Social security in Japan
Public Employment Security Office
Hello Work is the Japanese English name for the Japanese
government's Employment Service Center, it is a public institution based on the Employment Service Convention No. 88 (ratified in Japan on 20 October 1953) under Article 23 of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Hello Work offices maintain an extensive database of recent job offers made accessible to job seekers via an in-house intranet system and over the internet. Additionally, it manages unemployment insurance benefits for both Japanese and foreign unemployed workers, a means tested allowance paid to low-income job seekers without employment insurance who participate in vocational training, and also provides job-matching programs to the unemployed.
Services for employers
Regarding employers, its main services are human resources (job offering, introduction of applicants) and application for employment insurance.
Hello Work also provides subsidies and benefits for employers including:
Subsidy for employers who have to perform employment adjustment.
Grants for employers hiring people.
Grants for business owners who wish to start business or develop into new fields.
Grants for business owners who do capacity development.
Other grants.
Other services include employment management services (consultation and assistance concerning recruitment and placement, assistance for employment management of the elderly and disabled) and providing information.
System
Japanese unemployment insurance is closer to the US or Canadian "user pays" system than the taxpayer funded systems in place in countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, or Australia. It is paid for by contributions by both the employer and employee.
Workers enrolling in unemployment insurance must be working at least 20 hours per week, and to expect to be employed for at least 31 days. Employees who are dispatched to Japan from overseas and who already have coverage in a similar scheme are not required to enroll in Japanese unemployment insurance.
On leaving a job, employees are supposed to be given a "Rishoku-hyo" document showing their ID number (the same number is supposed to be used by later employers), employment periods, and pay (which contributions are linked to).
Japanese labour law
Unemployment benefits
National Diet
Other Unemployment Protection
Japanese government in 2011 started a new policy implementing vocational training for workers who want to change jobs and the unemployed.This system aims to be the second protection other than the unemployment insurance for people who are struggling in the labor force. With a monthly allowance of ¥100,000 and traffic fee, people who are registered at public employment security offices (PESOs) could receive the vocational training and get ready for their new career. The new job training system categorized 3 different types of training, specifically for job seekers, employed workers and the high school graduates. Most unemployed workers fit in the first category, and based on the released Manuel from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, their standard training period is 3 months to 1 year, ranging from gardening to Architecture. Many women indicate that such job training programs help them transition back to workplace after staying at home for years. But at the same time, some people are concerned with the quality of the training provided.
Public assistance
Japan also has public assistance programs to cover basic living expenses, housing costs, compulsory education and skill training costs, health insurance, and funerals. To apply, people must visit the welfare office of their municipality, which checks their claim and usually gives an answer within two weeks. If a household's total income falls below the minimum living expense set by the health and welfare minister, the household is eligible for welfare benefits. Before their claims are even considered, applicants must first sell off any items in their household deemed unnecessary "luxury goods" by caseworkers, though the definition of what constitutes "luxury" items varies among the municipalities, and individual welfare officials have discretion in determining what must be sold off. Generally, items such as wide screen televisions, cars and motorbikes (unless found to be necessary in seeking work), and musical instruments must be sold. In some cases, applicants have been even told to sell their own homes and live off the revenue before eligibility for welfare. Once approved for public assistance, recipients must follow the guidance of a caseworker assigned to them in how to spend their money. The public assistance programs benefit about 1.7% of the population. About 50.8% of these households are elderly people, 26.6% were households with sick or disabled members, and 6.2% are single-female-parent families.
References
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