The employer's duty to make efforts under the foreign-worker employment management guidance — points to check from recruitment through employment management to separation

In short: The foreign-worker employment management guidance is a notice set by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare under Article 8, for the matters in Article 7 (the employer's duty to make efforts) of the Labour Measures Comprehensive Promotion Act. It bundles the matters an employer should strive for — from recruitment and hiring to working conditions, occupational safety and health, applying social insurance, a consultation system, and support at separation. Separately, the notification of foreign-worker employment status under Article 28 is a statutory duty. This article is general guidance.

For employers and HR staff who recruit and employ foreign talent, including from China and Taiwan, this article organizes the overall picture of what the "guidance for employers to respond appropriately regarding the improvement of employment management of foreign workers" (a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice; below, "the employment management guidance") requires from recruitment through separation. The details of stating working conditions are in stating working conditions to foreign workers — the 2024 reform and native-language consideration, and safety and health education is in safety and health education for foreign workers and preventing industrial accidents in the native language. This article only introduces the system.

What does the "foreign-worker employment management guidance" require?

The employment management guidance is the state's notice that concretely shows the matters an employer should strive to take for the improvement of employment management of foreign workers and the promotion of their re-employment. Its basis is the Labour Measures Comprehensive Promotion Act: Article 7 sets the employer's duty to make efforts, and Article 8 is the basis for the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to set guidance on those matters. The idea running through the whole is to "comply with labor-related and social-insurance-related laws, not discriminate on grounds of nationality, and enable foreign nationals to display their abilities within the scope of their residence status."

Item	Content
Name	Guidance for employers to respond appropriately regarding the improvement of employment management of foreign workers (a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice)
Basis	Labour Measures Comprehensive Promotion Act Article 7 (the employer's duty to make efforts) and Article 8 (the basis for the guidance)
Nature	An employer duty to make efforts (guidance). Separately, the notification of foreign-worker employment status under Article 28 is a statutory duty
Recent amendment	Partly amended by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Notice No. 227 promulgated May 29, 2026 (Reiwa 8). Applied in stages (most of the main text from April 1, Reiwa 9)

The employment management guidance has been amended several times in recent years, incorporating things such as explanation in the native language or plain Japanese. Most recently, an amending notice (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Notice No. 227) was promulgated on May 29, 2026 (Reiwa 8), applied in stages, with most of the main text applied from April 1, Reiwa 9. So before using it in practice, confirm the timing of application and the current text in the latest version from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (referenced October 2026).

What should you be careful about at the recruitment and hiring stage?

Recruitment and hiring is the entry process for which the guidance asks for concrete consideration. The key points are to show the conditions understandably and to confirm that the person is someone who can take the job under their residence status.

• Statement at recruitment: strive to state, by means such as delivering a document, the work to be performed, wages, working hours, place of work, the term of the labor contract, and the application of labor-and-social-insurance-related laws.
• Understanding in the native language, etc.: strive to state working conditions and explain changes by a means the foreign worker can understand, such as their native language or plain Japanese.
• Confirming residence status before hiring: confirm in advance that the person you intend to hire is someone whose residence status permits them to work in the job they will perform after hiring. You cannot have a person work whom it does not permit.
• Placement from abroad: when receiving placement of a person residing abroad, use an employment placement business that has the permit or has filed the notification.

Having someone work in a job outside the scope of their residence status risks being assessed as encouraging illegal work. Before hiring, confirm the residence status, period of stay, and whether there is a work restriction on the residence card, and if in doubt, it is safe to consult a specialist in residence status.

What should the employer do on working conditions, safety and health, and social insurance?

In employment management after hiring too, the guidance asks, in addition to compliance with the same laws as for Japanese workers, for a response that takes account of the person being a foreign national.

Area	What the employer should strive for
Working conditions	No discriminatory treatment of wages, working hours, etc. on grounds of nationality. Proper grasp of working hours, and compliance with laws on premium wages, annual paid leave, etc.
Safety and health	Deliver safety and health education so it can be understood in the native language, etc. Health checkups, and devising Japanese-language education and signage to prevent industrial accidents
Labor and social insurance	Where the requirements are met, apply workers' accident compensation insurance, employment insurance, health insurance, and employees' pension, and carry out the procedures. Assistance needed to claim insurance benefits
Consultation / complaints	Arranging a system that makes consultation easy; responding to complaints and consultations
Living support	Consideration for adaptation to the workplace and stability of life, such as Japanese-language education and life consultation

The application of social insurance and labor insurance is decided by the requirements, regardless of nationality. There can be no treatment of "not enrolling because they are foreign." The details of stating working conditions and of safety and health education are in the related articles above, so please check them together.

What assistance and notification apply at separation or dismissal?

The guidance asks for the employer's consideration in situations where a foreign worker separates, too. In addition, there is a statutory duty to notify each time a worker is hired or separates.

• Preventing dismissal / re-employment assistance: for a foreign worker forced to separate due to a contraction of business, etc., strive to prevent dismissal and assist re-employment.
• Certification at separation, etc.: at separation, provide the certification requested and give consideration to procedures related to returning home and to residence status.
• Notification of foreign-worker employment status (a duty): when newly hiring a foreign national, or when that foreign national separates, notify the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (Hello Work) of the name, residence status, period of stay, etc. (Labour Measures Comprehensive Promotion Act Article 28). Special permanent residents and those whose residence status is "diplomat" or "official" are outside the notification.

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The notification of employment status is not a duty to make efforts but a statutory duty, and failing it can be subject to a fine of up to 300,000 yen. The form and deadline of the notification are in when and how to file the notification of foreign-worker employment status.

Who do you refer residence status or disputes to?

The work around employing foreign nationals is handled by different parties. Labor management, work rules, social insurance in line with the employment management guidance, and the notification of foreign-worker employment status are areas a Shakai Hoken Roumushi can support, but the residence-status procedures themselves and disputes are the area of a different specialist.

Point	Who handles it
Labor management and work rules in line with the employment management guidance, applying social insurance, and the notification of foreign-worker employment status	Shakai Hoken Roumushi (our office)
Acquiring, changing, or renewing residence status, and applying for a certificate of eligibility	Gyoseishoshi (a separate business entity, contracted separately)
Disputes such as dismissal or non-renewal, and representation in litigation or conciliation	Attorney (a separate business entity, contracted separately)

四葉社会保険労務士事務所 supports labor management, applying social insurance, and the notification of foreign-worker employment status in line with the employment management guidance. For residence-status procedures we connect you to a Gyoseishoshi, and for disputes such as dismissal to an attorney, each as a separate business entity, contracted separately (we take no referral fee). On the company's side, please cooperate with confirming the residence card and arranging internal rules. This article only introduces the overall picture of the guidance and does not decide whether a given response is permissible.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is there a penalty for not following the foreign-worker employment management guidance?
A. The employment management guidance itself is an employer duty to make efforts under Article 7 of the Labour Measures Comprehensive Promotion Act and does not immediately carry a penalty. However, the individual laws the guidance presupposes — such as the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality and the application of labor and social insurance — carry their own duties and penalties. Also, the notification of foreign-worker employment status under Article 28 is a statutory duty, and failing it can be subject to a fine of up to 300,000 yen.

Q. What should I especially confirm at recruitment and hiring?
A. Strive to state the work, wages, working hours, place of work, contract term, and the application of labor and social insurance by a means that can be understood, such as the native language or plain Japanese. Together, confirm before hiring — on the residence card, etc. — that the person can take the job under their residence status. You cannot have a person work whom it does not permit.

Q. Must foreign nationals be enrolled in social insurance too?
A. The application of workers' accident compensation insurance, employment insurance, health insurance, and employees' pension is decided by requirements such as working hours and the form of employment, not by nationality. If the requirements are met, they must be applied and the procedures carried out, the same as for Japanese workers. Treatment of "not enrolling because they are foreign" is contrary to the guidance and the law. Assistance needed to claim insurance benefits is also asked for.

Q. Is everyone covered by the notification of foreign-worker employment status?
A. The subjects are a newly hired foreign national and a separated foreign national, and you notify the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare (Hello Work) of the name, residence status, period of stay, etc. However, special permanent residents and those whose residence status is "diplomat" or "official" are outside the notification. Note that it is not a duty to make efforts but a statutory duty.

Sources

• Basis of the guidance: the Act on Comprehensively Advancing Labour Measures, and Stabilizing the Employment of Workers, and Enriching Workers' Vocational Lives (Act No. 132 of 1966) Article 7 (the employer's duty to make efforts) and Article 8 (the basis for the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to set the guidance). The purpose clause of the guidance aims at responding to the matters in Article 7 of the Act, and the preamble of the amending notice cites Article 8 (e-Gov Law Search / Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice; confirm the effective date and latest amendment each time).
• Name and content of the guidance: the guidance for employers to respond appropriately regarding the improvement of employment management of foreign workers (a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice). Statement and residence-status confirmation at recruitment and hiring, understanding in the native language, etc., prohibition of discriminatory treatment on grounds of nationality, safety and health education, application of labor and social insurance, a consultation system, prevention of dismissal and re-employment assistance, and the like (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "to employers who employ foreign nationals," and the guidance text, referenced October 2026).
• Recent amendment: a partial amendment by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Notice No. 227 promulgated May 29, 2026 (Reiwa 8). Applied in stages, with most of the main text from April 1, Reiwa 9 (the Article 1 provisions from June 14, Reiwa 8, and the Article 2 provisions from October 1, Reiwa 8; posting by the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare notice, referenced October 2026; confirm the current text in the latest version).
• Notification of foreign-worker employment status: Labour Measures Comprehensive Promotion Act Article 28. When newly hiring a foreign national or when that foreign national separates, notify the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of the name, residence status, period of stay, etc. Special permanent residents and those whose residence status is "diplomat" or "official" are outside the scope (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare / e-Gov Law Search, referenced October 2026).
• Business of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi: Article 2 of the Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant Act.

This article does not decide whom to consult. 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 can advise on labor management and work rules in line with the employment management guidance, applying social insurance, and the notification of foreign-worker employment status. For acquiring, changing, or renewing residence status we connect you to a Gyoseishoshi, and for disputes such as dismissal to an attorney, each as a separate business entity, contracted separately (we take no referral fee). For fees, see the fee schedule; for frequently asked questions, see the FAQ.

This article is general information. Judgments such as which matters of the guidance are required and to what extent, and whether a given employment-management step or notification is needed, depend on the residence status, the form of employment, and the timing of the amendment's application. Application of the system and individual judgments are made by a qualified professional after a consultation, in light of the latest primary sources (the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Immigration Services Agency, e-Gov, etc.) and individual circumstances. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).