【Flexibility in Working Hours】Considering the Application of the Variable Working Hours System【Related to Work Style Reform】

Currently, work style reform and similar initiatives are being promoted, and as one part of this, many companies are applying the "monthly or yearly variable working hours system."

However, I suggest that not using the variable working hours system is also one option.I tell people this.

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First, to explain the overview of the variable working hours system, (basically) companies are allowed to have employees work only within a limit of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

However, depending on the industry and the nature of the work, there are many companies for which working hours within the above limits are not convenient.

Therefore, this is a system where, by submitting the start and end times, work calendars, etc., decided through discussions with employees to government agencies such as the Labor Standards Inspection Office, it is possible to make working hours more flexible.

Because of this, since the "restrictions on the upper limit of working hours per day and per week become looser," it is possible to introduce diversity into the way employees work.

As a result, in addition to improving operational efficiency, there is also the effect of being able to reduce overtime work, and because "overtime pay = labor costs can be reduced," many companies are applying it.

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As you can see from reading the above, it can be said that the variable working hours system is a system intended for companies that "have days with long working hours and days where short working hours are sufficient."

Since flexibility in working hours requires a skillful combination of long and short hours, I believe it is difficult to use for anyone other than a company's administrative or back-office departments.

And even if you try to achieve flexibility in working hours, you still have to pay overtime pay for the portion that exceeds the total annual number of hours.

Many small and medium-sized enterprises are considering introducing it with the idea that "if we use the variable working hours system, we can reduce overtime pay," but there are not many places where such a situation actually applies.

On the contrary, as it became news that "McDonald's and Yamato Transport" were pointed out, you will be guided by government agencies regarding the "illegal application of the variable working hours system."

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In that case,

a standard approach that is more in line with current work styles might be to base things on the normal 8-hour day/40-hour week (i.e., not setting start and end times like in the variable working hours system), make arrangements with employees to allow for flexibility in start and end times and hours according to the situation of business partners, and handle any hours that exceed this with fixed overtime pay and individual overtime pay as needed.

I believe this is a more appropriate way of thinking for current work styles.

In personnel and labor management, there are many systems that are useful for many companies and employees, but I hope you understand that it is helpful for company management to not just look at the surface of the system, but to recognize the original intent of the system and utilize it appropriately.

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