What changes
The 2024 amendment to the Employment Insurance Act (Act No. 26 of 2024, promulgated 17 May 2024) shortened the benefit restriction for people who leave a job voluntarily without a justifiable reason. For separations on or after 1 April 2025, the basic allowance starts after the seven-day waiting period plus one month, down from two months. Separations on or before 31 March 2025 keep the two-month rule.
Two groups still wait three months: people who have resigned voluntarily without good reason and been found eligible for benefit twice or more in the five years before the latest separation, and people dismissed for serious misconduct.
The amendment also lets voluntary leavers avoid the restriction altogether by retraining. It is lifted for those who, on their own initiative, take qualifying training either during unemployment or within one year before leaving, provided the course started on or after 1 April 2025. Qualifying training includes courses eligible for the education and training benefit, public vocational training and courses eligible for the short-term training fee benefit. The claimant applies at Hello Work with proof of the course dates.
Who it applies to
Any insured employee who resigns for personal reasons. It does not change the benefit length, which is still 90 to 150 days for voluntary leavers, against up to 330 days for company-reason separations.
Action for employers
- Recalibrate exit negotiations. The gap between personal and company reasons is smaller at the start of benefit, but the difference in benefit days is unchanged; it remains a bargaining point.
- Record the reason accurately on the separation notice. Hello Work decides on the facts, and mislabelling invites disputes.
- Mention training to leavers. Staff who resign to change career can start benefit sooner if they enrol in an eligible course; it is worth including in outplacement briefings.
- Update HR guidance. Exit checklists and FAQs that still say two months are out of date.
Sources
- Employment Insurance Act, Article 33, as amended by the Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act and Related Acts (Act No. 26 of 2024).
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and Iwate Labour Bureau, leaflet on the shortened benefit restriction for separations from 1 April 2025.
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, leaflet on lifting the benefit restriction for those taking education and training.