Employing someone 65+ across two workplaces: how to use the employment-insurance multi-job-holder scheme

Bottom line first: The employment-insurance multi-job-holder scheme lets a person aged 65+ employed at two workplaces — each 5 to under 20 hours a week, 20+ hours combined, and so on — become an insured person on their own application (effective 1 January 2022). Benefit claims go to Hello Work, pension matters to the Pension Office, and procedures and system-building are a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's area.

"At one job it's under 20 hours a week, so I can't enrol them in employment insurance" — we hear this increasingly from employers hiring seniors part-time across several jobs, and from people 65+ working two jobs. The multi-job-holder scheme, which started in January 2022, is a special measure that aggregates the hours of two workplaces to allow enrolment. This article covers the eligibility, the order of the application, what happens if one job ends, the employer's cooperation, and how it differs from workers' compensation and pension for multiple employment.

What is the employment-insurance multi-job-holder scheme, and when did it start?

Employment insurance normally requires 20+ scheduled hours a week at the main workplace and judges each workplace separately. So however many short-time jobs a person held, if none reached 20 hours they could not be insured.

The multi-job-holder scheme lets a worker aged 65+ become an insured person (a multi high-age insured person) on application to Hello Work where the hours of two workplaces combined meet the requirement. It took effect on 1 January 2022 under the Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act and others.

What are the age, hours and workplace-number requirements?

All three below must be met, and the judgment is premised on two workplaces.

Requirement	Content
Age / number of workplaces	A worker aged 65 or over employed at more than one workplace
Hours	The scheduled hours at each of the two workplaces are 5 to under 20 a week, and the combined total is 20+ a week
Expected employment	At each of the two workplaces there is an expectation of employment of 31 days or more

If working at three or more workplaces, the worker picks two that meet the requirements and applies. Someone with 20+ hours at a single workplace is already covered by ordinary employment insurance (a high-age insured person) and is not the target of this special measure.

Who applies, where, and in what order?

Ordinary employment insurance is handled by the employer, but a big difference here is that the worker applies themselves.

1. The worker obtains each workplace's cooperation to prepare confirming documents (the fact of employment, scheduled hours, wages, expected employment, etc.)
2. The worker submits the application and confirming documents to the Hello Work with jurisdiction over their place of residence
3. Hello Work checks the requirements, and the insured status takes effect from the day of application (there is no retroactive application to the past)

Once a multi high-age insured person, the worker cannot voluntarily withdraw at their own convenience while employment continues and the requirements are met. That enrolment runs from the application day and does not involve paying back premiums for past periods differs from ordinary enrolment.

If one of the jobs ends, what happens to benefits and status?

If one of the two workplaces is left, the remaining one alone no longer meets the 20+ hours requirement, so the multi high-age insured status is lost. At that point, if requirements such as having been an insured person for a set period before leaving are met, a high-age job-seeker benefit (a lump sum) can be received.

Category	Benefit
Insured period under 1 year	High-age job-seeker benefit = lump sum equivalent to 30 days of the basic daily allowance
Insured period 1 year or more	High-age job-seeker benefit = lump sum equivalent to 50 days of the basic daily allowance

The high-age job-seeker benefit is a lump sum for people 65+ who become unemployed, and unlike the basic allowance for those under 65, it can be received alongside a pension. Hello Work decides eligibility and amount, not this office or the company. Claims and consultation are handled at a Hello Work window.

What documents and cooperation does the employer need to provide?

The worker applies, but it cannot proceed without the employer's cooperation. Mainly, entries and certification to confirm the fact of employment, scheduled hours, wages and expected employment are required.

Employer action	Content
Cooperation on confirming documents	Cooperate in presenting / filling in the wage ledger, attendance records, working-condition notice, etc., which confirm scheduled hours and expected employment
Employment-insurance premiums after enrolment	After the status takes effect, deduct the premium from the wages paid at that workplace, with the employer also bearing its share (as for an ordinary insured person)
Clarification and management of conditions	Even for short-time work, clarification of working conditions (Labour Standards Act Article 15) and records of hours and wages are needed. For senior treatment, see also securing employment up to 70

Because the premium burden shifts with the timing of application and loss of status, deciding which documents to prepare and when, with an internal procedure flow, keeps things running smoothly.

How do you separate this from workers' compensation and pension for multiple employment?

In multiple employment, employment insurance, workers' compensation and pension run in parallel as separate systems. Keep them distinct.

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• Employment insurance: enrolment aggregating the two workplaces under the multi-job-holder scheme (this article). Procedures and system-building are a Shakai Hoken Roumushi's
• Workers' compensation: a multiple-employment worker has treatment such as the benefit base being computed by aggregating wages across all workplaces (workers' compensation for multiple-employment workers). This is a system separate from the employment-insurance aggregation
• Pension: the adjustment of the old-age employees' pension while working (the in-work old-age pension) is within the Pension Office's remit (the in-work old-age pension and working). Pension claims and consultation go to the Pension Office

A Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles employment-insurance enrolment and loss procedures and the building of a labour framework for multiple employment. Benefit claims and consultation are a Hello Work window, and pension claims and consultation a Pension Office window. These are separate, independent windows and entities, and this office does not guarantee any decision on benefits or pension beyond the scope it can handle.

Your first consultation is free. Please see the fee schedule, the services and how we work.

Frequently asked questions

Q. One job is under 20 hours a week, but combined with another it reaches 20 — can they join employment insurance?
A. If aged 65+, with each of two workplaces at 5 to under 20 hours a week, a combined total of 20+ a week, and 31+ days of expected employment at each, they can enrol as a multi high-age insured person on their own application (effective 1 January 2022). Those 64 and under are not the target of this special measure.

Q. Does the company make the application?
A. No. Unlike ordinary employment insurance, under this scheme the worker applies themselves, to the Hello Work with jurisdiction over their place of residence. But the employer must cooperate in presenting and filling in documents that confirm the fact of employment, scheduled hours, wages and expected employment. The status takes effect from the day of application, with no retroactive enrolment to the past.

Q. What happens if one of the two jobs ends?
A. The remaining one alone no longer meets the 20+ hours requirement, so the multi high-age insured status is lost. If requirements such as having been an insured person for a set period before leaving are met, a high-age job-seeker benefit can be received (a lump sum of 30 days of the basic daily allowance for an insured period under 1 year, 50 days for 1 year or more). Hello Work decides eligibility and amount.

Q. Can a Shakai Hoken Roumushi also do the high-age job-seeker benefit claim and the pension procedures?
A. Benefit claims and consultation are a Hello Work window, and pension claims and consultation such as the in-work old-age pension are a Pension Office window. A Shakai Hoken Roumushi handles employment-insurance enrolment and loss procedures and the building of a labour framework for multiple short-time jobs. Hello Work and the Pension Office are each separate, independent windows, and this office does not guarantee any decision on benefits or pension.

This article's basis

• Employment Insurance Act (Act No. 116 of 1974) Supplementary Provisions (provisions on the special measure for high-age insured persons = the multi-job-holder scheme). The scheme took effect on 1 January 2022 under the Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act and others
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare / Hello Work "On the employment-insurance multi-job-holder scheme" — target = a worker aged 65+ employed at more than one workplace where the scheduled hours at each of two workplaces are 5 to under 20 a week and the combined total is 20+ a week, with 31+ days of expected employment at each. The worker applies to the Hello Work with jurisdiction over their place of residence, and becomes an insured person (multi high-age insured person) from the day of application (accessed 7 November 2026)
• High-age job-seeker benefit (a lump sum when a high-age insured person under the Employment Insurance Act becomes unemployed; equivalent to 30 days of the basic daily allowance for an insured period under 1 year, 50 days for 1 year or more)
• Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance Act (Act No. 50 of 1947) — aggregation of the benefit base across workplaces for a multiple-employment worker (a system separate from the employment-insurance aggregation)
• The adjustment of the old-age employees' pension via the in-work old-age pension is within the Pension Office's remit. Benefit claims and consultation go to Hello Work; pension claims and consultation to the Pension Office
• The individual eligibility and amount of benefits on loss of multi high-age insured status, the concrete application where working at three or more workplaces, and the judgment of each expected-employment period are determined case by case by Hello Work. This article gives no individual conclusion (unverified).

This article is general information. An individual judgment on your circumstances is made by a qualified professional after a meeting. At the Yotsuba Shakai Hoken Roumushi Office we can advise on enrolment and loss procedures for the employment-insurance multi-job-holder scheme, records of hours and wages for multiple short-time jobs, and the labour framework for senior employment. Benefit claims and consultation are a Hello Work window and pension claims and consultation a Pension Office window — each a separate, independent window and entity engaged or consulted separately, with no referral fee. Common questions are gathered in the FAQ. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Licensed Real Estate Transaction Agent).