Japan may suspend staffing firm Goodwill operations

TOKYO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Japan may order scandal-hit Goodwill Group Inc (4723.T), a provider of temporary staffing services, to shut all branches for two months after illegally sending staff to dock-working jobs, the company said on Saturday.

It would be a second round of penalties for the company, which withdrew from nursing care services this year after the government found it had inflated staff numbers and decided not to renew licences for most of its home care nursing service centres.

Goodwill said it had received notification from Japan's Health and Labour Ministry on Dec. 19 that penalties were being considered and that it had until Jan. 8 to respond to the government.

The ministry may order Goodwill to shut all of its 1,075 staff dispatch branches for two months and 89 branches may be ordered to halt operations for four months, the company said in a statement.

Various Japanese authorities have recently been cracking down on corporate misbehaviour. In August, Goodwill rival Fullcast Co Ltd (4848.T) was ordered to shut all of its branches for one month. (Reporting by Edwina Gibbs; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)