To improve productivity and develop self-disciplined human resources, we have formulated Work Style Reform Declaration based on two pillars: promoting comfortable remote work and creating new value with tools responding to change.
We recommend "diversified work styles" for "Creating an organization comprised of passionate individuals working together" of Nittoku BX.
• Promote comfortable remote work to employees
→ Create an environment with a goal of a remote work rate of 70% or more.
• Prepare tools that respond to change and create new value
→ To that end, we will invest in digital solutions.
And we want you to find the best for yourself from the many options and become a “self-disciplined human resource who can continue to add value”.
Niterra Group respects each person's values and aspirations.
In 2021, we formulated the “Work Style Reform Declaration” in order to realize our goal of reforming work styles as indicated in the 2030 Long-term Management Plan “NITTOKU BX” and have been promoting the development of an environment that allows diverse work styles. We aim to maximize productivity and employee engagement by creating self-directed human resources who can continue to add value” by finding the best for themselves from among the many options available.
We are pursuing the following two measures
For our company, we recognize that optimizing the total actual working hours of our employees has been a particularly important issue in recent years. However, in confronting this challenge, it is important to note that the goal should not be simply to reduce working hours.
The true aim is to help all employees grow into autonomous human resources, maintain physical and mental health, and promote work-life balance and diversity through our efforts.
The work rules include setting a regular workday, prohibiting late-night work and overtime exceeding 5 hours per day, and ensuring a 10-hour work hour interval, Each employee is continuing to take stock of his or her own work and consider what he or she should focus on, rather than what to reduce.
In addition, in FY2024, all Group employees watched an educational video on working hours and work rules and took a confirmation test to reaffirm their awareness of proper working hour management.
Labor-management relations should be oriented to the combined employer-employee effort to contribute to society through the provision of good products and services. At Niterra, both labor and management understand their respective responsibilities and strive to improve the work environment through mutual trust and cooperation.
Labor-management conferences are held four times a year on individual workplace and companywide bases, providing communication opportunities. These are chances to discuss various topics including the company's situation and how to improve the labor environment, and opportunities for employees to have their opinions heard. These conferences serve as opportunities to form a labor-management consensus through lively discussions on various issues, including the situation of the company and improvement of the working environment.
| Participation rate of the Niterra WORKERS’ UNION | 99.9％ (As of March 31, 2024) |
*Including CERAMIC SENSOR CO., LTD, SparkTech WKS CO., Ltd., NANSEI CERAMIC CO., LTD., NTK Medical CO., LTD., NTK CUTTING TOOLS CO., LTD., NTK CERATEC CO., LTD.（Komaki Plant）
Period: October 2023 - September 2024
Central labor-management roundtable meetings held 4 times
Period: October 2024 - September 2025
Central labor-management roundtable meetings scheduled for November 2024, February, May, and August 2025
We are promoting initiatives improve the work-life balance of employees.
The percentage of female employees taking childcare leave now exceeds 98%, and the number of male employees who take childcare leave has increased in recent years.
The short-time work system, which had previously been based on childcare or nursing care, was reviewed and made a system that does not require any requirements, and in October 2023, the system was revised to allow short-time workers to also work flextime, thereby expanding employees' work options.
For flextime working, we do not set core hours, and from April 2022, hourly leave can be taken, allowing employees to work in a more flexible manner.
Furthermore, in February 2022, we introduced a system to allow employees to work in remote locations with the aim of improving job satisfaction and quality of work.
Employees who need, or find it difficult, to change their place of residence due to family circumstances (nursing care, childcare, etc.) can now work at a residence far from their place of work.
In addition, we hold seminars on strategies for balancing childcare and work, a seminar for supervisors of employees returning to work or planning to return to work, and a social gathering for employees raising children, where they can exchange information on childcare.
Number of Employees Using the Leave Schemes| Plan | Overview |
|---|---|
| Flextime working plan | Employees can decide the start and end times as long as they work the prescribed total monthly working hours. |
| Hourly leave plan | Employees can take hourly leave (paid) for any reason. This leave can be taken in the middle of work hours. |
| Second job plan | Employees can be hired by another company or work freelance in accordance with the rules while making the job at our company their main job. |
| Remote work system | Remote work at home, at satellite offices set up by the Company, or at family residences located overseas is possible. An allowance is provided based on the number of days worked remotely from home. |
| Remote location work system | Ability to work from home in remote locations as a designated place of employment. |
| No Transfer Plan | No transfers requiring relocation, only work in the area where the company is based at the time of application. |
| Reemployment plan for employees retired due to their spouse’s transfer | Those retired due to their spouse's transfer can be rehired. |
| Special unpaid leave for fertility treatment | It is possible to take special leave (unpaid) for outpatient visits to undergo infertility treatment. |
| Special leave for antenatal outpatient visits | Pregnant employees can take special leave as follows:- 12 to 23 weeks pregnant: one day every four weeks;- 24 to 35 weeks pregnant: one day every two weeks; and- 36 weeks pregnant onward: one day every week. |
| Measures to ease the burden of commuting for pregnant and nursing employees | If congestion during commuting causes physical burden, pregnant and nursing employees may arrive late and leave early in one-hour increments (up to two hours per day), upon request of the employee and on the advice of an industrial physician or other healthcare provider. |
| Measures concerning working hours for pregnant and nursing employees | If working long hours causes physical burden, pregnant and nursing employees may arrive late and leave early in one-hour increments (up to two hours per day), upon request of the employee and on the advice of an industrial physician or other healthcare provider. |
| Measures concerning breaks for pregnant and nursing employees | If working long hours causes physical burden, pregnant and nursing employees may be allowed to change their work duties and/or may be exempted from overtime, late-night work, and holiday work, upon request of the employee and on the advice of an industrial physician or other healthcare provider. |
| Paid maternity leave | Employees can take leave 17 weeks before the expected date of delivery and eight weeks from the day after delivery. Leave may be taken twice in installments over a period until the child reaches the age of one. |
| Paid parental leave at birth (Commonly known as “postpartum paternity leave”) | Men, and women who meet the requirements for adoption, etc., may take up to four weeks of leave within eight weeks of the birth of a child. Leave may be taken in two installments. |
| Paid parental leave | Employees can take leave after the birth of their child until the day before the child’s first birthday. |
| Extension of the paid parental leave | The childcare leave period can be extended to the end of April after the child’s second birthday if the child cannot enter a day-care center, or childcare while working has become difficult due to the death/injury/illness of the spouse engaged in childcare. |
| Fee assistance for child care services | Employees may choose to receive subsidies for the use of childcare facilities, nursery schools, and babysitters through the cafeteria plan. |
| Limits on overtime during childcare and nursing care | Employees may be exempted from working overtime for childcare or nursing care reasons if they apply for such exemption, which may exceed 2 hours per day, 24 hours per month, or 150 hours per year. |
| Reduced working hours (childcare) | On the grounds of childcare, employees can reduce their working hours by two hours from the prescribed working hours from the desired date until the end of the school year during which their child is in the third grade at elementary school. It can also be used in conjunction with flexible working hours. |
| Reduced working hours (long-term care) | On the grounds of long-term care, employees can reduce their working hours by two hours from the prescribed working hours from the desired date until the end of long-term care. It can also be used in conjunction with flexible working hours. |
| Reduced working hours (other reasons) | Regardless of the reason, employees can reduce their working hours by two hours from the prescribed working hours from the desired date to a predetermined date. It can also be used in conjunction with flexible working hours. |
| Child nursing care/long-term care leave plan | Employees can take special leave (unpaid) on an hourly basis to provide child nursing care or long-term care if they are raising a child in the third grade at elementary school or younger, or have a family member (in the first or second degree) in need of long-term care. |
| Special paid leave for employees with disabilities for their outpatient visits | Employees with disabilities who have notified the company of their disability can take special leave (paid) once a month when they need leave for their outpatient visit to undergo an examination or consult a doctor. |
| Donor leave system | Donors may take up to 10 days of special leave (with pay) for hospital visits and hospitalization required for bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplants. |
This seminar is designed to help participants strategically consider and prepare for their careers after returning to work after childcare leave.
This seminar targets a wide range of people, including our Group employees and their partners who are on childcare leave or planning to take childcare leave, as well as future child-raising generations, and workplace superiors.
This seminar is designed for supervisors who have subordinates on childcare leave to promote their understanding of the available work-childcare balance support programs and to help make preparations for accepting returning employees.
This is an exchange meeting for the purpose of building a network where employees with children can exchange information with each other.