Former Canadian embassy worker wins battle for Japanese employment benefits

HR at the Canadian Embassy should have known way before this woman was hired in 2021 that local clerical workers are required to be enrolled in Japan's employment insurance scheme. Isn’t that part of “Doing Business in Japan 101”?

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, diplomats working in Japan are not eligible for employment insurance but embassies and consulates are required by law to take insurance enrollment procedures for employees hired in Japan.

The paradoxes, loopholes and opportunities for exploitation of labor are put there by the Japan Inc./LDP combine.

retroactively enrolled in Japan's employment insurance scheme on the order of the state-run job consultation office

Good ole Hello Work with all their precarious/zero-hour contract labor for non-living wages?

And don't talk about the enrollment in the pension "scheme".

Although she took 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, she was unable to access further childcare leave benefits as the embassy did not take the legally mandated step of signing her up for employment insurance.

Well done Trudeau, trying to give less burden to Canadian budget by make Embassy employee uninsured.

Canadian embassy! Be more careful. Follow the employment rules and be a good employer.

Rather surprising considering the Embassy probably has numerous other local hires as well.

How is this news? Sounds like the embassy HR personnel made a mistake. Probably confusing with the different rules for diplomats vs foreign staff hired locally in Japan. Japanese company did the same thing to my wife when she took maternity leave. Took her about 40min at hello work to sort it out.

Great for that worker. Congratulations! @ Gaijinjland - You're right. This sounds more like an HR problem than anything.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, diplomats working in Japan are not eligible for employment insurance

I am really curious about the justification for this.

virusrexToday  09:17 am JST

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, diplomats working in Japan are not eligible for employment insurance

I am really curious about the justification for this.

Why would a foreign diplomat serving in Japan -- who works for his or her own government, is paid by his or her own government, and who pays no taxes in Japan -- be expected to be eligible for Japan's employment insurance?

His/Her own government would cover all of that.

I have no idea why anyone would see that as "unjustified."

Same would go for U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan. The U.S. would take care of all their insurance needs, not Japan.

Wow. This seems like a basic Human Resources 101 thing.

I can't believe the embassy just forgot.

Why would a foreign diplomat serving in Japan -- who works for his or her own government, is paid by his or her own government, and who pays no taxes in Japan -- be expected to be eligible for Japan's employment insurance?

To avoid the situation described in this article.

The purpose of the employment insurance is precisely to avoid letting employees living in Japan be victims of inadequate work conditions. That definitely apply in the situation of the article.

A very important thing is that people working for an embassy still pay taxes in Japan since they live and consume things as everybody else, another is that nowhere in the article the worker is said to be foreign, there is no requirement for a "local clerical worker" to be foreign in order to do her work. According to you a Japanese national should be left unprotected just because her job is for a foreign embassy, that makes no sense.

Re-reading my own question I now realize the difference between a simple employee and a foreign diplomat, Quo Primum explanation seems to be correct and my question is unrelated to the situation of the local clerk.

The amount of workers here, myself included, having no clue how certain schemes work until there is an issue is pretty wild. But the pervasive “we will take care of it” ness to paperwork at offices is just too convenient… until it’s not