Provided courtesy of the Tokyo Minato Ward Social Insurance Office:

Employers, enroll your employees to the Social Insurance

- Please submit the “Application for Enrollment” -

Is your company subject to the Employees’ Health Insurance (EHI, KENKO HOKEN in Japanese)? The laws determine any company with more the 5 workers or any HOJIN corporation as the “applicable workplace” for coverage under the EHI and EPI. Any worker who is employed by the applicable workplace on regular bases shall compulsorily become the insured person of the EHI as well as EPI, irrespective of his/her nationality, sex, or wage. The workers aged 70 and over are, however, only covered by EHI.

The “workers employed on regular bases” means the workers who provide service at an applicable workplace and receive salary or wages for the service provided. There is such employer-employee relationship on regular bases. It is regardless of the the worker is a regular worker (SEISHAIN) or a part-timer, or whether there is a written employment contract or not.

Practically, even if your worker is not a regular worker, he/she shall be subject to coverage, as a worker employed on regular bases, in the following cases:

1. Part-Timers and other Non-Regular Workers

Are your part-timers subject to coverage of the Social Insurance? It depends on their work hours and work days compared with your regular workers who are engaged in same work in the same workplace.

In principal, your part-timers shall be covered by the Social Insurance if their;

(1) work days per month are more than 3/4 of your regular workers

AND

(2) work hours per day or per week are more than 3/4 of your regular workers

To be precise, there could be other factors to be taken into consideration such as working conditions/ actual working situations.

2. Non-Japanese Workers

The EHI and EPI cover workers employed on regular bases irrespective of their nationality.

3. Workers on Probation

Irrespective of employment contract or consent of the worker, any workers employed on regular bases shall be covered by the EHI and EPI.

“Application for Enrollment” (SHIKAKU SHUTOKU TODOKE)

When you employ workers who are subject to the coverage of EHI and EPI, you shall submit the “Application for Enrollment” to the Social Insurance Office within 5 days of employment. If you fail the application, you may have to pay the past contributions in a lump.

For details, please contact your nearest Social Insurance Office:

(When you contact us please speak Japanese.)

MINATO Social Insurance Office
1-10-14, Hamamatsucho,
Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105-8513
Tel:03-5401-3211

Detailed information in English on Employee’s Health Insurance from the Japanese Social Insurance Agency:

http://www.sia.go.jp/e/ehi.html 

For more information on Shakai Hoken and why it’s important to you, please refer to the our sister union’s page on the subject:

http://www.generalunion.org/law/welfare.htm