Since then, Toray has continued to expand its support system as follows.

Jun 2010	Revamped child care support systems in an effort to encourage male employees to make use of them
Apr 2011	Launched the Toray Smile Support Program, a point-based system that lets employees choose from various programs that provide financial assistance mainly for childcare and purchasing homes
Apr 2012	Initiated a telecommuting program aimed at making it easier for employees to work while raising children or caring for family members
Oct 2012	Expanded the scope of the commuting allowance for taking the bullet train
Apr 2013	Improved support systems once again, offering special leave for parents to prepare children for nursery school, and extending eligibility for leave to care for sick children or family members
Jul 2013	Revised lower-hour work schedule systems for those raising children or caring for family members
Jul 2016	Expanded leave provisions for employees requiring special consideration as caregivers
Jan 2017	Eliminated restrictions on the number of times that employees can use long-term family care leave and lower-hour work schedule systems for caregivers
Jul 2017	Started a flextime system without core-hour requirements for employees at the Tokyo and Osaka head offices
Oct 2019	Expanded the scope of the telecommuting program to those raising children or caring for family members
Apr 2020	Began allowing the use of paid annual leave on an hourly basis
Apr 2020	Introduced a working-hour interval system
Jul 2020	Eliminated the requirement of raising children or caring for family members in order to utilize the telecommuting program
Jan 2021	Introduced hourly leave systems for caring for sick children or other family members
Jul 2021	Expanded family-care programs
Jul 2023	Introduced leave to accompany spouse transferred overseas

Major Support Systems for Employee Work and Family Life Balance

Category	Description
Prenatal and postnatal leave	Prenatal leave can be taken starting eight weeks before the expected delivery date (14 weeks before a multiple pregnancy). Postnatal leave is available for eight weeks after childbirth.
Long-term childcare leave	Available for employees using child care center services up to the end of the month in which the child turns two years of age
Postnatal paternity leave	Fathers of newborns can take up to four weeks leave within eight weeks of the child's delivery date or expected delivery date, whichever is later
Lower-hour work schedules for childcare	A maximum reduction of two hours per day, calculated in 15-minute increments, available until the end of the fiscal year in which the child is in third grade of elementary school May be used concurrently with flextime system
Long-term family care leave	Available for a total of 365 days per situation requiring leave to provide care May be split up
Spouse’s childbirth leave	Available for three days in the event that an employee’s spouse gives birth
Lower-hour work schedules for caregivers	May be taken multiple times per situation in the five-year period following the first day of use May be split up May be used concurrently with flextime system
Leave to care for sick children	Five days per year of leave per child available until the end of the fiscal year in which the child is in third grade of elementary school Can be used on hourly basis
Family care leave	Five days per year of leave available per family member Can be used on hourly basis At maximum 10 additional days per year available when no other appropriate caregiver is available
Toray Smile Support Program	Welfare point system offering a selection of programs with an emphasis on providing support for childcare and home acquisition
Childcare services payment assistance	Childcare coupons offering a 70% discount on services provided by participating companies issued as an additional Toray Smile Support Program service No restrictions on number of coupons or age of participating employee's child
Telecommuting program	Available for employees who are proficient in their assigned duties, can perform these duties self-sufficiently, and meet certain requirements. Available up to three days (22.5 hours) per week and no more than a maximum of ten days (75 hours) per month for approved employees, who may use the program on a full-day or hourly basis. If an employee requests more than the maximum hours/days due to special circumstances, and it is deemed not to interfere with workplace management, the employee may telecommute for more than the maximum allowed under the program.
Registration system for reemployment	Registration system providing reemployment opportunities to former employees who resigned due to personal matters such as marriage, childbirth and childcare, nursing care for family members, or a spouse's work transfer The registration period is ten years. Registrants may be immediately eligible for regular employee positions depending on the content of their jobs, expectations of their role in the company, and their personal situations.
Commuting allowance for bullet train or other limited express travel	Allowance for tickets for applicable distances on bullet trains or other limited express trains available for employees who wish to avoid (cease) living apart from their families due to job transfers or employees who bear personal responsibilities such as caring for family members In certain cases, employees may be required to pay a part of the commuting expenses out of pocket.
Leave to accompany spouse transferred overseas	Can be taken by an employee wanting to accompany their spouse on an overseas job transfer of six months or more Can be taken for up to four years

1. * Toray Group employees working near Nihonbashi in Tokyo can use a local consortium-based child care center (Kids Square Nihonbashi Muromachi).

Examples of Workplace Initiatives in fiscal 2023

Online Discussion Meeting Held Concerning Support for Balancing Work and Family Lives

Utilization of Childcare and Family Care Leave Systems (Toray Industries, Inc.)

FY		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Employees taking childcare leave	Women	60	66	56	46	51
	Men	10	22	40	82	95
Employees taking family care leave	Women	3	1	2	2	1
	Men	1	0	1	1	1

1. * Figures show the number of employees taking leave in each year.

Number of Employees Who Returned to Work after Childcare Leave and Family Care Leave (Toray Industries, Inc.)

		FY2022		FY2023
		Number of employees who returned to work	Percentage of employees who returned to work	Number of employees who returned to work	Percentage of employees who returned to work
Childcare Leave	Women	52	100%	37	100%
	Men	77	100%	95	99%
Family Care Leave	Women	2	100%	0	-
	Men	1	100%	1	100%

1. * Number/percentage of employees returning to work per fiscal year

Employees taking leave for spouse’s childbirth (Toray Industries, Inc.)

FY	2020	2021	2022	2023
Number of employees	230	220	233	203

Male employees taking childcare leave¹ or other leave for the same reason² (%) (Toray Industries, Inc.)

FY	2022	2023
Male employees taking childcare leave (%)	81%	86%

• 1 Childcare leave includes postnatal paternity leave
• 2 Childcare leave includes spouse’s childbirth leave

Discussion Meeting with Employees Who Have Taken Childcare Leave [Toray Industries, Inc. Basic Research Center (Kamakura)]

Initiatives to Reduce Overtime and Encourage Use of Annual Paid Leave (Toray Industries, Inc.)

Not only is Toray Industries taking steps to prevent overwork, it is also positioning employee work-life balance as a workplace innovation. The aim is to enhance labor productivity and competitiveness by changing employee mindsets, while also creating more supportive workplace environments. Since fiscal 2008, regular workplace discussions are held in each workplace to raise awareness of different working styles, and working late at night or on holidays is prohibited, in principle. All lights in the workplace are turned off at a certain time at night, and company-wide "no overtime days" take place one day each month. The Company has been working on ongoing initiatives to reduce overtime hours and encourage employees to take annual paid leave. (Employees used 95.7% of available annual paid leave in fiscal 2023).
In fiscal 2010, Toray Industries set up a Work-Life Balance Committee (renamed the AP-G 2022 Labor-Management Committee in fiscal 2020), which focuses on further improving and operating the systems. The committee follows up on work-life balance initiatives, including support for balancing work and family life, reducing excessive working hours, enhancing mental healthcare, and support for healthy work lives. In addition to reviewing further possible measures, the committee also analyzes current conditions regarding ideal work styles (required work styles, working conditions, and labor-management rules), identifies the issues involved, and reviews and proposes steps to be taken.

Employee Health

Toray Industries sees employee health management as a management priority. It is strategically working to create workplaces that prioritize employee health, while fostering an organizational culture of pride and job satisfaction. In fiscal 2023, the results of health initiatives were reported at the group-wide Safety, Health, and Environment Committee. An action plan was decided and then implemented at each business site and factory. Moreover, a group-wide meeting for relevant staff is hosted every year by the Industrial Relations Department, which is responsible for group-wide health management. At the meetings there are individuals from various business sites and plants, including occupational physicians and employee health nurses, as well as labor union and employee health insurance association representatives. They come together to share progress made on the Group’s initiatives and identify challenges. Working in collaboration with the employee health insurance association, the Company actively promotes employee health.
Specific initiatives include sharing health information via internal communication tools and holding participatory events three times a year using health information sites. There are also lifestyle disease prevention seminars, and the promotion of employee physicals with greater assistance to offset costs.
Toray Industries is also addressing mental health, and since fiscal 2011 has been implementing employee stress check-ups through an external provider. This helps employees recognize their own stress levels and learn how to manage stress, which leads to an improved workplace environment. The stress check-ups are also carried out at group companies in Japan.
In recognition of these efforts, in March 2024, Toray Industries was again listed as a White 500 Company in the Certified Health and Productivity Management Organization Recognition Program.

Examples of Workplace Initiatives in fiscal 2023

Health Seminar on Women’s Wellness (Toray Industries Inc. Osaka Head Office)

Women’s Seminar on Managing and Preventing Menopausal Symptoms (Toray Industries Inc. Tokai Plant)

Lectures by an Occupational Physician (Toray Industries Inc. Gifu Plant)

Dialogue with Labor Unions

Toray Industries holds meetings of the Central Labor and Management Council twice a year with the attendance of directors at the senior vice president level and higher and labor representatives at the union head level and higher. In addition to briefing the union on management information about Toray Group, the meetings facilitate ongoing dialogue with the union.
Resolution of labor issues is undertaken at separate Labor and Management Council meetings.
Based on the union shop system, all regular employees, excluding those at the management level or accepted as exempted from labor-management consultations, are members of the Toray Workers' Union. As of March 2024, Toray Workers' Union membership stood at 7,756 workers.