An on-site survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of business establishments suspected of working long hours revealed that illegal overtime work was actually confirmed at more than 1,4000 locations nationwide last fiscal year.
Last fiscal year, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) conducted on-site inspections at 3,3218 business establishments nationwide that were suspected of working long hours due to reports from workers.
As a result, 1,4147 business establishments were confirmed to have worked illegal overtime, such as forcing employees to work overtime in excess of the upper limit of the labor-management agreement, an increase of 3161,43 from the previous fiscal year.
In terms of percentage, 34% of respondents surveyed, up from 1% in the previous year.
Among the establishments where illegal overtime work was confirmed, 80,5247 cases in which overtime
work exceeded 150 hours, which is considered to be the overwork death line
, and 752 cases in which overtime exceeded 100 hours.
Of these, it was confirmed that a warehouse company with about 201 employees had been forced to work up to <> hours of overtime per month, and the Labor Standards Inspection Office instructed them to immediately improve the situation.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "The background is that economic activity has been recovering since the corona disaster, and while work has increased, it is not possible to replenish personnel, and many companies are facing a labor shortage.