From April 1st, overtime work caps will begin to be regulated in three industries: transportation, construction, and doctors. While there are hopes for a correction to long working hours, it remains to be seen how society will respond to the so-called ``2024 problem,'' in which it has been pointed out that a reduction in working hours will hinder logistics, local medical care, etc. This has become an issue.
table of contents
Upper limits on overtime work have been introduced in large companies for the past five years.
Transportation industry
Construction industry
doctor
Open table of contents
table of contents
table of contents
Upper limits on overtime work have been introduced in large companies for the past five years.
Transportation industry
Construction industry
doctor
The Labor Standards Act was revised in line with work style reform, and upper limits were set on overtime work in many industries starting in 2019. However, for the transportation industry, construction industry, and doctors, the application will not apply for five years as a preparation period. It had been suspended.
From April 1st, regulations will begin to apply to these three industries.
Truck, bus, and taxi drivers in the transportation industry are generally capped at 45 hours of overtime work per month, 360 hours per year, and are subject to special restrictions. Under certain circumstances, the upper limit will be 960 hours per year.
▽For people working in the construction industry, the same principle as in other industries applies, except when working in disaster recovery or reconstruction projects, and the principle of working within 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year applies, and if there are special circumstances. , the upper limit is 720 hours per year.
▽For doctors, the upper limit is 960 hours per year, including holiday work, and if the upper limit is unavoidably exceeded in order to secure the local medical care system, the limit is 1860 hours per year.
These regulations are expected to correct long working hours in many workplaces that have faced risks such as death from overwork.
On the other hand, how will society respond to the so-called "2024 problem," which has been pointed out to be caused by a decrease in working hours, such as stagnation in logistics, reduced bus service, and the impact on local medical care? has become an issue.
Upper limits on overtime work have been introduced in large companies for the past five years.
The upper limit on overtime work has been applied to large companies since April 2019 and to small and medium-sized enterprises from April 2020 due to the revision of the Labor Standards Act in line with the government's work style reform. Penalties will be imposed.
Legal working hours are 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, but overtime work is, in principle, limited to 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year, through an agreement between labor and management.
Furthermore, even if there are special circumstances and labor and management agree, the 45 hours per month principle can only be exceeded for up to 6 months per year, and even in this case, the limit is 720 hours per year.
Furthermore, including holiday work, the average number of hours worked is less than 80 hours in multiple months, and less than 100 hours in one month.
However, it is difficult for individual companies alone to correct long working hours due to long-standing practices for truck drivers and other car drivers and those in the construction industry, and for doctors, it is difficult to correct long working hours due to long-standing practices. The application has been suspended for five years until April 1, 2024 as a preparation period.
Transportation industry
Upper limit regulations for truck, bus, and taxi drivers
Truck, bus, and taxi drivers will also be subject to the same overtime limit restrictions of 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year as of April 1st, which is the same as for companies.
However, if there are special circumstances, it is stipulated that you can work up to 960 hours a year.
Improvement standards notifications that regulate work hours and rest hours, driving hours, etc. are also applied to each job type.
For example, the notification of improvement standards for truck drivers who have particularly long working hours states
that, in principle, the daily working hours should not exceed 13 hours, and the maximum is 15 hours.
▽Driving time is no more than 9 hours a day on average over 2 days
▽The working time in a year is 3300 hours or less, or 284 hours per month
▽The daily rest period is basically 11 hours or more, but not less than 9 hours. It was decided that there would be no.
The current state of the transportation industry
There are concerns that the application of upper limits on overtime work to truck drivers and others will reduce drivers' working hours and cause a stagnation in logistics.
This is called the ``Logistics 2024 Problem,'' and a private study suggests that transportation capacity
may be short
14% in 2024
and 34% in 2030 compared to the current level.
.
On the other hand, it has been pointed out that truck drivers have been working long hours for many years, and the time spent waiting for their turn to load and unload cargo is said to be a major contributing factor.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the average total actual working hours in the transportation and postal industries in 2020 was 1,980 hours, which is about 350 hours longer than the average for all industries of 1,633 hours, making it the highest among all industries. It's getting longer.
The long working hours of truck drivers are particularly noticeable; another study found that heavy truck drivers work 2,568 hours a year, about 440 hours longer than the average for all industries.
The number of work-related accidents is also high, and the number of cases recognized as work-related accidents and compensation paid, such as death from overwork, was 50 in FY2020 in the road freight transportation industry, which includes truck drivers, the highest of all industries. The number is increasing.
Construction industry
Upper limit regulations for the construction industry
As with other industries, the same principle of 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year applies to the construction industry.
However, with regard to disaster recovery and reconstruction projects, regulations that require the total of overtime work and work on holidays to be less than 100 hours per month, or less than 80 hours on average over multiple months, do not apply.
Additionally, if there is an unavoidable reason such as a disaster and permission is obtained from the Chief of the Labor Standards Inspection Office, the upper limit regulation will no longer apply as an exception.
The current state of the construction industry
The construction industry also has longer working hours than other industries.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the average total actual working hours in the construction industry in 2020 was 1,962 hours, which is about 330 hours longer than the average for all industries.
It has been pointed out that the reasons for long working hours are that working hours are increased due to short construction periods, and it is difficult to secure appropriate leave.
The aging of the population is also noticeable, and according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' labor force survey, only 12% of people working in the construction industry are under 29 years old, while 36% are over 55 years old, making it difficult to secure young human resources. This has become an issue.
doctor
Regulation of upper limits on doctors poses challenges in maintaining the medical system
Regarding the way doctors work, from April 1st, upper limits on holidays and overtime work will be applied to doctors who treat patients based on the Labor Standards Act.
Specifically, until now there were no upper limits on days off or overtime for working doctors, but from April 1, regulations based on the Labor Standards Act will apply.
The upper limit is ``960 hours per year in principle,'' which is an average of 80 hours per month, which is almost the same regulation as for general workers.
On the other hand, as an exception, a special standard of ``1,860 hours per year on a provisional basis'' has been set, assuming cases where long working hours are unavoidable in order to secure the local medical system, such as in some emergency hospitals. will be done.
In addition, measures to ensure health will include limiting continuous working hours and ensuring time for rest.
On the other hand, challenges remain.
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2022 on the actual working conditions of doctors, the percentage of doctors exceeding the 960-hour limit was 21.2% of the total, which remains a high number.
In addition, in another survey of medical institutions nationwide that handle hospitalization and childbirth, of the 7,326 medical institutions that responded, 457 medical institutions, or approximately 6%, were expected to reduce their medical services. I'm answering.
The issue is how to shorten doctors' working hours while maintaining the medical system, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will continue to work with prefectures to confirm whether there are any disruptions to the medical system. I am.