What to do if a foreign worker becomes sick or injured? Check the insurance system

What to do if a foreign worker becomes ill or injured?

If a foreign worker becomes ill or injured, the treatment is the same as for Japanese workers.
We will take the following measures.

Submit a "medical treatment claim form" to a hospital designated for industrial accidents and receive medical treatment

First, we will arrange for you to receive appropriate treatment at a hospital designated for industrial accidents.
In case of sudden illness or injury, be sure to research in advance the location of industrial accident hospitals near your company or work site.

Be sure to have a Japanese staff member accompany you to the hospital so that they can properly communicate any information necessary for your examination, such as details of the accident, injury, or symptoms of illness.
If foreign workers are allowed to go there alone, there is a risk that information will be miscommunicated or they may not be able to reach the appropriate medical department, resulting in them not receiving adequate treatment.

Additionally, getting sick or injured in a foreign country can be very worrying.
Having Japanese staff accompany you is also important in terms of helping you maintain mental stability.
It will be even more reassuring if there is someone nearby, such as a medical interpreter, who can provide support to foreigners when they visit the hospital.

If the worker receives medical treatment at a hospital designated for industrial accidents, he or she will not be required to pay any medical expenses.
If you inform the counter that it is an industrial accident and submit a Medical Treatment Benefits Claim Form (Form No. 5) for medical compensation benefits in the case of an employment accident, or a Medical Treatment Benefits Claim Form (Form No. 16-3) for medical compensation benefits in the case of a commuting accident, you will be able to receive medical treatment free of charge until your injury or illness is cured.

Please download this document from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's website and bring it with you.
If you take precautions to prepare for any eventuality, such as downloading the software in advance and keeping it at work or having it ready at the work site, you will be able to respond calmly.
In addition, it is often available at designated medical institutions for industrial accidents.

If you have mistakenly used your health insurance, you will need to go through the process of switching to workers' compensation insurance.

Also, if you visit a hospital other than one designated for industrial accidents, you will have to pay the full amount at the counter, so you will need to bring your medical expenses with you.
If you later apply to the Labor Standards Inspection Office and your injury is recognized as an industrial accident, all medical expenses will be refunded.

Submit a "Worker Casualty Report" after a work-related accident occurs

After a workplace accident occurs, a "Work-related Death, Injury, or Illness Report" must be filed with the Labor Standards Inspection Office.
This is the same procedure as when a Japanese person receives an industrial accident.

The deadline for submitting the report varies depending on the number of days the worker is absent from work due to the industrial accident, as follows:

• In the case of death due to a work-related accident: Immediately after the accident occurs
• Work-related injury resulting in absence for 4 days or more: Immediately after the accident occurs
• Less than 4 days of absence due to work-related injury: Submit all documents once every three months (January to March, April to June, July to September, October to December)

The application should be submitted to the Labor Standards Inspection Office that has jurisdiction over the site of the industrial accident.
Please be aware that this is not the labor standards inspection office that has jurisdiction over the area where your company is located.

Apply for Workers' Accident Compensation Insurance

You must apply for workers' compensation insurance benefits.
This is the same procedure as for Japanese workers' compensation.

In principle, applications for benefits are made by the affected worker himself (or by his surviving family members in the case of a death).
However, even when the affected people are Japanese, in many cases the application is made on their behalf by their company.

In particular, for foreign workers, the paperwork can be complicated and they may not understand why an application is required in the first place, so make sure that Japanese staff provide thorough support from preparing the documents to completing the application process.

Will the insurance system apply if a foreign worker becomes ill or injured?

Workers' accident compensation insurance provides necessary insurance benefits in the event of injury or illness caused by an accident at work or while commuting to work.

The Labor Standards Act (Chapter 8, Articles 75 to 88) stipulates that "employers must provide compensation to workers for accidents suffered in the course of their work."
This means that the workers' compensation insurance premiums are to be borne entirely by the company.

Anyone regardless of nationality is required to join the workers' compensation insurance, and it is mandatory even if you only employ one worker.

For example, Article 2 of the Ministerial Ordinance on Specified Skills Standards requires that, in order to ensure the application of workers' accident compensation insurance to specified skilled workers, if Specified Skills worker's affiliation institution is a workplace subject to workers' accident compensation insurance, it must properly file a notification of the establishment of an insurance relationship related to workers' accident compensation insurance.

Insurance systems for workers other than workers' accident compensation insurance

In addition to workers' compensation insurance, there are other insurance systems for workers.
Foreign workers are also required to join both plans.

Health Insurance System

If you are enrolled in health insurance, medical benefits and allowances will be paid to the insured person or dependent when they become ill or injured and receive medical treatment.
Membership is required for permanent employment, and applies to foreign workers as well.

You can enroll in health insurance if you are employed as a full-time employee at a private company or if you are a part-time worker who meets the conditions.
*For more information, please visit the National Pension Service website.

Part-time workers who do not meet the conditions will be covered by national health insurance.
Basically, if you have been residing in Japan for more than three months, you can join.

If you go to the hospital for illness or injury outside of working hours, please bring your health insurance card (or national health insurance card).
As with Japanese people, patients will be responsible for 30% of medical expenses.

Employees' Pension Insurance/National Pension Insurance

By joining the pension insurance scheme, workers will receive pensions and allowances when they reach old age or die due to disability.

• Employee's Pension Insurance: While regularly employed at an applicable company
• National Pension Insurance: Those who are not in a regular employment relationship but have registered as foreigners

Find out about the occurrence of workplace accidents involving foreign workers

As the number of foreign workers increases, let's also check how often work-related accidents occur among foreign workers.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's "Status of Occupational Accidents Among Foreign Workers in 2021 (Reiwa 3)," the number of casualties resulting in four or more days of absence from work in the construction industry was 934 (797 in 2020), of which 10 were fatalities (17 in 2020).

The manufacturing industry, which has the highest number of work-related accidents, had 3,007 casualties, including 8 fatalities, while the construction industry had a higher number of fatalities.

The causes of accidents that resulted in death were "being trapped or entangled" in 148 cases, "falling" in 142 cases, and "being thrown or falling" in 122 cases, with "falling" being the most common cause of fatal accidents.

To prevent foreign workers from getting sick or injured at work

It goes without saying that appropriate measures must be taken when a foreign worker becomes ill or injured, but it is also important to take steps to prevent illness or injury from occurring in the first place.

First, we provide Safety and Health Education in the foreign workers' native language to help them deepen their understanding of safety.

Since providing training while employees are still working may result in insufficient safety checks, it is best to set aside separate time for Safety and Health Education and other training.

On-site responses include installing signage in multiple languages.
Generally, signs are written in Japanese only at construction sites, but it is advisable to install signs in multiple languages.
Since you will be looking at it while working, it needs to be easy to understand at a glance.

JAC (Japan Association for Construction Human Resources) is creating a video for foreign workers about safety and health measures.
Please use this for Safety and Health Education for foreign workers.
[Youtube] Key points for safety and health measures for each task

If a foreign worker becomes injured or ill, it is a good idea to teach them how to express pain so that appropriate measures can be taken.
Expressions such as "throbbing" and "tingling" are unique to the Japanese language, but they are useful for accurately describing the symptoms.

For more information on "expressions of pain" to communicate symptoms and tips on communicating pain, please see "Learn Japanese expressions of pain! Tips on communicating pain effectively."
Please feel free to use it.

Foreign workers often put up with minor illnesses or injuries because they think going to the hospital is expensive.
Through Safety and Health Education we should take measures to prevent workplace accidents such as illness and injury, and also properly inform employees about the existence of insurance systems.

It is also important to communicate closely with foreign workers on a daily basis and pay attention to their health, etc.

Summary: Foreign workers should be able to receive appropriate medical treatment for illnesses and injuries covered by insurance

If a foreign worker is injured or falls ill during work or while commuting, workers' compensation insurance will apply to them through the same procedures as Japanese workers.

However, it is important to provide support to ensure that patients receive appropriate medical treatment, such as by having Japanese staff accompany them to appointments.

In addition to workers' compensation, foreign workers are also required to enroll in health insurance, employee pension insurance, national pension insurance, and other insurance that provide medical treatment and benefits in the event of illness or injury.

Japan has a generous insurance system, but there have been many accidents resulting in deaths and injuries involving foreign workers, so there is a need to create a system to prevent accidents from occurring.

The first step in reducing accidents is to actively take steps to raise safety awareness, such as providing Safety and Health Education training and installing safety signs in multiple languages.

If you are a company considering hiring specified skilled workers in the construction industry, please feel free to contact JAC!

*This article was written based on information from April 2023.