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The Act on Promotion of Comprehensive Measures for Labor Reform is a law that obligates companies (employers) to take measures against "workplace harassment" including sexual harassment and maternity harassment. Among these, the newly specified section on preventing power harassment is referred to as the "Act on Prevention of Power Harassment."

Power harassment is when someone in the same workplace is subjected to

1. Behavior based on a superior relationship
2. By exceeding the necessary and reasonable scope of business
3. Harm to the working environment of employees

Defined as something that meets all 3 requirements.
Simply put, bullying and harassment using power dynamics in the workplace.

The difficult part of power harassment is that there is a gray area that is hard to determine whether it falls under power harassment or falls within the scope of appropriate guidance.
It is necessary to inform employees of "what kind of behavior becomes power harassment" based on the three requirements and six types specified in the Power Harassment Prevention Act.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, about 80% of companies recognize that "measures against power harassment are important as a management issue." However, only 52.2% of companies are actually working on measures against power harassment, and especially for companies with less than 99 employees, the number drops to 26.0%, which is less than 30%. It is clear that many small and medium-sized companies still have insufficient measures against power harassment.

*"Harassment in Data" https://www.no-harassment.mhlw.go.jp/foundation/statistics

The Power Harassment Prevention Law will be gradually enforced, starting from June 1, 2020 for large companies and until April 2022 for small and medium-sized companies. Large companies that have not taken measures must immediately start implementing power harassment measures, and small and medium-sized companies must also use the preparation period until 2022 to advance their power harassment measures.

So, what specific measures should be taken? The main points of the anti-harassment measures outlined by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare are as follows.

• Clearly define the company's policy on preventing power harassment and raise awareness among employees.
• Establish a consultation system
• If there is a consultation about power harassment, promptly take measures, provide care for the victim, and prevent recurrence.

These are not "effort goals" but "obligations", so all companies need to take measures. There are currently no penalties, but there is a possibility of penalties such as the company name being made public.
Power harassment not only affects the victims, but also causes serious damage to companies. There are countless negative effects such as a deteriorating workplace atmosphere, decreased productivity, and increased turnover rate. That is why I hope that this opportunity of legal revision will not be missed and measures against power harassment will be taken.

Provided by Human Science Co., Ltd., "STOP! Harassment - Basic Knowledge of Workplace Harassment" is a course that can be used to inform and educate employees as one of the measures against power harassment. You can learn about workplace harassment as a whole, including power harassment.
Since it is in PowerPoint format, you can freely edit it by adding your company's policies and examples, as well as a message from the president.

If you are struggling with where to start with your measures against power harassment, please consider our services!

＞Related Services: e-Learning Harassment Training - Basic Knowledge of Workplace Harassment