Sumida City Employment Rules Development Subsidy

1) Overview: The Sumida City Employment Rules Development Subsidy supports small and medium-sized enterprises located in Sumida-ku, Tokyo, that wish to newly create or amend their work rules (shugyo kisoku) to improve the working environment for employees. It subsidizes a portion of the consignment fees paid to a Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant (sharoshi) for the drafting or revision work, and is administered by the Sumida Ward Industry & Tourism Department, Management Support Division. 2) Eligible applicants: SMEs as defined by Article 2(1) of the SME Basic Act, with a principal business location in Sumida-ku for at least 3 months (head-office registration and actual business operations both inside the ward). Applicants must have no tax arrears (corporate metropolitan tax for companies; previous-year special-ward resident tax for sole proprietors), must actually draft or revise the work rules applicable to the ward business, must employ at least one person on a regular basis as of the application date, must not be related to any organized-crime group under Sumida's anti-yakuza ordinance, and must not operate in the adult-entertainment business. 3) Eligible expenses & content: Fees newly incurred for consignment to a Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant for the drafting or revision of work rules (consumption tax excluded). Standing retainer (komon keiyaku) fees are NOT eligible. When revising, the applicant must submit both the existing rules and a redline showing the amended sections. 4) Subsidy rate, cap, schedule & key points: Subsidy rate is 1/2 of the eligible expenses with an upper limit of JPY 100,000 (tax-excluded, rounded down to the nearest thousand yen). Applications are accepted within 6 months from the day after the Labor Standards Inspection Office's receipt date; intake closes once the budget is exhausted. Required documents include the application form (Form 1), the stamped notification of work rules submitted to Mukojima Labor Standards Office, the work rules themselves, the employees' written opinion, corporate metropolitan tax certificates, certificate of all registered matters, expense receipts, business plan (Form 2), and pledge (Form 3).