The government is planning to start discussions for relaxing conditions for short-time workers to become enrolled in social insurance programs. Rules to ease the company size requirement have already been implemented.
Currently, companies with more than 100 employees are required to register their employees in social insurance programs. The government is planning to lower the standard to companies with more than 50 employees and then abolish this requirement altogether in the future.
Discussions will also be continued to insure workers whose weekly work hours is less than twenty hours, add applicable types of business for private companies with five or more employees or expand the obligation to private companies with less than five employees.
◆ How will the expansion of social insurance obligation be implemented? Please check the following and compare with the current requirements.
1. Company requirement regarding the number of employees
(1) Employees applicable to social insurance (full-time employees and employees whose weekly work hours and days are at least three-fourths of full-time employees) are included in the count. Employees who work less than the requirement are not included.
(2) The number of employees is counted every month. If the number exceeds the standard in six months during the preceding twelve-month period, the company becomes applicable.
(3) For corporate entities, employees under the same corporate number must be included in the count. For private entities, the number of employees should be counted according to the company’s social security registration.
2. Work-hour requirement (Twenty weekly wok hours)
Whether the twenty weekly work-hour requirement is met is determined based on employment contracts. Hours worked for temporary duties or overtime are not included. However, if a worker whose contract weekly work hours is less than twenty hours worked twenty hours or more per week for at least two consecutive months and the situation is likely to continue, the employee becomes applicable as of the first day of the following month (the third month).
3. Wage requirement (monthly wage of 88,000 yen)
This requirement is checked by the base wage and allowances, with the exception of overtime allowances, bonuses and temporary allowances that are excluded by the Minimum Wage Act. For further details, please refer to the *note below.
4. Service duration requirement
This requirement will be changed from October 2023 from the current expected employment period of “at least one year” to “over two months.” Even if the employment period is two months in the contract, if the contract states that it is likely to be renewed, the employee is considered to be under employment of over two months.
*Note - Allowances excluded from the minimum wage
(1) Temporary allowances (e.g. marriage allowance)
(2) Wages paid for work over a period of multiple months (e.g. bonuses)
(3) Wages paid for work outside prescribed work hours (e.g. overtime allowances)
(4) Wages paid for work on statutory holidays (e.g. statutory holiday work allowances)
(5) Wages paid for late-night work (e.g. late-night work allowances)
(6) Allowances for regular/perfect attendance, commutation or families
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/www2/topics/seido/kijunkyoku/minimum/minimum-12.htm
For further details, please refer to the Labor Ministry’s website.
“Social security application guidebook”
www.mhlw.go.jp/tekiyoukakudai/pdf/guidebook_jigyonushi.pdf
