Annual income barrier --- ¥500,000 subsidy for companies - A new allowance will be created to cover insurance premiums. The Prime Minister announced that it will be implemented in October.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated on October 25 that measures will be implemented starting in October to address the "annual income barrier," a barrier that prevents part-time employees who are supported by their spouses from working fewer hours in order to avoid paying social insurance premiums. He announced the establishment of a subsidy of up to 500,000 yen per person to be paid to companies that shoulder the insurance premiums of their employees. He also expressed his intention to create an allowance that would prevent a reduction in take-home pay. He stated, "We will decide on a package of measures to strengthen support within the week."

In addition to the ¥500,000 subsidy, companies provide a "social insurance coverage promotion allowance" to their employees as a measure against the "¥1,060,000 barrier" that prevents a decrease in take-home pay. This allowance is excluded from the calculation of social insurance premiums, thus avoiding the burden of insurance premiums.

The prime minister stated at the Prime Minister's Office that he will ensure that take-home pay rises proportionately with salary income, even after surpassing the threshold.

As minimum wages will be raised in various regions starting in October, there may be a growing trend to curb working hours with an eye to the annual income barrier. Companies facing labor shortages have been searching for solutions.

Subsidies of up to ¥500,000 per person will be provided to companies that pay promotional allowances or raise wages, with no upper limit on the number of eligible employees.

For companies with less than 100 employees, dependents are removed from the support system if their annual income exceeds 1.3 million yen. The policy will also include a measure to clarify the requirements of the current system, which allows dependents to remain covered for up to two consecutive years in the event of a temporary increase in income due to overtime work or other reasons.

Additionally, the government will implement measures to combat the "1.03 million yen barrier" that hindrances certain companies from providing spousal allowances. The government will create instructional materials that showcase the process for evaluating spousal allowances and urge companies to undertake the review.

There is concern that the measures may create inequity for individuals who already earn above a certain annual income level and pay insurance premiums. The government will review the system during discussions on the revision of the pension system in 2025.

(Kyodo News)

The "Criteria for Recognition of Mental Disorders Due to Psychological Overload" has been revised.

◆Background of the Amendment

　The "Criteria for Recognition of Mental Disability due to Psychological Overload" was revised and notified on September 1, 2023. Until now, the "Criteria for Recognition of Mental Disorders due to Psychological Overload" formulated in 2011 was used to certify cases of mental disorders and suicides as workers' compensation cases. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's "Expert Panel on the Criteria for Recognition of Workers' Accident Recognition for Mental Disorders" reviewed the issue in light of changes in social conditions and the latest medical knowledge, and compiled its report in July of this year, which led to this revision.

◆Points of revision

The following three points are key to the revision of the certification criteria.

(1) Review of the psychological load evaluation chart due to work

- Specific event: "Significant customer harassment, including complaints from customers, suppliers, and facility users,” has been added.

- Specific event: "Engaged in work with a high risk of infectious diseases or other illnesses or accidents" has been added.

- Examples of different levels of psychological load (strong, medium, and weak) have been provided with specific illustrations of all six types of power harassment.

(2) Revise the scope of work-related aggravation of mental disorders.

If there was no "special event" within six months prior to the decline in the condition, but the decline was a result of intense psychological strain caused by work, the affected part is considered work-related.

(3) Streamlining the method of collecting medical opinions

The protocol for decision-making in medical cases has been amended. Previously, a consensus of three medical specialists was required to make a decision. Now, in most cases, a decision will be based on the opinion of only one medical specialist, except for particularly difficult cases.

*The psychological load evaluation chart is a chart that evaluates the strength of the load (stress) by applying actual work-related events to the "specific events" shown in the chart.

[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Revised Workers' Accident Recognition Criteria for Mental Disorders Caused by Psychological Overload."

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_34888.html

Settlement between Nagasaki University and a foreign assistant professor in a lawsuit for termination of employment.

 

A settlement was reached at the Fukuoka High Court on March 15 in a lawsuit filed by a Belgian man who was an assistant professor at Nagasaki University, claiming that he was unfairly terminated from his position just before he obtained the right to convert his fixed-term labor contract to permanent employment after a total of five years. The university expressed regret over the way it handled the case and will pay 28.5 million yen as a settlement. The man will start working at the university in October 2023 as an assistant professor on an indefinite term. According to the plaintiff's attorney, it is rare for a plaintiff to return to work with indefinite employment.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230915/p2a/00m/0na/038000c