Flow of Use

Frequently Asked Questions

When and what should the first stress check under the law be conducted after the law comes into effect?

Stress checks must be conducted within one year (by November 30, 2016) after the enforcement date of December 1, 2015 (this does not include notification of results and interview guidance).

The obligation to conduct stress checks applies to "workplaces employing 50 or more workers at any given time. Does this include part-time and part-time workers?

A. Stress checks based on Article 66-10 of the Occupational Health and Safety Law are obligatory for "workplaces employing 50 or more workers at any given time," as stated in Article 5 of the Order for Enforcement of the Occupational Health and Safety Law. In this case, the determination of "whether or not there are 50 or more workers regularly employed" is not based on the contract period (one year or longer) or weekly working hours (three-fourths or more of regular workers), as in the case of those subject to stress checks, but rather on whether or not they are regularly employed. Thus, for example, even if a part-time or casual worker comes to work only once a week, if he/she is continuously employed and used on a regular basis, he/she should be included in the count of 50 workers as a regular employee.

Our company consists of a head office and business sites. Is it possible for the head office to implement the program as a "business operator" in a lump sum? If so, is it necessary for each site to be investigated and deliberated by a health committee, etc. regarding implementation methods, etc.?

As with other provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Law, the rules of the stress check system are applied on a workplace-by-workplace basis. However, it is also possible to establish common rules for the entire company through deliberation at a company-wide meeting, and then implement these rules at each workplace. However, since the legal provisions are applied on a workplace-by-workplace basis, the rules common to all workplaces should be confirmed by the health committee of each workplace and communicated to workers, In addition, if there are any details that cannot be standardized across the entire company, such as different implementers or different administrative staff at each workplace, or different implementation timeframes, these should be decided by the health committee of each workplace after investigation and discussion. In addition, each workplace must report the status of implementation to the Labor Standards Inspection Office that has jurisdiction over that workplace.

Should the employer bear the cost of stress checks and interview guidance, or should the workers also bear the cost?

The cost of stress checks and interview guidance should naturally be borne by the employer, since the law imposes an obligation on the employer to conduct stress checks and interview guidance.

Do I have to pay wages for the time required to undergo stress checks and interview guidance?

The payment of wages is to be decided through consultation between labor and management. However, considering that ensuring workers' health is an essential condition for the smooth operation of a business, it is desirable to pay wages (treated the same as general medical checkups).

If there are workers from related contractors working on the same job site, such as at a construction site, are stress checks to be conducted on the workers of the related contractors as well, or are they to be conducted by their own companies?

Since the obligation to conduct stress checks applies to each business entity, each workplace to which each worker belongs must conduct the checks. In the case of construction sites, unless the construction site functions as an independent workplace, the most recent higher-level organization (sales office, branch, etc.) is considered the workplace, and the number of workers belonging to that workplace is used to count the number of workers.

Would this also apply to school employees and local officials?

The Occupational Health and Safety Law also applies to school employees and local public servants, whether private or public, and this stress check system is also subject to implementation.

How will stress checks be conducted for long-term overseas workers?

However, employees who are on a long-term business trip to a foreign country from a Japanese company are required to undergo a stress check (treated the same as a general medical checkup).