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New Management of the Social Insurance System |
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| Followed by an amendment in the Health Insurance Law, the Government Health Insurance scheme, which is currently managed by the Social Insurance Agency, will be replaced by the Association-managed Health Insurance, which is to be managed by the newly-established National Association of Health Insurance from October, 2008. | |||
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Revisions to the Social Insurance System |
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Employment of foreign nationals |
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| From October 1, 2007, upon hiring and/or departure of foreign employees, the employer is required to supply information on its foreign employees' names, residency statuses, etc. "Shikaku Shutoku Todoke" and "Shikaku Soshitsu Todoke" are the forms which must be submitted to the local public employment insurance office. Additionally, an employer is required to submit a report on the current status of foreign national employees in the company as of October 1, 2007. | |||
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Eligibility for unemployment benefits |
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| In the past, if you were employed six months out of the last twelve months you were eligible for unemployment. Under the new rules effective October 1, you must be employed twelve months out of the last 24 months to be eligible (now similar to short-term employed individuals). | |||
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Childcare |
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| Those who return to work after March 31, 2007 from childbirth to those taking childcare leaves no later than March 31, 2010, will be entitled to an additional 10% of additional wages. That is, they will now be entitled to received 50% (vs. 40%) of their pre-child birth salary. | |||
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Vocational education subsidies |
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| For employees starting training on or after October 1, 2007 and planning to use this system for the first time, the eligibility requirement will ease from "more than 3 years' coverage period" to "more than a year" for the time being. Also, the subsidy will change to 20% of the actual costs (100,000yen, ceiling). | |||
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Bonus amount calculation |
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| Since April, 2007, the maximum amount of the standard bonus for the purpose of computing contribution calculation amounts has changed from "2,000,000 yen per each bonus payment" to "5,400,000 yen per annum." This amount must be calculated on an accumulative basis when an employee changes his/her job within a year as long as s/he belongs to the Government-managed Health Insurance. | |||
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Sango address changes |
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| Address changes of "Sango" dependents who are covered by the welfare pension insurance are required to inform the Office since April 2002. This notification form is integrated in a uniform format where it is also used for the address change of "Nigo", the individual supporting the Sangos. | |||
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Health examinations |
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| Employers are responsible to instruct employees aged from 40 to 74 and their dependents to undergo medical examinations. The employer is required to notify the Office of employee address updates. | |||
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Free HR Consulting |
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| Effective October 1, 2007 and through the end of the year, we will be offering all of our payroll clients free one-hour consulting sessions with our HR professionals. This is your opportunity to ask questions regarding the latest in the rapidly changing Japanese Labor Laws. Let us help you identify whether or not your company is in compliance with these new Laws. | |||
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| Please contact distribution@okamoto-co.com for details and/or to schedule an appointment. | |||
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| Download Newsletter for printing(PDF,211kB) | |||
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