Realizing a Rewarding Workplace

Each Shiseido employee has demonstrated their professional expertise and leadership, contributing to a fulfilling workplace and driving the Company’s growth. To ensure that employees from diverse backgrounds remain engaged and motivated, we are committed to enhancing both the soft aspects (such as diverse employee experiences, psychological safety and productivity) and the hard aspects (such as facilities) of our internal environment. To accommodate employees' lifestyles and help them advance their careers regardless of life events, such as the need to care for children and other family members, the Company has introduced a more comprehensive system than is required by the standards set by law. The achievement of a healthy work-life balance enables employees to use their newfound free time wisely, which broadens their perspective on society. Shiseido believes this approach not only fosters employee development but also benefits society and enhances the Company’s performance and corporate value.

To ensure that Shiseido employees have equal opportunities for success, Shiseido has introduced a flexible working hours, a remote work (telework) system, our own childcare services, and subsidies for childcare and education. Additionally, employees, regardless of gender, are entitled to paid leave for childcare. These initiatives support our employees in balancing their careers with family responsibilities.
Since 2017, the Shiseido Group in Japan has ensured that employees with same-sex and opposite-sex partners receive equal treatment. Common-law and same-sex couples are also eligible for the same support provided to employees raising children or caring for family members. In 2024, 543 Shiseido Group employees in Japan, including 135 men, took childcare leave. We hold Welcome Back Seminars for employees returning to work after childbirth to alleviate their concerns about balancing work and childcare. As a result, 91.7% of employees in the Shiseido Group in Japan have returned to work after childcare leave, a consistently high rate.
To achieve the goal of 100% utilization of childcare leave by eligible male employees, we published interviews with employees who had taken paternity leave and shared information about childcare internally. By the end of 2024, the Shiseido Group in Japan successfully reached 100% participation of eligible male employees in taking their childcare leave.

To support employees in balancing childcare and work, the Shiseido Group in Japan provides a comprehensive environment as outlined below. Our support programs are available not only to employees with biological or legally adopted children, but also to those with children in the probationary period for special adoption or children entrusted to foster parents for adoption. The specifics of these support programs are detailed in the “Guidebook for Support to Balance Work and Childcare/Nursing Care,” which supervisors are responsible for sharing with eligible employees.

To support employees before and after childbirth, Shiseido offers up to six weeks of paid leave before delivery and eight weeks of partially paid leave after the birth of a child. Employees have the option to use accumulated leave and annual paid leave to cover any unpaid leave periods. Additionally, those who opt for unpaid maternity leave can apply for a maternity allowance through the Shiseido Health Insurance Society.

Shiseido employees are entitled to maternity leave that exceeds the legally mandated minimum, allowing for a total of up to five years during the period until their child reaches three years of age. Employees can take the leave up to two times for any reason if their child is under one year old, with the possibility of applying for additional leave under special circumstances. While the Company does not provide wages during childcare leave, employees are eligible for childcare leave benefits through employment insurance. To support a smooth transition back to work, Shiseido has implemented a communication framework called the Childcare Plan. This plan enables female employees to discuss the process from pregnancy through to their return to the workplace with their supervisors, helping to alleviate concerns related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare, and facilitating the sharing of information in the event of a supervisor change.

In addition to standard childcare leave, employees can take up to four weeks of leave within eight weeks following the birth of their child. If employees initially apply for the full four weeks, they have the option to split the leave into two separate periods for the same child. While the Company does not provide wages during this leave, employees are eligible to receive childcare leave benefits through employment insurance. During this period, employees may work under a pre-arranged schedule, as agreed upon by both the employees and the Company (supervisors), in accordance with a labor-management agreement.

When an employee's partner gives birth, they are entitled to up to five days of special paid leave in addition to paternity leave. Furthermore, employees can take special paid leave for childcare, which consists of two separate periods of up to seven consecutive days (including weekends), until their child reaches three years of age. Employees who have been with the Company for less than a year and are not yet eligible for standard childcare leave can also utilize this special leave, taking it as a continuous two-week period.

In accordance with Japanese law, which mandates a reduced working hours system for employees with children until the child reaches three years of age, Shiseido extends this benefit by allowing a reduction of up to two hours in daily working hours until the end of March following the child's ninth birthday. Additionally, for the period until the child turns one year old, one hour of the reduced working hours is compensated as paid time.

When beauty consultants, engaged in over-the-counter customer service, use the Childcare Time system to reduce their working hours, substitute Kangaroo Staff are deployed to assist with sales counter operations. This arrangement allows employees in sales roles to effectively utilize the system, ensuring a comfortable balance between work and childcare responsibilities.

The Shiseido Group in Japan offers dedicated spaces for breastfeeding and breast pumping at the Shiodome Office, Hamamatsucho Office, and Shiseido Global Innovation Center in Yokohama. Additionally, some factories that host tours also provide nursing rooms. Employees who are supporting children can receive allowances for breast pumps through the Cafeteria Plan. Shiseido permits all employees, regardless of their employment status, to take breaks for breastfeeding and pumping—30 minutes or more twice a day, or 30 minutes once a day for those working four hours or less—beyond their standard break times. This allowance is available from the time of the child's birth until they reach one year of age, with one hour of break time being paid during this period. These benefits exceed the legally mandated minimum requirements.

Employees with children up to the third grade of elementary school are entitled to take paid leave on an hourly basis for various caregiving needs, including illness, injury, medical checkups, vaccinations, school closures due to infectious disease outbreaks, and attendance at entrance and graduation ceremonies. Parents can take up to five days of leave per year for a single child (equivalent to 40 hours), or up to ten days per year for two or more children (equivalent to 80 hours). To foster a family-friendly environment and support parents in balancing childcare with their professional responsibilities, Shiseido offers paid leave beyond the legally mandated minimum for attending school events where parental participation is either required or encouraged, such as sports days, arts festivals, open classes, and parent-teacher meetings.

Employees with children up to the third grade of elementary school have the option to request permission to accompany their partners who are being transferred within Japan. This initiative is designed to support Shiseido employees in maintaining their careers while managing family responsibilities.

In Japan, the Childcare and Family Care Leave Act mandates that employers consider employees' circumstances related to childcare or family care during relocations. To support this, Shiseido has developed operational guidelines for employee transfers involving relocation for those raising children. Employees who make use of the “Childcare Time” or “Family Care Time” systems can request an exemption from transfers that require relocation.

Employees can take leave as often as needed to care for a family member, with the option to take up to one year of leave at a time and a total of up to three years.

Employees can utilize “Family Care Time” of up to two hours a day to assist family members with tasks such as hospital visits. This benefit can be used for a duration of up to one year for a single family member, and a total of up to three years.