Currently, employees whose scheduled weekly work hours are 20 hours or more and are expected to be employed continuously for at least 31 days are entitled to employment insurance. With the enactment of the revised Employment Insurance Act in this year’s ordinary Diet session, the scope of employees covered by the insurance has been widened. This article looks into the amendment to be enforced on October 1, 2028.
[1] Expansion in the scope of insured employees
Workers who are not enrolled in the employment insurance system cannot receive the basic allowance (unemployment benefit) or childcare leave benefits. As the ways of working or gaining livelihood become increasingly diverse, a growing number of people choose to reduce their weekly work hours. Against this background, the requirement for the employment insurance has been changed from “weekly work hours of at least 20 hours” to “weekly work hours of at least 10 hours.”
[2] Determining insured period
To receive the basic allowance, a worker has to be enrolled in the employment insurance for at least 12 months during the two-year period up to the retirement date (at least 6 months during the one-year period in the case of a company bankruptcy or dismissal.) “A month” in this case refers to a month with 11 or more days based on which wages were paid or with 80 or more hours based on which wages were paid.
After the expansion of the scope, a month with 6 or more days or 40 or more hours based on which wages were paid will be counted.
[3] Review of restriction on benefits
Under the current system, if a worker left a company for personal reasons, the payment of basic allowance is withheld for two months. With the latest amendment, this restriction will not be applied if the worker received a certain occupational training after retiring or in one year up to the retirement day. The restriction period will also be reduced to one month. Currently, a worker who has left a job for three times or more for personal reasons during a five-year period is restricted from receiving a benefit for three months. There will be no change in this rule.
The new rules on the benefit restriction will be implemented on April 1, 2025.
As the scope of employees covered by the insurance system increases, amounts paid by companies and necessary paperwork also increase. There is still time before the change, but companies with many part-time workers should check possible impacts in advance.
[Reference]
Labor Ministry, “Outline of the partial amendment to the Employment Insurance Act (Reiwa 6, No. 26)”
mhlw.go.jp/content/11600000/001255172.pdf
The information is valid as of the date of this article.
