1. About us. 

Welcome to our website! We are a HR consulting firm and Labor and Social Security Attorneys serving HR/personnel management needs to small companies in Japan over 3,000 companies since 1970’s. To be a counterpart of Japanese governmental systems requires preciseness and country-focused expertise, we use the accumulated experience and respond to each requirement, compliance to your employees. Our passions and prides as attorneys lie to navigate small businesses located in Japan to success, confidence and peace of mind that you’ve got yourself make your venture fly in Japan.
We are committed to streamlining your work, helping you navigate the HR/personnel management requirements for small businesses in Japan.

We help you integrate into our system, so that you can enjoy the best Japan has to offer to entrepreneurs like you.

We cover your;

  • 1.      Social Insurance / Labor Insurance procedures
  • 2.      Consultation for HR / Personnel Management
  • 3.      Work Rules
  • 4.      Employment Contracts
  • 5.      Company Agreement
  • 6.      Payroll / Year End Tax Adjustment
  • 7.      Governmental Inspections
  • 8.      Subsidy
  • 9.      Personnel Management Related Issues / Troubles
  • And more of this field!

2. HR requirements/issues in Japan

Are you running a small business in Japan, or just starting to look into it? Wondering about how to manage HR requirements?
Japanese country-focused government presents special challenges especially from the perspective of a foreign business.
These are the main part of laws related to HR/personnel management required to follow:

  • – Labor Standard Acts
  • – Occupational Safety and Health Act
  • – Welfare Pension Law
  • – Health Insurance Law
  • – Employment Insurance Act
  • – Workmen’s Accident Compensation Insurance Act

While above laws and procedures are precise and strict;

  • – All forms are in Japanese
  • – Governmental inspections occur about every three to five years, all in Japanese and separately by the Japan Pension Service and the Labor Inspection Office.
  • – Those laws are constantly changing.

Your business will not run smoothly without a well-understood and managed system for these requirements.
However, with our expertise and streamlined systems, you will avoid many unforeseen pitfalls and save yourself time and stress. You don’t have to feel like you’re waiting for that next shoe to drop – we anticipate your needs, keeping you well-informed and ahead of the tide!

Starting up a business in a foreign country takes a lot of energy, but with the right systems in place, it can be rewarding, and fulfilling

3. What’s unique about employee management (HR) for small businesses in Japan?

Strict laws protect employees. Our laws governing employee management have a history and stand point of people typically keeping the same jobs for their entire work lives.

It implies other than their retirement, employees cannot be laid off or fired until rigorously adequate cause is proved which the Labor Inspection Office determines.
Here are just a few examples that would not be considered adequate cause for immediate firing:

A. An employee is absent without notice and/or is out of contact for two weeks
B. An employee with inadequate skill sets or work habits
C. Employees on maternity leave (A woman gets two years of maternity leave, during which time she is to be paid 2/3 or 1/2 of her regular salary.)
D. An employee that got injured at work
E. The list continues!

To protect your interests, you need to document and distribute specific work rules for your company. In those rules, you must describe the grounds for firing an employee. The Labor Inspection Office will use these written documents to determine cause for possibly allowing you to fire an employee. If you contract with an employee for more than five years, you have to hire the employee permanently.

4. Workplace for a typical business in Japan

1) Managers typically work alongside their employees, in the front line
2) Job descriptions are not clearly defined – one person may wear many hats.
3) Gradually changing to a more global style, yet, Japanese workplaces physically utilize common workspaces, rarely assigning private or cubicle desk areas.
Those styles make directing employees difficult because workers perceive few differences between themselves and managers during work hours.
Working together and cooperation is seen as a virtue. Employees may decide on their own accord to work overtime to meet work output expectations. When workers independently decide to work overtime, they must be paid accordingly, even if overtime work was not your choice. You cannot make employees work overtime without a written and signed agreement with them. This agreement must be renewed annually and submitted to the Labor Inspection Office.
At the same time, this workplace environment makes directing employees difficult while you have to safeguard yourself and manage your business in a savvy way from strict laws protecting employees.

5. Social Security System in Japan, Social/Labor Insurances:

Eligibility-

Social insurance-

An employee works more than 3/4 of full time deemed hours per week is eligible. Social insurance covers pension and health insurances. The company pays for half of the employee’s social insurance premiums (about 17% of the employee’s salary).

Labor Insurance-

An employee works more than 20 hours per week for employment insurance and all employees for workmen’s compensation insurances. The company pays unemployment insurance and workman’s compensation (healthcare and wages for employees injured at work.)

Pension Insurance-

This provides your employees with pension benefits for old-age, disability or death (including allowance), as long as you satisfy eligibility conditions. Dependent spouse will be automatically enrolled in National Pension Insurance System when the spouse’s annual salary is under JPY1.3million.

Health Insurance-

This provides your employees and their dependent family members with insurance benefits for sickness, injury, childbirth, or death. The insurance covers at least 70% of medical expenses. When an employee are unable to earn a salary due to sick leave for more than 3 days, this insurance will pay 2/3 of his/her regular salary.

Work rules and Agreements

Work rules and agreements, carefully crafted with specific legal expertise, are paramount for protecting your business. Without them, Japanese laws protecting employees can burden you significantly. Setting work rules and submitting them to the Labor Inspection Office is mandatory for any business with over 10 employees.

6. How fees are calculated?

Here are some variables considered in determining fair fees for our services.

Does your company have an HR counterpart?
How many employees does your company have in Japan?
Does your company employ non-Japanese citizens working within Japan?
Do your employees have dependent families outside Japan?
Is your company’s (knowledgeable and informed) representative located in Japan?
What are your translation needs?
Do you need assistance addressing and implementing payroll?
Are you looking for a fixed-price month-to-month service, or assistance as-needed?

7. Contact

Ikuseikyokai
info@ikuseikyokai.jp
Days & Hours: Monday to Friday 09:00 – 18:00

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