We are continuously working to secure human resources in order to develop them from a long-term perspective and further improve our advantages in technology, quality, and stable supply. In our recruitment process, we prioritize individuals who can think critically for themselves and who can proactively identify challenges and work persistently to overcome them, even in a rapidly changing business environment.

Furthermore, to maintain our competitive position in the labor market and continuously secure the necessary human resources, we will continue to assess our levels of compensation and workplace conditions as part of the hiring process. We are also pursuing a merit-based approach to recruitment that opens up opportunities to a wide range of diverse talent, regardless of gender, nationality, age, disability, and similar factors.

In our recruitment process, we focus on creating a workforce that aligns with the realities of our business and workplace, and we systematically recruit and develop the necessary personnel while keeping future growth areas in mind.

Shin-Etsu Chemical places the highest priority on respect for human rights and aims to be a workplace where diverse people can demonstrate their abilities regardless of gender, nationality, age, or disability. Diversity is not simply a matter of expanding demographic representation; rather, we see it as a crucial element in bringing together different perspectives and experiences that lead to on-site improvements and the creation of new value.

By promoting the active participation of women, creating an environment where people with disabilities can work comfortably, and ensuring active opportunities regardless of age, we are fostering a workplace where everyone can feel secure and continue growing.

To learn more about how members of our diverse workforce are taking on new challenges, please read our “Shin-Etsu Challengers,” and “Our Sustainable Act” series of employee interviews.

In order to promote women’s participation and advancement, the Group set a five-year goals in FY2021. From FY2026, we set new two-year goals and started to work on them.

We are working to create a workplace where people with or without disabilities can play an active role. Our employment rate of persons with disabilities was 2.71% as of March 2026, exceeding the legally mandated level and demonstrating our continued commitment to inclusive employment. At the head office, we are working to maximize employment opportunities by flexibly setting working hours and working locations according to the degree of disability and situation. At our plants, we are improving the environment from both a hardware perspective, such as facilities and equipment, and a software perspective, such as disaster drills, so that people with disabilities can work safely.

In April 2019, the company raised the retirement age from 60 to 65 after continuing discussions with the Shin-Etsu Chemical Labor Union. It is the first time that such a system was implemented at a major Japanese chemical company. We will also raise salaries and promote people based on personnel evaluation. By adjusting the employment environment after the age of 60, skilled workers at manufacturing sites will be able to pass on the technology and their experience to the next generation.

The Group aims to raise awareness about managing working hours, eliminate excessive working hours, and create highly productive workplaces. To this end, we are proactively introducing a system to accurately track working hours through systems such as smart cards for the security gate at the plant entrance and employee PC logs. In addition, we are promoting the development of systems and working environments that enable flexible and highly productive work styles, such as the flextime system and telecommuting.

We encourage employees to take paid vacation, and meticulously monitor whether they take it, through site- and workplace-specific initiatives, such as maintaining schedules of planned leave and offering incentives to take it. Currently, the rate of paid vacation taken is approximately 80%. As a company involved in chemical manufacturing, where continuous operation is essential, we have shift workers who support the plant 365 days a year, including the year-end and New Year holidays. Nevertheless, we have been able to maintain a high rate of paid vacation taken by fostering a culture of mutual cooperation. Employees work together with a strong commitment to support the plant and maintain safe, stable operations.

The Group supports employees’ childbirth and childcare. The Company has published the “Childbirth and Childcare Guidebook,” which summarizes systems and procedures related to childbirth and childcare, in an effort to create an environment that encourages employees to take advantage of our childcare support systems. As a result, many employees have utilized the childcare leave system, which allows employees to take childcare leave until their child turns three years old, and for two consecutive years, the average take-up rate for male employees has exceeded 80%. In addition, we grant a paid leave of five days to an employee whose spouse gives birth. Employees are allowed to use the short-time work system, which shortens their working hours for a maximum of two hours a day. This system can be used until their children graduate from elementary school. We also encourage use of the teleworking system. Childcare is supported according to local laws and regulations in overseas Group companies.

The Group has a nursing care leave system as shown in the chart below. The system enables employees to work in the company while caring for the elderly. In addition to the system documented in the chart below, we support caregiver employees through systems and operations that are as tailored as possible to each employee’s individual circumstances. For example, employees who are separated from their families due to caring for their parents are provided with travel expenses to temporarily return home once a month.

The Company publishes a Nursing Care Guidebook in which all of the necessary information on our nursing care system and care insurance is provided. Furthermore, we started health care and nursing support services in FY2014 to provide counseling by external experts.

Our Shinkansen commuting system, introduced in 1989 to allow employees to commute long distances by Shinkansen at company expense, was expanded in 2023 to allow employees to use the Shinkansen to commute to districts where our plants are located. Previously, the use of the Shinkansen was only permitted for commuting from the plant districts to the head office. Now, the system’s expanded coverage makes it possible for more couples to continue their careers without living separately or quitting their jobs, which is important as the number of dual-income households increases.

Starting in 2023, the Group introduced a leave of absence system for employees to accompany their spouses on overseas assignments. This system allows employees to take a leave of absence for up to three years to accompany their spouse on an overseas assignment. This will allow employees to not only continue the careers they have built at the Group upon returning home, but also further enhancing their careers by incorporating the various new experiences, perspectives, and values gained while living abroad with their spouse.

In addition to the leave of absence for accompanying a spouse on an overseas assignment, in 2023 we also introduced a resigned employee registration system (return employment system) as another initiative to enable us to respond to a variety of “career design” needs. Our return employment system is a system for rehiring employees who were forced to leave the company due to childbirth, childcare, nursing care, spouse’s transfer, illness, injury, or other family reasons. Employees can be rehired within 10 years after leaving the Company.

If the annual paid leave granted in accordance with labor regulations has expired without being taken, a certain number of days can be treated as saved holidays. Employees may use these saved holidays for nursing care, for injury or illness, for volunteer work for regional disasters, or for donating organs or bone marrow transplants.

As a counseling service for troubles at work or other issues, we have set up Dial Shin-Etsu, which is staffed by external counselors, who are specialists from outside of the company. Consultations are received anonymously and treated with strict confidentiality, but if requested by the consulter, the counselor will contact the Personnel and Labor Relations Department to discuss possible solutions.

The employee shareholding system was established in 1979 with the aim of helping employees build financial assets over the medium to long term. Employees contribute funds in the form of payroll deductions from their salary and bonuses to be applied to the purchase of shares of the Company, which the system then purchases on a regular, ongoing, and systematic basis. Dividends on the shares are reinvested into more stock purchases. The system increases the sense of participation in management among employees, encouraging them to identify with shareholders in the shared goal of improving corporate value over the medium to long term.

In addition, we have established asset-building schemes and mutual aid groups to provide support for weddings, childbirths, and sudden hospitalizations of family members.

Dormitories and company housing
We have dormitories and company housing near the head office and plants for employees who live outside the commutable area.

Recreational facilities
We have directly operated recreational facilities in Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Fukushima, and Niigata Prefectures. The Group’s employees can use these facilities with family and friends. Furthermore, we have partnerships with external recreational facilities, and subsidies are given to the users.