◆Non-payment of wages by companies
Non-payment of wages is one of the most frequently consulted issues by the Labor Standards Inspection Office because it is a major problem that directly affects workers’ lives. In many cases, the Labor Standards Inspection Office will issue supervisory guidance to companies based on information that workers are not being paid for overtime hours worked, and companies with inappropriate management practices will be forced to take action through such supervisory guidance.
◆The average amount of retroactive payments per company is 6.09 million yen
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has announced a list of cases in which, as a result of supervisory guidance by the Labor Standards Bureau, extra wages were not paid in the fiscal year 2021 (April 2021 to March 2022) and the total amount paid was 1 million yen or more for a single company. According to the report, 1,069 companies (an increase of 7 companies from the previous year) retroactively paid premium wages of 1 million yen or more. The average amount of extra wages paid per company was 6.09 million yen, and 115 companies paid extra wages of 10 million yen or more.
◆Examples of Efforts to Eliminate Unpaid Overtime
This report also introduces examples of efforts to eliminate unpaid overtime, including the following
◎Conduct training sessions on proper management of working hours for managers of each facility.
◎Personnel evaluation should newly include matters related to proper working hour management.
◎Management continuously instructs workers on the correct recording of working hours.
◎Managers check computer usage records and attendance records twice a month, and if there is a discrepancy between the two records, confirm the reason for the discrepancy with the worker.
It seems that many companies are experiencing a trend of under-reporting overtime hours. Why not take another look at the actual situation in your company?
