regional laws and regulations concerning human rights.
In Japan, for example, we prevent child labor by carrying out comprehensive age checks of potential employees. We also prohibit those aged younger than 18 from working at night or on holidays. In addition, in order to prevent forced labor, we do not take custody of our employees’ important personal documents such as passports.
Provision of safe and clean workplaces
We will provide employees with safe and clean workplaces where they can demonstrate their abilities. By making office space, where employees spend much of their time each day, as well as rest rooms, changing rooms and other facilities for employees even more comfortable, we hope that they will be able to work more proactively, increasing their engagement within the workplaces.
Moreover, at the Daimon and Marunouchi offices we have introduced a free-address system to provide employees with greater convenience. We are thus helping them adopt new work styles by improving the workplace environment.
Initiatives to prevent harassment
In order to create a harassment-free workplace, we provide all employees with education in the form of e-learning that teaches them how to prevent and deal with harassment in an appropriate manner. We consider it particularly important to raise the awareness of management, and accordingly provide training on preventing and responding to harassment targeting employees at the level of top management on down. In 2024, we plan to give training to around 1,000 managers. For employees seeking to report or get advice on dealing with harassment, we appoint personnel at each site to serve as consultants and provide them with appropriate training. In addition, we have set up an external consultation contact for those who might find it difficult to bring their concerns directly to the company. These consultations can be carried out anonymously, and investigations are conducted based on the wishes of the individual and handled with the utmost care. Harassment in the workplace is subject to disciplinary action.
Encouraging employees to take annual paid days off and reducing their working hours
In compliance with the Labor Standards Act of Japan, we are working to reduce overtime work and in cooperation with the labor union are encouraging employees to take their annual paid leave. For 2023, members of the labor union took 18.3 annual paid days off and worked a total of 1957.7 hours on average. We also ensure that employees who work overtime exceeding the predefined threshold are interviewed by an industrial doctor to help them maintain their health.
In order to prevent working to excess, we are implementing the following measures at each of our sites and Group companies:
- Exchange opinions about issues related to labor management and how to make improvements with the labor union
- Set a target for the number of annual paid days off for employees and encourage them to actually take the days off
- Designate a day on which employees will be asked to end their work on time
- Team activity to make improvements for higher operational efficiency
System to support employees in maintaining their work-life balance
Resonac has created a flextime system, telecommuting system and a system to support employees raising children and providing long-term care for family members to help them increase their job satisfaction. We also have systems to support employees in maintaining their work-life balance at each life stage, and are continuously implementing measures to encourage employees to utilize the systems, including conducting a campaign to encourage male employees to take parental leave.
Major work-life balance support systems
Flexible working time system; shortened working hours for childcare/family care; telecommuting system; use of annual paid days off in units of half a day; support leave (that can be taken in units of one hour and half a day); special leave system (for marriage, childbirth, bereavement, official duties, disaster damage and transfer); leave system for employees working apart from their families to return home; refreshment leave; absence for child nursing care (partially paid); absence for long-term nursing care (partially paid); leave for infertility treatment (partially paid); leave for maternity health management (partially paid); additional leave (for nursing care, long-term nursing care, infertility treatment and volunteer activities; unpaid); absence for the treatment of non-occupational illness/injury (partially paid); leave for the treatment of non-occupational illness/injury; childcare leave; long-term nursing care leave; and life support leave
Outline of major systems
- Annual paid days off: All employees are eligible to take up to 20 paid days off per year, regardless of their years of service at the company.
- Support leave: Employees are granted five days per year and can carry over any untaken days up to a total of 40 days. They can also take this leave in units of days, half-days and hours to participate in school events for their preschool- and elementary school-aged children, to take care of their children in the event of temporary school closure/class cancellation or to provide (long-term) nursing care for their children or other family members.
- “Refreshment leave”: In recognition of their contribution to society, employees are awarded this leave of up to three, five and 10 days off when they turn 30, 40 and 50 years old. It is intended to provide them with an opportunity to think about their future at significant milestone years in their life.
- Childcare leave: Can be taken by employees who live with and are raising children younger than two years old until the day before the child’s second birthday. It is possible to take this leave up to twice per child during the period. Apart from this leave, male employees can also take paternity leave following the birth of the child. Moreover, if the Company gives special approval, employees can take childcare leave for up to a total of three years before the child enters elementary school.
- Long-term nursing care leave: Can be taken by employees who have family members in need of long-term nursing care. Depending upon the relationship between the employee and the family member in need of long-term nursing care, a total of 93 days off, or a total of 12 months’ leave during the two-year period from the start of the leave, can be taken.
- Shortened working hours for taking care of children/family members: Can be taken by employees who have children younger than junior high school age or who are taking care of family members in need of long-term nursing care. These employees may choose to reduce their standard working hours by up to two hours per day. With special approval by the Company, they can also shorten their working hours to as little as four hours per day.
Relationship with the labor union
Resonac has concluded a labor agreement with its labor union and has built a strong relationship of trust with the union based on the principle that the two sides agree to cooperate as partners to achieve the growth of both the Company and individual employees and to work together in good faith for desirable corporate activities and treatment of labor union members. Resonac has adopted a union shop system, but other Group companies can form their own labor unions based on applicable local laws in the countries and regions where they operate and in accordance with the wishes of employees. Resonac imposes no limits on these activities.
Regarding salaries, Resonac and its Group companies comply with the legal standards in the countries and regions where they are located. Resonac is implementing its own wage system through discussions with the labor union and based on social trends and existing salary standards. We also proactively conduct discussions with the labor union for the appropriate review of various other systems.