4.     Procedures at the time of retirement

l  Provisions of the Labor Standards Act that should be noted

When an employer wishes to dismiss a worker according to the employer's convenience, the employer must give a notice of that effect at least 30 days in advance of the date of the scheduled dismissal (referred to as an "advance notice of dismissal") or pay the average wage of 30 days in lieu of notice. (The advance notice of dismissal and dismissal payment may be combined with each other.) When an employer dismisses a worker without satisfying either of the foregoing requirements, the employer must obtain authorization therefor from the director of the labor standards office concerned. Furthermore, it must be noted that a dismissal lacking objectively reasonable grounds will be deemed as an "unfair dismissal."

l  Procedures concerning loss of social insurance qualification

The company is required to apply for Withdrawal from Social Insurance System by returning the health insurance card of the retiring worker to agency concerned.

l  Procedures concerning loss of qualification for employment insurance

A revision of the related law has resulted in a stipulation that the number of days for which unemployment allowance is provided varies enormously depending on the grounds of retirement. Accordingly, please make sure that a retiring worker submits a notice of resignation, etc.

5. Annual routine procedures of an employer

l  Labor insurance contributions

The contributions for workers' accident compensation insurance (paid by the employer in full) and the contributions for employment insurance (shared by the employer and the insured worker) are collectively referred to as labor insurance contributions. The employers should pay these contributions in estimated amounts at the beginning of each fiscal year (from April 1 through March 31 of the next year) and declare their fixed amounts at the end of each fiscal year to pay the differences between the estimated and fixed amounts.

l  Social insurance contributions

Besides the procedures referred to in the "procedures during employment" section, the employers should submit a "Basis for Calculation of Monthly Remuneration" covering all workers employed as of July 1 every year to fix the classification of their standard remuneration and the amounts of insurance contributions.