Text 2 Employment law in Japan

There are fewer employment laws in Japan than in many Western countries. Few workers are given clear job descriptions or written contracts and it is unusual for an employee to take legal action against his employer. The main law about sexual imposing clear duties or penalties. However, as in other aspects of Japanese society, it is not clear if the low level of legal activity necessarily means that employees have fewer-rights. It certainly seems to be the case that workers have to work very long hours and often do not ask for overtime payment. Despite the current labor shortage, which has encouraged employers to lure women to do more responsible and better paid work than before, very few women enjoy equal employment opportunities. In addition, many jobs remain closed to workers of non-Japanese origin, even those who have lived all their lives in Japan. On the other hand, Japanese workers enjoy more security than many employees in western countries. Once hired, they are unlikely to be dismissed. Insurance benefits and recreational facilities are usually made available to them by their companies, and many workers are able to live in big cities only because their employers provide low-cost accommodation for them.

One legal development in Japan which has yet to spread to western countries is law suits against the employers of workers who had died of karoushi—not a specific accident in the workplace or industrial-related disease, but general stress brought about by overwork. In 1992, the widow of a Mitsui Company employee was awarded Ґ 30 million in compensation after a court learned that her husband had been spending 103 days a year away from home on stressful business trips before his sudden death.

Exercise 3:

1. List eight employee rights which have developed in industrialized countries.

2. True or false?

1. Small companies in Britain need not rehire an employee who leaves to have a baby.

2. EC law is of no benefit to workers in Britain.

3. All EC workers have minimum wage laws.

4. Striking workers cannot be dismissed in Britain if a majority of them have agreed to the strike in a secret vote.

3. What disadvantages do many Japanese workers face?

4. What benefits do many Japanese workers enjoy?

Exercise 4:

Letter of redundancy

Making an employee redundant is one of the tougher tasks. So it needs to be done with care and sensitivity.

Below is a letter of redundancy. The sentences have been mixed up. Put them into order.

1. Details of your forthcoming redundancy and severance pay are enclosed.

1. Finally, I shall, of course, be only too pleased to supply any prospective employer with a reference on your behalf.

2. I am writing in connection with our discussion of earlier today.

3. Yours sincerely Anne O’Dwyer Personnel Manager

4. It is with much regret that I must ask you to accept this letter as formal notice of the redundancy of your position as administrative assistant with effect from 30 September 2001.

5. Dear Ms. Bailey

6. On behalf of the Company, I would like to thank you for the services you have given us in the past and wish you every success in the future.

7. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need clarification.

8. The Company will gladly grant you reasonable time off with pay for the purposes of attending job interviews or undertaking any training for alternative employment.

9. The services of the Personnel Department will, of course, be freely available to assist you in obtaining suitable alternative employment.

6

The normal conventions of greetings and farewells in letters are: Dear Ms Bailey (named addressee) Yours sincerely

Dear Sirs (unnamed addressee) Yours faithfully

We normally use the name of the addressee if we know it.