So I (34) am currently a contractor with shakai hoken and as the title states, my wife (32) works as a full time teacher in a small nursery but on a freelance contract and no shakai hoken.
We found out that she is 5 weeks pregnant with our first child and are wondering if she is eligible for childcare leave after giving birth. We’ve done some research and we can’t find any information exactly about her case as she isn’t enrolled in shakai hoken (she has kokomin hoken) and not seishain. We wanted to ask others here who may be in a similar situation.
We haven’t told the company yet for fear that they won’t renew her contract that is coming up in 3 months. I’m definitely going to take paternity leave because I know how hard it is for a first time mom with no family around to help take care of a newborn (we’re both foreigners) but I don’t think my government support alone would be able to cover monthly expenses of a family of 3. I am aware we would get around 15,000 yen a month from the local government as childcare financial assistance but I don’t think it would be enough.
Should she quit now and find a company that covers shakai hoken in time for her birth or tell the current company about it? Though I think would be quite risky but we’d rather be ready now than stick around till the last minute only for them to say they don’t allow childcare leave.
We are also thinking of her going back to work maybe 2 months after giving birth and I can stay home to take care of the baby as I am able to apply for childcare leave. Even if I decide to keep working, I don’t think my salary alone would be enough to sustain us without income from her and a baby. My wife really wants to stay home to help care for it though so this is like our last resort. We do have some savings but we keep them in my US account for emergencies and don’t want to use it as much as possible.
Is Kokomin hoken enough to get childcare leave? Appreciate any inputs.
3 comments
Did she ask her employer?
Short answer no. If anything she could get into trouble if she does not follow the termination clause in her contract. There’s also no guarantee the company will take her back afterwards. This is not a job, this is a freelance contract.
>Should she quit now and find a company that covers shakai hoken in time for her birth
She’d need to work for one year before the birth, so also no.
You should check with your ward office to see if they provide any extra financial support for families with low income or job loss. My ward provides 3man yen/month per household