Japanese staffing firm Pasona Group overcharged three cities in western Japan for Covid-19 vaccination call centre operations by a total of approximately JPY 1.08 billion (USD 8.0 million) after a company it subcontracted falsified staff numbers, according to The Mainichi.

The Japanese city of Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture and the Osaka Prefecture cities of Hirakata and Suita utilised the call centre services of Pasona. The cities announced that Pasona’s subcontractor, Osaka-based Eter Co., apparently covered up the fact they were short-staffed.

Pasona issued an apology after complaints were received from residents of the cities, including that it was difficult to reach the call centres.

"Due to negligent management, we caused significant inconvenience to the people of the cities," Pasona stated. The group added that it regularly checked with the cities on the necessary number of staffers, and subcontracted the work to Eter.

In a statement published on its website, Pasona said it would have a discussion with each municipality over the amount that has been excessively charged to each one. Pasona added that it intends to refund the three cities and sue Eter for damages.

“We sincerely apologise for the great inconvenience caused to all concerned,” Pasona stated.

The staffing firm became aware of the problem on 1 November 2022, when the Hirakata Municipal government pointed out that the number of completed phone calls reported by the subcontractor that day was around 3,500, even though the number of vaccination appointments made was only around 750. Pasona investigated Eter's call centre to find that only 33 people had been working that day, when 100 staffers were supposed to be on hand.

Eventually, Pasona found that while a total of 27,000 posts were supposed to be filled at the call centres in Hirakata between 1 March 2021, and 4 December 2022 under the contract, only 75% of the promised number of staffers, or some 20,500, were posted. Similarly, on average 58% of the required number of operators were posted to work for Nishinomiya. For Suita, it was 73%. According to the Nishinomiya government, June 2021 had the greatest staff shortage, averaging 37.5%.

Furthermore, Pasona said Eter not only falsified its staff numbers, but also padded the number of cases it handled along with their response rates. Eter stated that ‘there was a high turnover rate, and we had trouble securing the necessary number of workers’.

Pasona told the Mainichi, “We received daily reports (from the subcontractor), but did not confirm anything on-site," adding that the company will improve its management system.

Eter declined to comment, stating that the matter is being looked into by lawyers.