Promotion of taking childcare leave for men To consider creating a new system, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare November 12, 17:05
To promote the acquisition of childcare leave for men, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has decided to consider creating a new system that allows employees to take a rest for about four weeks by combining short vacations immediately after the child is born. ..
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as of October last year, 83% of women were able to take childcare leave, compared to 7.48% of men.
Based on this situation, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has been discussing with a council made up of representatives of labor and management to create an environment where men can easily take childcare leave, and presented a new plan on the 12th.
According to this, in order to make it easier for women to take a rest immediately after giving birth, a new mechanism will be considered that allows a child to take a rest for about 4 weeks by combining short vacations within 8 weeks after birth. I will.
In addition,
▽ "split acquisition", in which childcare leave, which is once in principle, is taken in about two times, is widely accepted regardless of the time of childbirth, and
▽ for companies to take it. It is obligatory to improve the working environment and make the system known to workers.
Currently, non-regular workers with fixed-term contracts are required to take childcare leave for at least one year, but it has also been proposed to eliminate this.
In response to this proposal, a committee member on the company side commented that support measures should also be considered in order to reduce the burden on SMEs suffering from labor shortages.
Experts also fear that if a new system that combines short-term leave is created, the idea that male childcare leave can be taken in a short period of time will take root, and in the future both men and women will take long-term leave as desired. There was also an opinion that we should be able to take time off.
Based on this proposal, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will proceed with discussions at the council, compile a report, and make necessary revisions to the law.