CSR Activity Report (CSR Guideline Activity Reports) - Human Rights Promotion and Human Resources Development

Creating a Positive Workplace for Employees

Toray Industries, Inc. has been working to further improve systems that help employees achieve a harmonious balance between work and family life, by offering a wider variety of lifestyle options for men and women. Support systems that exceed those legally mandated for childcare, family care, and maternity protection are provided, the result of the company’s commitment to making them accessible and responsive for a diverse range of employee needs. In 2007, the company was granted certification as a general corporate entity meeting the requirements for supporting the development of the next generation by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

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 2022 Expanded family-care programs

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.

    Note: In addition to the conditions above, since 2020, the program has also been used to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Note: 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 2022

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

WELBOX online discussion meetingWELBOX online discussion meeting

Toray Group has set up a section on its employee welfare site called WELBOX to provide information on various work-life balance support programs. WELBOX also shares examples of work-life balance achieved by Toray Group employees. The WELBOX Online Salone has been held since fiscal 2021 as an online discussion meeting for those interested in the cases featured on the site. As of the end of fiscal 2022, there have been four such meetings. Reflecting on the themes of “balancing work and childcare” and “examples of career struggles,” the participants share their daily struggles, and use it as an opportunity for communication that goes beyond the usual workplace boundaries. Going forward, the plan is to continue holding this meeting about twice a year.

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

FY 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Employees taking childcare leave Women 58 60 66 56 46
Men 4 10 22 40 82
Employees taking family care leave Women 5 3 1 2 2
Men 1 1 0 1 1

Note: 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.)

Employees returning to work from childcare leave (%)

■Reporting scope
Employees of Toray Industries, Inc.
■Target in fiscal 2022
100%

Result in fiscal 2022

100%

FY2021 FY2022
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 59 98.3% 52 100%
Men 38 100% 77 100%
Family Care Leave Women 2 100% 2 100%
Men 1 100% 1 100%

Note: Number/percentage of employees returning to work per fiscal year

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

FY 2020 2021 2022
Number of employees 230 220 233

Male employees taking childcare leave (%) (Toray Industries, Inc.)

FY 2022
Male employees taking childcare leave (%) 81%
  • * Childcare leave includes postnatal paternity leave
  • * Childcare leave includes spouse’s childbirth leave

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

Reduction in employees who exceed 45 hours/month of non-statutory working hours (%)

■Reporting scope
Toray Industries, Inc.
■Target in fiscal 2022
Year-on-year reduction

Result in fiscal 2022

79.7%

Available annual paid leave used by labor union members (%)

■Reporting scope
Toray Industries, Inc.
■Target in fiscal 2022
About 90%

Result in fiscal 2022

93.2%

As part of its commitment to workplace innovation, Toray Industries makes provisions to help employees balance work and family life. 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 93.2% of available annual paid leave in fiscal 2022).
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, and is taking strategic initiatives in this area. The group-wide Safety, Health, and Environment Committee reports on the results of health management initiatives, determines action plans, and promotes them in each workplace. Working in collaboration with the employee health insurance association, the Company actively promotes employee health by sharing health information via internal communication tools, holding participatory events using health information sites, and providing lifestyle disease prevention seminars.
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 2023, 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 2022

Third Women's Health Seminar at the Okazaki Plant (Toray Industries, Inc.)

Women’s Health SeminarWomen’s Health Seminar

Toray Industries' Okazaki Plant held its third Women's Health Seminar over three days, with a total of 17 female employees participating.
This year, the theme was “Stay healthy and beautiful by doing warm-up stretches!”
The seminar stressed that regularly warming up muscles can help maintain health. The activity is also important for beauty care. Accordingly, the participants learned simple stretches to warm up their bodies.

Physical Function Evaluations at the Mishima Plant (Toray Industries, Inc.)

Double step test: Measuring the maximum distance the employee can cover by taking only two large stepsDouble step test: Measuring the maximum distance the employee can cover by taking only two large steps

At the Mishima Plant of Toray Industries, a comprehensive health campaign (Health Promotion Plant - Mishima) is being promoted to ensure that employees work safely and in good health.
Following last year, the plant conducted a second physical function evaluation as recommended by the Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association. Some participants indicated an interest in the results of others in the same age group. So the participants analyzed their results, including comparisons with the previous year's results, and will utilize them as a reference for their activities.
Going forward, Mishima Plant will continue to engage in activities to maintain and improve employee health through a variety of activities.

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. In fiscal 2022, the number of meeting participants was limited in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.
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 2023, Toray Workers' Union membership stood at 7,858 workers.

Click here for the main initiatives for CSR Guideline 8, “Human Rights Promotion and Human Resources Development” in CSR Roadmap 2022.