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Guidelines Concerning the Improvement of the Work Environment, Etc.,
of Women Workers Engaged in Night Work (Ministry of Labour Notice No.
21 of March 13, 1998)
1. Purpose
These guidelines determine measures that employers should
take concerning the improvement of the work environment, etc., of women
workers engaged in night work, in order to enable women workers to engage
in a full working life.
2. Improvement of the Work Environment, Etc., of Women Workers Engaged
in Night Work
When an employer causes a woman worker in its employ to
engage in night work, the employer should take appropriate measures concerning
the improvement of the work environment, etc., of said woman worker, particularly
in regard to the following points.
| (1) |
Securing safety during commuting and the
performance of work
An employer shall endeavor to secure the safety during travel to and
from the workplace of a woman worker who engages in night work, by
such means as operating a shuttle bus for employees, establishing
working hours which take into consideration the hours of operation
of public transport, providing crime-prevention lighting in employee
parking areas, lending crime-prevention alarm bells, etc.
Further, an employer shall endeavor, from the viewpoint of crime prevention,
to avoid making a woman worker who engages in night work perform work
alone.
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| (2) |
Consideration for circumstances such as
raising a child or caring for a family member
In the event that an employer wishes to cause a woman worker in its
employ to engage newly in night work, the employer shall endeavor
to give consideration to heeding her circumstances with regard to
raising a child or caring for a family member, and with regard to
her health, etc., and to related measures.
Further, if so requested by a worker, within certain limits, who is
raising a child or taking care of a family member, an employer shall
not make said worker engage in night work, in accordance with the
provisions of the Law Concerning the Welfare of Workers Who Take Care
of Children or Other Family Members Including Child Care and Family
Care Leave (Law No. 76 of 1991).
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| (3) |
Provision of rooms for napping, resting,
etc.
When it is necessary to allow a worker to sleep during the night or
when there are opportunities for a worker to nap during working hours,
an employer shall establish suitable places for sleep or napping,
separately for men and women, in accordance with the provisions of
the Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (Ministry of Labour
Ordinance No. 32 of 1972) based on the Industrial Safety and Health
Law (Law No. 57 of 1972).
Further, an employer shall establish toilets and rooms for resting,
etc., separately for men and women, in accordance with the provisions
of said Ordinance based on said Law.
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| (4) |
Health examinations, etc.
When an employer hires a worker whom it intends to cause to engage
regularly in work including night work, or when an employer reassigns
a worker to said work, and regularly once every six months or less
thereafter, the employer shall have a health examination conducted
by a medical doctor in accordance with the provisions of said Ordinance
based on said Law.
Further, in the event that a health examination results in a diagnosis
of an abnormal finding in an item thereof, in accordance with the
provisions of said Law, the employer shall take such measures giving
consideration to the actual circumstances of said worker as it finds
necessary on taking into account the opinion of a medical doctor,
such as reassignment to working hours other than late night, reassignment
to different work duties, or shortening of working hours.
Moreover, if so requested by an expectant or nursing mother, an employer
shall not make her perform night work, in accordance with the provisions
of the Labour Standards Law (Law No. 49 of 1947). |
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