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leave of absence. In such case the infected employee may apply for compensation under
the health insurance contract.

In the event of an infectious disease, it may be necessary to order not only

the employees who are infected, but also other employees who work together with that
employee to stay at home since they were in close contact with the infected person.
The issue that may arise is whether in such case there is a duty of the employer to pay

the employees. While in this case the situation is not very clear, it is assumed that
the order is due to a cause attributable to the employer and the payment obligations

would apply. Again, in that case the employer would be entitled to use the subsidy
system established by the government.

IV. Promotion of Staggered hours and Wage Cuts

Reduced working hours have resulted in loss of income for part-time workers.
7
Even among the regular workers, it is very likely that reduced working hours lead to
reduced income due to a reduced overtime allowances and salary cuts associated with
reduction of scheduled working hours. A survey conducted in May 2020 showed that
8
the most widespread impact of the pandemics on employment and income was “decrease
in working days and working hours,” which is associated with reduced income. 9

(a) Staggered hours
Many employers have in their employment rules the provisions for staggered

work hours. In this case, an employer may order employees to work at staggered hours
in accordance with the provision of its employment regulations. In implementing this
measure, however, the employer should give due consideration to the rights of employees.

So, the employer should refrain from ordering employees to work early in the morning
or to work late at night, which would disrupt the life-and-work balance and interfere

7 Tomohiro Takami, Impact of the COVID-19 Recession on Full-Time Workers : Shortened Work Hours,
Working from Home, and Possible Widening of Income Disparities (2021) Japan Labor Issues, Vol. 5 No.28, p.9.
8 Ibid.
9 https://www.jil.go.jp/english/special/covid-19/survey/documents/20200610.pdf

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