Public Request for Answers
(Opaque handling of nighttime shifts and demand for comprehensive inspection and improvement of all working conditions)
LE.O.VE Co., Ltd.
Representative Director Kazuaki Tae
LE.O.VE Union
1. Purpose of this book
Our union formally requests an explanation and improvements regarding your company's night-shift operations (night shifts, on-call duty, standby, phone support, emergency dispatches, etc.), as the ongoing operation without a clear corporate policy has driven the frustration of frontline staff to its limit.
This book does not assert that past nighttime responses constitute working hours.
The essence of the problem is that the company has failed to show how it is organizing things, leaving the frontline with only doubt and distrust.
2. What is happening on-site (Hotbed of dissatisfaction)
On the day of night duty, on-site staff are placed in the following state:
- Outings and activities are partially restricted due to the possibility of being called in.
- Sometimes I worry about incoming calls, which makes my sleep light.
- Sometimes actual work that you are doing—such as answering phones, giving instructions, and keeping records—occurs.
However, on-site, such nighttime responses have never been explained in a structured manner like this.
- Is standby "work" or "private life"?
- Is answering phone calls considered working hours?
- How is the recording work after being dispatched handled?
- What is included in the wage calculation and what is not
This "unexplained state" is the biggest source of stress for the front lines.
Whether or not it constitutes working hours is completely irrelevant; this lack of transparency continues to erode the staff's trust.
3. Why corporate accountability is questioned
Organizing nighttime response is not merely a matter of on-site operations; it is directly linked to at least the following points.
- How to manage working hours
- overwork
- payroll calculation consistency
- Consistency among Article 36 agreements, premium wages, and fixed overtime systems
- The relationship between the evaluation system and workload
- Understanding Labor Risks and Internal Controls (Basics for Pre-IPO Companies)
Leaving this unclear suggests that your company's labor management may have become "person-dependent," "ad hoc," and "inexplicable."
4. Summary of Requirements
Our union demands the following regarding the handling of nighttime responses:
- how your company classifies and organizes nighttime support
(Including breakdown and organization of standby, phone support, emergency dispatch, recording tasks, etc.) - The concept of wage payment based on that categorization
(Relationship with allowances/fixed overtime, calculation method, examples) - The reason why it has not been explained to the site until now
(Acknowledgment of the fact that explanations were insufficient, and preventive measures)
What matters is not the conclusion (whether it is working hours or not), but that the company discloses its reasoning responsibly.
5. If the organization of nighttime response is ambiguous, "everything else is also suspicious"—Demand for a comprehensive inspection of all working conditions
If even critical issues directly impacting onsite burden and wages, such as nighttime response, have been left unorganized and unstable, we are forced to conclude that other working conditions—such as "the organization of fixed overtime, target setting (number of cases) and the possibility of completion within prescribed working hours, the positioning of meetings, training, and referrals, the consistency between the evaluation system and actual practices, the notification of employment contracts and rules of employment, and the grounds and explanations for various allowances and deductions"—are also likely being improperly operated in a similar manner.
Therefore, our union demands an explanation of the nighttime response, as well as the presentation of a comprehensive inspection and corrective plan (roadmap) covering all working conditions.
6. Response method: Requesting publication on the web
Our union does not request collective bargaining because we are concerned about exclusion by the employer.
Instead, from the perspective of the accountability your company owes to society as a company preparing for an IPO,
- on the official company website (or equivalent official media)
- A response document (explanation, policy, and corrective action plan) to this book
- Publishing it in a way that anyone can verify
Organizing nighttime response procedures is important information not only for on-site staff, but also for applicants, business partners, shareholders or prospective shareholders, and audit and inspection personnel.
Instead of leaving things vaguely settled only within the company, clarifying them as a public accountability is the bare minimum requirement for a company preparing for an IPO.
7. Deadline for response
Please present the above public response and the inspection and correction plan for all working conditions by February 27, 2026.
8. Conclusion
The issue is that rather than the conclusion of whether nighttime on-call response constitutes working time, the frontline staff have had to continue working amidst anxiety and questions without being explained "how the company thought about it."
It is only natural for employees to feel that if a company cannot solve this single issue, its wages, evaluations, and systems will all be managed with the same ambiguity and instability.
We demand that your company provide a thorough explanation and improve all working conditions.
That's all.