When we think of Japan, we usually think of a very civil society where good manners prevail. But the country has a problem with the relationships between retail and service sector employees and their customers. Apparently, there are many cases of abuse against employees in these organizations. Solution? Japan is preparing pioneering law reform to defend workers.

Law against customer harassment. The government is preparing a bill that will strengthen measures against “customer harassment”. At their core, companies aim to foster an environment where employees can work with a sense of safety, both physically and mentally, regarding the problematic behavior of some customers. The proposal is expected to be presented to Prime Minister Kishida this week to be reflected in the government’s annual economic and financial policy guidelines in June.

Threats, harassment and intimidation. A survey by service industry union federation UA ​​Zensen showed that 46.8% of 33,133 members who responded said they had experienced harassment from customers in the past two years. There were repeated cases of verbal abuse, threats or intimidation, including the publication of slurs on the Internet. For example, at East RW there were cases where customers asked workers to kneel to apologize, or even shared employees’ personal information on social networks.

Where rights begin and end. Considering the law, consumer rights group Consumers Japan expressed concern to the Ministry of Labor that legitimate consumer requests could be perceived as harassment. It is a fine line that should be resolved in the near future by clarifying the definition of customer harassment in terms of consumer rights.

Previous anti-bullying efforts. In 2019, the law was revised to require companies to take action to prevent proxy harassment through measures such as establishing an internal system to take employee questions and/or provide relevant training. Two years ago, in 2022, the Ministry of Labor issued guidance to companies on how to deal with customers who harass or abuse workers.

Companies stand by the workers. In fact, some companies and organizations have already taken action against customer harassment. East Japan Railway established a strict policy in April of not giving in to unreasonable demands from customers (there were cases where customers asked workers to kneel to apologize). Local governments also took protective measures, such as ensuring that only surnames appear on name tags rather than their full names, to prevent employees’ identities from being disclosed on social media.

There are similar measures in Spain. Although there is no specific legislative proposal similar to the law being implemented in Japan, there are laws and regulations in Spain that protect employees from workplace harassment and determine the responsibilities of employers. A turning point occurred in 2021, when, following the Supreme Court decision, work-related stress was considered a mitigating factor for sick leave due to a work injury. There is also a labor law against harassment in the workplace, although it focuses more on internal problems within the same company or organization.

Image | Performance Solutions, PXhere

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