There is nothing more satisfying than a wholesome chit-chat break during work hours. A healthy banter with coworkers makes a long day at work bearable. Although it's generally understood that workers are entitled to some time off throughout their shifts, Japanese law makes this a challenge.
Recently, a Japanese civil servant was penalized for smoking on the job more than 4,500 times over 14 years.?
According to The Straits Times, the 61-year-old employee and two of his coworkers in the prefecture's finance department received 10% salary reductions for six months due to their frequent use of tobacco while at work, despite numerous warnings from Osaka officials.
The manager called the group and told them that further smoking violations might lead to disciplinary action.?
Osaka boasts some of the world's toughest anti-smoking legislation. In 2008, it wholly banned smoking throughout all public and private government buildings.?
According to the Straits Times, the 61-year-old director was found to have broken his "duty of devotion" to his employer in violation of the Local Public Service Act.
The man was given a disciplinary pay decrease of 400,000 yen and told to return 1.44 million yen.
A similar incident occurred in 2019 when a high school teacher in Osaka was asked to pay back one million yen of his salary to the education ministry for smoking tobacco.?
Some people found the fine harsh, saying that one can waste time by drinking tea, eating snacks, or just chatting and that none of these is punishable misdemeanours.?
Throughout his employment, he took over 3,400 unauthorized smoke breaks.
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