Staffing and labour for Employment Selection Support (newly created October 2025) — what to arrange

Bottom line first: In Employment Selection Support, newly created on 1 October 2025, the staff to place are basically a "manager" and an "employment selection support worker", and the service-management manager that was required for employment continuation support Type A and Type B need not be placed. That is because this is a short-term assessment-type service that draws up no individual support plan. Employment selection support workers are placed at a full-time equivalent of at least the user count divided by fifteen, and the role is filled by people who have completed the employment selection support worker training. Because the staffing skeleton differs from existing services, it is safer to rebuild the work rules, working time and shifts to fit this service type.

The designation application itself belongs to a Gyoseishoshi, and selecting and leasing the premises for the office to real estate — independent business entities from this office, with which you contract separately. What this office takes on is labour and social-insurance design; individual determinations are made by a qualified professional after a consultation.

What does the staffing standard for Employment Selection Support look like?

Employment Selection Support is a service in which a person with a disability who wishes to work sorts out, through short-term work and a work assessment, which to choose among employment transition support, employment continuation support or general employment (Comprehensive Support Act Article 5(13)). Because it is short-term and draws up no individual support plan, the staffing skeleton differs from employment continuation support Type A and Type B.

Role	Employment Selection Support	(Reference) Employment continuation support Type A / Type B
Manager	One per office; concurrent post allowed where there is no hindrance	One likewise; concurrent post allowed
Employment selection support worker	Full-time equivalent of at least the user count ÷ 15	(this role is not placed)
Service-management manager	Placement not required (no individual support plan is drawn up)	Required, e.g. one or more for up to sixty users
Vocational instructor / life-support worker	Not a required role specific to this service	Required, e.g. full-time equivalent of at least user count ÷ 10

The easiest mistake is to think, with the feel of employment continuation support, "we must place a service-management manager". Because Employment Selection Support draws up no individual support plan, placement of a service-management manager is not required. Instead, the new role of employment selection support worker becomes mandatory. The counting method is the same full-time-equivalent method as existing services, so for the Type A / Type B staffing idea see also Employment forms and labour management that meet the staffing standard for employment continuation support Type A and Type B.

The finer designation-standard article numbers are set in the amendment to the designation-standards ordinance (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance No. 171 of 2006); confirm the latest branch numbers against the municipality's guidance and the ordinance text. This article stays with the staffing skeleton and does not conclude on individual calculations.

What requirements and training does becoming an employment selection support worker need?

An employment selection support worker is a person who has completed the employment selection support worker training. To take that training, completion of the basic training in disability welfare services and the like is set as a receipt requirement. Transitional measures are provided until the training system is in place, in line with the start of the scheme.

What to confirm	What to arrange on the labour side
Completion of the employment selection support worker training	Confirm the completion certificate at hiring and keep it in the personnel file
Receipt requirement (completion of the basic training and the like)	Confirm practical experience and prior training history before the employment contract
Deadline of transitional measures	Build the training-completion deadline into the duty schedule so the standard is not undershot
Full-time or non-full-time	Set in the work rules "the hours a full-time member is to work" to make the full-time-equivalent denominator clear

Training completion is not a "licence" but a fact the office should confirm at hiring and at each reassignment. Keeping duty records of who works as an employment selection support worker and for how many hours lets both the full-time-equivalent figure and training completion serve directly as documents for maintaining the designation. On the thinking behind social insurance when hiring for short hours, see When you hire for short hours, what happens to social insurance.

Can it be run as a concurrent post or multifunction type with existing employment transition support / Type A / Type B?

Where Employment Selection Support is carried out integrally with employment continuation support and the like, concurrent posts of staff are allowed. An operator already running employment transition support or Type A / Type B is assumed to add Employment Selection Support with part of the same staff.

Type of concurrent / multifunction post	What to watch on the labour side
Existing-service staff also serving as an employment selection support worker	Do not double-count the same working hours in the full-time equivalent of multiple services
Concurrent post of the manager	Show in the duty roster whether it is within a range with no hindrance to management work
Filing as a multifunction type	The staff counting method changes by service, so design shifts per service
Securing training-completed workers	Confirm at hiring and placement that the training requirement also applies to concurrent-post staff

Even where concurrent posts are allowed, the full-time equivalent is settled by actual working hours. One person's hours cannot be counted in full across multiple services. Which concurrent posts are specifically allowed turns on the municipality's practice and the office's duty roster, so this article stays with the general idea.

What work rules, working time and shifts do you arrange at newly opening?

When adding a new service type, rebuilding the work rules and working-time framework — including the employment selection support worker role — reduces later rework. Working time is capped at 40 hours a week and 8 hours a day (Labor Standards Act Article 32); exceeding it requires the conclusion and filing of an agreement on overtime and holiday work (a 36 agreement).

What to arrange	Basis / point
Work rules	Duty to draw up and file at a workplace ordinarily employing ten or more workers (Labor Standards Act Article 89). State the hours a full-time member is to work
Disclosure of working conditions	Duty to disclose in writing and the like at hiring (Article 15(1); Enforcement Ordinance Article 5). State the scheduled hours and days of the employment selection support worker
Statutory working time / breaks	40 hours a week, 8 hours a day (Article 32); a 45-minute break over 6 hours and 60 minutes over 8 hours (Article 34)
Shifts	Keep both the duty schedule and duty records (time cards and the like) so the full-time-equivalent figure is met

On the headcount from which the duty to draw up work rules arises, see From how many workers are work rules mandatory, and what is not mandatory. Because the full-time-equivalent counting is common to disability-welfare and care practice, see also How is the full-time equivalent calculated in disability welfare and care.

What labour and operational risks arise if staffing falls below the standard?

If the full-time-equivalent figure falls below the employment selection support worker placement standard, the office is left short of the designation standard. Where working-time management is lax, actual duty diverges from the schedule and an undershoot occurs unnoticed.

What easily happens	Labour-side measure
Employment selection support workers decrease through resignation or leave	Bring forward the hiring plan for training-completed workers and keep a margin in the full-time equivalent
Concurrent-post staff work fewer hours than expected	Total duty records monthly and confirm the full-time equivalent by actual measurement
Deadline of transitional measures expires	Build the training-completion deadline into the duty schedule and complete it before the deadline
Insufficient working-time records	Grasp working time objectively with time cards and the like (Industrial Safety and Health Act Article 66-8-3)

Whether staffing fell below the standard cannot be proved afterwards without duty records. Duty records are labour management and, at the same time, documents for maintaining the designation. However, how an undershoot affects the designation (guidance for improvement, reward clawback and the like) turns on the municipality's practice, so this article does not conclude on it.

Have a question about your situation?

Tell us about your social insurance, payroll or employment enquiry.

Chat on LINEContact us

Who should handle the labour of staffing, and who the designation application?

Preparing to open and run splits by responsible entity.

Issue	In charge
Employment contracts of employment selection support workers and the manager, work rules and wage rules, duty rosters mindful of the full-time equivalent, social- and labour-insurance procedures	Shakai Hoken Roumushi (this office)
Designation application, change notifications and other municipal procedures; design of the reward (National Health Insurance Federation billing) scheme	Gyoseishoshi and the operator
Selecting and leasing the premises for the office	Real estate
The corporation's accounting and tax	Tax accountant
Registration of the office	Judicial scrivener

The designation application is Gyoseishoshi work, and 四葉行政書士事務所 is a business entity independent of this office. Premises are accepted by 四葉不動産株式会社, also as a separate business entity. Where needed, we introduce them under a separate contract that you conclude directly, and this office takes no referral fee.

What can 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 do?

What this office takes on is designing the labour side that meets the Employment Selection Support staffing standard, and maintaining it.

• Drawing up employment contracts for employment selection support workers and the manager reflecting the scheduled hours of full-time and non-full-time staff
• Designing duty rosters and shifts with the full-time equivalent in mind, and organising duty records
• Preparing work rules and wage rules
• Judging and processing enrolment in social and employment insurance for employment selection support workers and the manager
• Designing the management of working time, breaks and overtime

The following are not handled here.

• Designation applications, change notifications and other municipal procedures, and design of the reward (National Health Insurance Federation billing) scheme → 四葉行政書士事務所 accepts these as a separate business entity
• Selecting and leasing the premises for the office → 四葉不動産株式会社 accepts this as a separate business entity
• The corporation's accounting and tax → we connect you with a tax accountant (Zeirishi)
• Registration of the office → we connect you with a judicial scrivener (Shiho Shoshi)

四葉不動産株式会社, 四葉行政書士事務所 and 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 each accept work as an independent business entity, under a separate contract. Where another professional is introduced, you contract with them directly, and this office receives no referral fee.

Consultations are free of charge. Fees are set out in the fee schedule; see also our services and how a consultation proceeds.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Does Employment Selection Support need a service-management manager?
A. Employment Selection Support is a short-term assessment-type service that draws up no individual support plan, so placement of a service-management manager is not required. Instead, the new role of employment selection support worker is placed at a full-time equivalent of at least the user count divided by fifteen. If you build staffing on the assumption of a service-management manager with the feel of employment continuation support Type A / Type B, you can end up short of the required employment selection support workers, so recount to fit the service type.

Q. Can anyone become an employment selection support worker?
A. An employment selection support worker is a person who has completed the employment selection support worker training. Taking that training requires completion of the basic training and the like as a receipt requirement, and transitional measures are provided in line with the start of the scheme. Confirming training completion at hiring and at each reassignment, and keeping it as a record, is practically important for maintaining the designation.

Q. We already run Type A / Type B. Can we add Employment Selection Support with concurrent-post staff?
A. Where Employment Selection Support is carried out integrally with employment continuation support and the like, concurrent posts of staff are allowed. But because the full-time equivalent is settled by actual working hours, the same hours cannot be double-counted across multiple services. Note that the employment selection support worker training requirement also applies to concurrent-post staff, and design shifts per service. Which concurrent posts are specifically allowed turns on the municipality's practice.

Q. Are work rules needed even with fewer than ten staff?
A. The duty to draw up and file under Article 89 of the Labor Standards Act arises at a workplace ordinarily employing ten or more workers. With fewer than ten, that duty itself does not arise. But arranging as rules "the hours a full-time member is to work" (the premise of the full-time equivalent) and the idea of the employment selection support worker's scheduled hours is often practically necessary regardless of headcount. Think of the mandatory work rules and the rules arranged for operation as having different purposes.

Basis for this article

• Act on Comprehensive Support for the Daily and Social Life of Persons with Disabilities (Act No. 123 of 7 November 2005) Article 5(13) — definition of Employment Selection Support (a service that, for a person with a disability wishing to work or to continue working, evaluates aptitude, knowledge and ability for work through short-term productive activity and the like; added by the amendment under Act No. 104 of 2022)
• Creation and effective date of Employment Selection Support — enforced on 1 October 2025 (confirmed from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's materials on disability-welfare-service rewards and standards and from municipal notices; accessed 17 September 2026)
• Staffing standard of Employment Selection Support — a manager (one per office, concurrent post allowed where there is no hindrance), an employment selection support worker (full-time equivalent of at least user count ÷ 15), and no placement of a service-management manager (as no individual support plan is drawn up). Set in the amendment to the standards on staff, equipment and operation of designated disability welfare services (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance No. 171 of 2006) (confirmed from Ministry materials and municipal guidance; accessed 17 September 2026)
• Requirements for an employment selection support worker — completion of the employment selection support worker training; the receipt requirement includes completion of the basic training and the like; transitional measures accompany the start of the scheme (confirmed from Ministry materials; accessed 17 September 2026)
• Concurrent posts of staff are allowed where carried out integrally with employment continuation support and the like (confirmed from Ministry materials; accessed 17 September 2026)
• Labor Standards Act (Act No. 49 of 1947) Article 32 — statutory working time (40 hours a week, 8 hours a day)
• Same Act, Article 34 — breaks (45 minutes over 6 hours, 60 minutes over 8 hours)
• Same Act, Article 89 — duty of an employer ordinarily employing ten or more workers to draw up and file work rules
• Same Act, Article 15(1); Enforcement Ordinance Article 5 — disclosure of working conditions (the items and disclosure in writing and the like)
• Industrial Safety and Health Act (Act No. 57 of 1972) Article 66-8-3 — grasping the state of working time
• The article numbers and branch numbers of the standards ordinance, and the concrete receipt requirements and transitional-measure deadlines of the employment selection support worker training, can change by amendment and municipal practice. Before a designation application, confirm against the municipality's latest guidance and the ordinance text (unverified)
• The finer method of full-time-equivalent calculation (rounding of fractions and the like) and the individual permissibility of concurrent / multifunction posts depend in part on each municipality's practice and guidance; individual determinations are not covered here (unverified)

This article is general information. Individual determinations are made by a qualified professional after a consultation, in light of individual circumstances. 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 can advise on drawing up employment contracts for employment selection support workers and the manager reflecting the scheduled hours of full-time and non-full-time staff, designing duty rosters mindful of the full-time equivalent and organising duty records, preparing work rules and wage rules, judging and processing social- and employment-insurance enrolment, and designing the management of working time, breaks and overtime. Designation applications, change notifications and the design of the reward (National Health Insurance Federation billing) scheme are accepted by 四葉行政書士事務所 as a separate business entity, and selecting and leasing the premises by 四葉不動産株式会社 as a separate business entity, each contracted separately. The corporation's accounting and tax are matters we connect you with a tax accountant (Zeirishi) for, and registration with a judicial scrivener (Shiho Shoshi). If a different professional is needed, each is contracted separately, and there is no referral fee. Frequently asked questions are collected in the FAQ. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).