1. Employment subsidy
The government has been providing subsidies to support companies who are paying allowances to furloughed employees to prevent the spread of coronavirus infections. Currently the measure is effective until the end of February.
In recent reports, the government is set to extend the period of special measure until the end of June to support struggling firms or food industries affected by the epidemic. The ongoing blanket measure is expected to be maintained until the end of April. From May, the level of support will be determined for each application, according to the situation of infections in the area or the companies’ financial conditions.
2. Subsidy for pregnant workers
To support pregnant workers to take maternity leave and return to work after having a child during the period when the COVID-19 cases are high, the government has been providing subsidies to companies whose female employees have taken paid maternity leave. The period of applicable maternity leave has now been extended to March 31, 2021. To apply for the subsidy, companies are required to establish a special system to grant paid maternity leave and notify their employees about the system.
3. Subsidy for working parents on temporary school closures
Subsidies are provided to companies who have granted paid leave to workers who take care of children during temporary closures of the children's elementary schools, etc. to prevent the spread of coronavirus infections. With the measure extended to March 31, 2021, the application procedure and form have been changed. Applications will be rejected if the old form valid until December 31, 2020, is used for a leave period after January 1, 2021. Please also note that an application for a leave period stretching before and after the revision, for example, from December 20, 2020, to January 15, 2021, cannot be included in one form. Please be sure to use the correct application form for the leave period.
All these subsidies have application deadlines. Please check before submitting applications.
