Due to the Omnibus Law, we are receiving an increasing number of requests to confirm the contents of employment regulations and collective agreements. One of the problems that is frequently found is that there is a mismatch between work discipline and penalty provisions. The number of violations of work regulations, prohibitions, and penalties that are subject to increase tends to increase with each revision of work rules/labor agreements, but if you concentrate on each individual item, the relationship and consistency with the penalties for violations may be lost. This time, let's take a look at the relationship between work regulations and penalties.

[Type of penalty]

Penalties stipulated in labor-related laws and regulations include written warnings, suspension, and dismissal, but other penalties generally include demotion, pay reduction, reduction in pay increases, and claims for damages. Since it is prohibited to impose two or more penalties for the same act, a wage deduction will be made for one day of unauthorized absence, but a warning letter cannot also be issued. This classification will include a wage deduction for one day of unauthorized absence, and a warning letter for multiple unauthorized absences within 30 calendar days for ``duplicate'' behavior. In addition, there are often employment regulations/labor agreements that specify penalties such as verbal warnings, but although this seems simple, it can be very complicated. This is because if it is specified as a penalty, it will be necessary to record it. In particular, violations of the first stage warning letter often include phrases such as ``despite receiving a verbal warning,'' but if you ask me where is the record of having already received a verbal warning, it often ends up saying ``There is no record because it was verbal.'' Verbal warnings are necessary on a daily basis, but care must be taken when writing this down as a penalty.

[Consistency between regulations that must be observed and violations]

Work regulations/labor agreements often list ``rules that must be observed'' called ``work discipline'', categorized into work attitudes, health and safety, attitude as a boss, etc. However, in many cases, some of the provisions here are not established as offenses subject to penalties, or are not linked to penalties for violating them. On the other hand, in the "Penalties" section, violations that are subject to penalties are separately listed, and there are rules that are obligated to comply but are not penalized even if they are violated. In many cases, the inconsistency that some violations are subject to penalties and others not is more of a problem in practice than the fact that compliance cannot be ensured without penalties. However, it is a tedious task to include every single thing listed in the work regulations as a violation that is subject to penalties, and management is also complicated as it may be forgotten if the regulations are revised. Therefore, we recommend that you include a sentence in your work regulations that says, ``Violations of work discipline will be subject to penalties depending on the severity,'' or include a flexible sentence for each penalty that says, ``In the event of a violation similar to the above.''

Related legislation: Decree No. 37 of 2021 PP-37/2021