HR Club » mandatory http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com GaijinPot Jobs - HRClub Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:44:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Are Your Staff Properly Insured? http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com/hr-updates/are_your_staff_properly_insured http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com/hr-updates/are_your_staff_properly_insured#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:53:29 +0000 admin http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com/?p=133 Everybody needs health insurance, especially when they live and work abroad. However, insurance systems in foreign countries are often difficult to understand without native language proficiency and difficult to explain to foreign employees whose reference points are often the completely different schemes they are used to in their home countries.

Here for both employees and employers, HR Club introduces a guide to health insurance options available to foreign workers resident in Japan.

Social Insurance (Shakai Hoken)

・Not everyone is eligible to join.

・Application is made via employer.

・Monthly premiums are salary linked and deducted directly from employee’s paycheck.

・Employers pay an equal contribution each month.

・Must also join the Employees’ Pension Insurance scheme.

・Members of this scheme pay 30% of their medical costs, covering sickness, injury and necessary dental work.

National Health Insurance (Kokumin Kenko Hoken)

・All foreign residents with a valid visa, allowing them to stay in Japan for a year or more, can join.

・The scheme is open to people who are not employed (expectant mothers, students, retirees, etc.)

・Premiums are calculated on a yearly basis (April – March) based on the insured person’s resident tax, property owned and number of dependents.

・Premiums can be paid by bank transfer or at the local ward or city office.

・Primary members and their dependents pay 30% for inpatient or outpatient costs.

Private Health Insurance

・Private health insurance in Japan is open to all nationalities and their dependents, regardless of their visa status and employment contract.

・Social and National Health Insurance premiums are based on salary; private health insurance premiums are age-related and operate in a series of age brackets.

・Premiums are usually paid by credit card, bank check or bank transfer.

・The amount of deductible (the cost of treatment the insured individual must pay) can be tailored to the insured person’s needs.

・Plans cover in-patient and outpatient treatment as well as dental treatment.

・Coverage is not limited only to Japan.

Points to Consider

・One of the advantages of using private insurance in Japan is that many English-speaking medical practitioners do not accept national health.

・The law currently states that foreigners living in Japan for more than one year must have health insurance; each city office is left to interpret this independently and while some accept private insurance as an adequate means of health insurance, others might not.

・Private health insurance typically covers not only medical treatment in Japan but provides worldwide coverage, which is really important for frequent travelers.

To find out more about the Japanese insurance system, please visit your local city office.

For private health insurance, GlobalHealth.jp helps provide you with great insurance coverage both within Japan and abroad. Please check www.globalhealth.jp for details.

]]> http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com/hr-updates/are_your_staff_properly_insured/feed 0 New Law Requires Companies to Report Foreign Staff http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com/hr-updates/new-law-requires-companies-to-report-foreign-staff http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com/hr-updates/new-law-requires-companies-to-report-foreign-staff#comments Tue, 01 Jan 2008 07:16:24 +0000 admin http://hrclub.gaijinpot.com/?p=30 New Law Requires Companies to Report Foreign StaffIn October of 2007, the employment measure law was amended, requiring all corporations that hire foreign workers to report their employment situation to the local Hello Work office, including name, sex, birthday, visa status, duration of stay and employment-related information. If corporations fail to provide information or present a false report to authorities, they will be fined up to 300,000 yen and/or be liable to administrative sanctions.

Corporations can be fined up to 300,000 yen…

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Wealth (MHLW) says the main purpose of the amended law is to “improve the work environment for foreigners,” to “prevent illegal employment of foreigners” and to “promote the recruitment of foreign professionals and engineers in Japan by Japanese corporations.” The MHLW says the measures are necessary because some foreign workers are paid lower salaries in Japan and they are discriminated against in working conditions. The amended law is officially aimed at properly monitoring foreign employees in Japan.

Corporations who hire foreign workers are urged to refer to official announcements and guidelines about the new reporting system. Local Hello Work offices provide advice on the amended law (related links can be found at the end of this webpage).

  1. Summary of the new system
  2. Foreigners covered by amendment and information needed
  3. Methods and deadlines for report
  4. Official report forms and online reporting system
  5. Official Q&A by the MHLW
  6. Links to related public sector sites
  7. Official Documents by the MHLW

  1. Summary of the new system
    • Since October, 2007, all corporations have been obliged to report their employment situation concerning foreign workers (except for special permanent residents, official passport holders and diplomats) to the local Hello Work office at the time of hiring or when they leave their job. The information to be reported includes name, sex, birthday, visa status, duration of stay and employment period of time.
    • If corporations fail to provide information or present a false report to authorities, they will be fined up to 300,000 yen and/or be liable to administrative sanctions.
    • Foreign workers who were employed before the law was amended (1st October, 2007) also have to be included in their employers’ report to authorities.
    • Corporations can report the employment situation on either official printed forms submitted directly to Hello Work or online on the MHLW website.

  2. Foreigners covered by amendment and information needed

    Except for special permanent residents, official passport holders and diplomats, information on all foreign workers employed in Japan must be reported to Hello Work. Whatever the employment status, such as full-time, contract, and part-time, corporations must report personal information of all foreign staff at the time of hiring or when they leave their job.The personal information of foreign employees that corporations must report to authorities includes their name, sex, birthday, visa status, duration of stay and employment period of time. Corporations are requested to confirm the accuracy of identification of their foreign employees.

  3. Methods and deadlines for report
    The deadline for reporting the employment situation of foreign employees to authorities differs according to the employees’ employment insurance situation and whether they were hired before the law was amended (1st of October, 2007).For corporations, two different reporting methods are available. One is to submit official printed forms to Hello Work, and the other is to report online through the MHLW website.

    1. If your foreign employees have employment insurance;
      • Corporations are requested to report their foreign employees’ nationality, visa status and related information in the remarks column of the application for the Employees Pension Insurance Service (雇用保険被保険者 資格取得／資格喪失届) at the time of hiring or when they leave their job.
      • The deadline for submission is the same as that for application (by 10th of month after hiring or within 10 days after employee leaves the job).
    2. If your foreign employees do NOT have employment insurance;
      • Corporations are requested to complete the official reporting forms, which are available at Hello Work and downloadable online, providing foreign employee’s name, visa status, duration of stay, birthday, sex and nationality.
      • The deadline for submission is by the end of the month after hiring and when employee leaves job (e.g. Hiring date: Oct 1st, Deadline: Nov 30th)
    3. If your foreign employees were hired before 1st October of 2007 and are still working;
      • Corporations are requested to fill out the official reporting forms available at Hello Work and downloadable online, providing foreign employee’s name, visa status, duration of stay, birthday, sex and nationality.
      • The deadline for submission is 1st of October, 2008.

  4. Official report forms and online reporting system

  5. Official Q&A by the MHLW (translated by GaijinPot) Q. What if a corporation could not identify the person is a foreigner when it newly hired him/her and failed to report this?
    A. All corporations are requested to identify if a person is a foreigner and his/her visa status with reasonably careful attention. If the corporation fails to do this for valid reasons such as difficulty in judging from fluency in Japanese and names, the corporation would not be liable to punishment.

    Q. What if a corporation did not confirm information such as visa status when employees were obviously identifiable as foreigners?
    A. In those cases, the corporation would be fined up to 300,000 yen, admonished or incur administrative penalties.

    Q. Is it possible for corporations to report both hiring and leaving information of temporary part-time foreign employees who do not have employment insurance to authorities at the same time?
    A. Yes, it is possible. Please indicate their hiring and leaving dates in the form.

    Q. Is it possible for corporations to report hiring or leaving information of multiple foreign employees to authorities if the report deadlines for individual foreign employees are the same or in the same period?
    A. Yes, it is possible. The report forms have several blanks for multiple foreign employees. Please indicate hiring and leaving dates of individual foreign employees on the forms.

    Q. Do corporations have to report part-time employees who are foreign students to authorities?
    A. Yes, they do. Please confirm the students’ status of permitted activities when filling out the reporting forms.

  6. Links to Related Public Sector websites

  7. Official Documents by the MHLW
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