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Action Plans in Compliance with the Act on the Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children

At Kubota Corporation, we are taking the measures described below in accordance with the intentions of the Act.

  1. We engage in corporate activities based on social ethics and good common sense, from the standpoint of legal compliance and corporate social responsibility (CSR), which also contribute to alleviating the problem of low childbirth in Japan.
  2. We strive to create an environment that enables child-rearing employees to reconcile their work with their family life and facilitates all employees' participation in corporate life, thereby raising their motivation to work and realizing lively and energetic workplaces.

Based on the above two points, we have been planning, adopting, and implementing an Action Plan for every two years since 2005. The current Sixth Action Plan is being promoted as stated below.

New General Employer's Action Plan for Supporting Child-Rearing Employees (sixth period)

Over the years, Kubota has placed at the heart of the Action Plans the development of various systems that support child-rearing employees in their reconciliation of work with family life, achieving results that surpass legal requirements. Under the current Action Plan, we continue our endeavor of further promotion of employee work-life balance with added focus on the obtainment of childcare leave by male employees, based on the belief that men's more active involvement in childcare (by spending more time in particular) leads to deeper understanding of diverse workings and functions in society. The current Action Plan, adopted toward the goal of allowing all employees to fully demonstrate their abilities and potential in a work environment facilitated for all, is outlined below.

  1. Plan period
    • Two years from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2017
  2. Content
    • Goal 1. Promotion of the obtainment of childcare leave by male employees

Reference: Past Action Plans and measures taken thereunder

First
April 1, 2005 – March 31, 2007
Promotion of the obtainment of leave of absence by male employees for the birth of their child

Paternity leave
(three days within two weeks including the day of the childbirth -> three days within one month)

Introduced April 1, 2005
Implementation of measures for employees raising pre-school age children Improvement of systems preventing overtime work beyond prescribed limits
Introduction of child-nursing leave of absence beyond legally required minimums Six times per year per employee (considered absent and non-paid)
Second
April 1, 2007 – March 31, 2009
Implementation of measures for employees raising pre-school age children Introduction of reduced working hours for childcare Introduced October 1, 2007
Introduction of child-nursing leave of absence beyond legally required minimums Advance use of accrued annual paid leave made possible for child-nursing leave
Third
April 1, 2009 – March 31, 2011
Extension of the period of childcare leave of absence beyond the legally required minimum Extended to the day immediately preceding the second birthday Introduced October 1, 2009
Extension of the period of shortened working hours for childcare beyond the legally required minimum Extended to the completion of the third grade of primary school
Implementation of measures for the promotion of obtainment of annual paid leave Frequency of half-day leave increased to up to 12 times (six days) per year
Fourth
April 1, 2011 – March 31, 2013
Promotion of the obtainment of childcare leave of absence by male employees - Part of childcare leave of absence considered paid leave
- Awareness-raising campaign conducted
Introduced April 1, 2012
Introduction of a system allowing for leave of absence for school event attendance and the like Leave of absence made possible for school event attendance or reasons relating to the child's school life until the end of the sixth grade of primary school: up to five days per year, regardless of the number of children per employee
Introduction of a system allowing for half-day leave of absence for child nursing Spending accrued annual paid leave in half-day increments made possible
Fifth
April 1, 2013 – March 31, 2015
Expansion of the period of applicability of childbirth leave (paternity leave) In addition to one month within the child's birth including the day of birth, one month before the expected day of birth also included in the period of applicability Introduced April 1, 2014
Promotion of the obtainment of childcare leave of absence by male employees (continued) - As a result of the awareness-raising campaign, the rate of obtainment of childcare leave of absence by male employees increased from about 1% (FY 2011) to about 19% (FY 2014)

Status of system utilization

  • Rate of childcare leave obtainment by men
  • Rate of childcare leave obtainment by women
  • Number of employees using the system of shortened working hours for childcare
  • Number of times the system of child-nursing leave of absence is used
  • Number of employees using the system of leave of absence for school event attendance