Support Programs to Help You Balance Work, Parenting and Family Caregiving

Welcome to the University of Osaka. We are endeavoring to create a campus environment that allows all of the university’s faculty, staff and students to thrive, exercising their abilities to the fullest regardless of their life stages. At the University of Osaka, we help you balance work and family responsibilities during pregnancy, parenting and family caregiving by offering a wide range of support programs.
In this guide, “Staff” refers to faculty and staff.

Support Programs during Pregnancy and after Childbirth

• Maternity Leave: Staff who are expecting are entitled to maternity leave of six weeks before the due date and eight weeks after childbirth.
• Note: During the maternity leave period, you are exempt from paying social insurance premiums (health insurance and pension premiums) by submitting an application for exemption.
• Childbirth Expenses: If you are a member of the Mutual Aid Association (health insurance), you will be paid a childbirth lump-sum allowance of approx. 488,000 yen plus a supplementary allowance.
• Maternity Allowance: If you are unpaid during maternity leave, you may be entitled to a childbirth allowance of approx. 67% of the standardized daily amount of remuneration per day.
• How it is calculated: The standardized daily amount of remuneration is based on your average monthly salary including allowances. The amount of social insurance benefits is then determined by dividing the standardized monthly amount of remuneration in the grade assigned to you by 22.

Parenting Support Programs

We offer a broad range of parenting support during and far beyond the infancy period to all parents and partners.

• Childcare Leave: Staff can take childcare leave until the child turns three years old.
• Extension: If you need childcare leave longer than initially requested due to special reasons, such as no vacancy at nurseries, you can extend the leave until the child turns three years old. (The leave can be extended until the child turns one year old even without special reasons.)
• Financial support: Some Staff are eligible for benefits from Employment Insurance or the Mutual Aid Association of approx. 67% of their salary for first 180 days and 50% thereafter, up to the time when the child/children turn(s) two years old, subject to an upper limit.
  Some Staff are not eligible for childcare leave. There may also be restrictions on the end date of the leave.
• Childcare Leave at Birth for Partners: This is sometimes called “paternity leave.” Partners are eligible to take childcare leave of up to four weeks (28 days) within eight weeks after childbirth, allowing them to be dedicated to taking care of the newborn. This leave can be taken in two separate installments.
  Some Staff are not eligible for childcare leave at birth for partners . There may also be restrictions on the end date of the leave.
• Reduced Working Hours System: Staff with children to care for may work reduced hours (by up to two hours a day).

Staff with a child/children in need of care due to disability can use this system until the end of the fiscal year in which the child/children turn(s) 18 years old. Some Staff are not eligible for this system.

• Special Leave (Nursing Care for Children): Staff are eligible for paid child-care leave of up to five days a year (or up to ten days a year if they have two or more children) to take care of a sick child/children, take a child/children to a medical institution for vaccination or a health checkup, look after a child/children during the closure of a nursery/school due to the spread of an infectious disease, or attend nursery/school events such as entrance and graduation ceremonies.

Staff with a child/children in need of care due to disability can use this system until the end of the fiscal year in which the child/children turn(s) 18 years old. Some Staff are not eligible for this leave.

Facilities and Services

We meet your daily parenting needs with various on-campus facilities and services.

• On-campus nurseries: The University of Osaka operates three nurseries on the Suita and Toyonaka campuses, offering childcare during early-morning and extended hours and on Saturdays, in addition to regular hours, to fit your work schedule.
• Temporary childcare rooms: Located on the Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh campuses, these rooms temporarily look after children up to the sixth grade of elementary school during hours not covered by regular childcare services, such as early-morning and evening hours and on weekends and holidays.
• Nursery room for sick and convalescent children: For children who are sick or recovering from illness and cannot be accepted at their nurseries. Childcare staff and nurses look after children in cooperation with the University of Osaka Hospital, so you can go to work without worry.
• Prenatal Checkups and Support Services: To help female faculty and staff maintain a healthy work–life balance, the University works with the Patient Support Center at the University Hospital to assist with scheduling prenatal checkups and outpatient visits at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Rental electric breastfeeding pump: For mothers who want to breast-feed their babies, an electric breastfeeding pump can be borrowed for free.
• Diaper changing mat and baby chair: We provide diaper changing mats and baby chairs in toilets on our campuses, especially in facilities frequented by visitors.
• Collaborative space: This space is open to women and individuals in minority groups, and visits with children are welcomed. It has a baby feeding area and a temporary childcare room.
• Nursing pod (mamaro): A free-to-use nursing pod, “mamaro,” is a private space for feeding a baby, changing diapers and putting a baby to sleep. It is located on the first floor of the Co-Creative Innovation Building on the Suita Campus.
• Financial support for using babysitting services: We offer discount coupons to cover the expenses of babysitting services provided by a designated private company.

Support Programs for Family Caregiving

The University of Osaka offers substantial support to Staff who take care of a family member/family members in need of constant nursing care for two weeks or longer due to illness, injury or disability, to help them continue working.

• Family Care Leave: Staff are eligible to take family care leave of up to 186 days (approx. six months) in total per family member in need of care. The leave can be taken in up to three separate installments.
  Financial support: During the family care leave period, some Staff are eligible for benefits from Employment Insurance or the Mutual Aid Association of approx. 67% of their salary for up to 93 days, subject to an upper limit.
  Some Staff are not eligible for family care leave. There may also be restrictions on the end date of the leave.
• Reduced Working Hours System for Family Caregiving: Staff who take care of a family member/family members in need of nursing care may work reduced hours for up to three consecutive years per family member in need of care.
  Some Staff are not eligible for this system.
• Special Leave for Caregiving: Apart from the long-term family care leave above, Staff are eligible to take short-term family care leave of up to five days a year (or up to ten days a year if they have two or more family members in need of nursing care) to take them to hospital or meet their nursing needs.
  Some Staff are not eligible for this leave.

Support for Researchers

The University of Osaka understands how important it is for researchers to continue their research while managing the family responsibilities described above.

• Research support system: The University covers the cost of employing research support staff for researchers who have difficulty securing sufficient time for research due to pregnancy, parenting or family caregiving. (Each researcher is responsible for finding an appropriate research support staff candidate.) This system helps researchers continue their research or return to work smoothly after leave.
• Travel expenses for an accompanying child/children: If a researcher needs to bring a child/children on a business trip to attend an academic conference or for other official purposes, the child’s/children’s travel expenses may be covered by specified external research funds, subject to meeting certain conditions.

Contact Information

These support programs are handled by different offices. For more details about any program, please contact the relevant office below.