Career Advancement Subsidy (Fiscal 2026): Payment Amounts for the Six Courses and the New Course for Short-Time WorkersTurning part-timers into regular employees: the government gives companies a reward
This subsidy is for employers who convert fixed-term and similar workers (contract employees, part-timers, dispatched workers, etc.) to regular employment or improve their treatment. Fiscal 2026 (Reiwa 8) has six courses, and a new Support Course for Extending Working Hours of Short-Time Workers is described as being added. Under the Regular Employment Conversion Course, the amount for a priority-support worker converted from fixed-term to regular is JPY 800,000 per person (small and medium-sized enterprises).
Key points
- Regular Employment Conversion Course (SMEs): for priority-support workers, fixed-term to regular JPY 800,000 and indefinite-term to regular JPY 400,000; for others, fixed-term to regular JPY 400,000 and indefinite-term to regular JPY 200,000
- Wage Rule Revision Course: wage rules revised upward by 3% or more. JPY 40,000 per person for 3% to under 4%, JPY 70,000 for 6% or more
- The Wage Rule Standardization Course pays JPY 600,000 per workplace, and the Bonus and Retirement Allowance System Introduction Course pays JPY 400,000 per workplace (SMEs)
- Support Course for Extending Working Hours of Short-Time Workers: for efforts to raise income when workers newly become covered by social insurance, JPY 400,000 per person in year 1 (JPY 500,000 for small enterprises, JPY 300,000 for large enterprises) and JPY 200,000 in year 2
- There is also a Regular Employment Conversion Course for Persons with Disabilities: fixed-term to regular for persons with severe physical or severe intellectual disabilities or mental disabilities is JPY 1,200,000 per person (SMEs)
What to do in practice
- Check whether the target worker qualifies as a priority-support worker before planning the conversion or the introduction of a system
- Check the requirements in the latest payment guidelines and application forms (Fiscal 2026 edition)
This is a system where the government gives money to companies that make contract or part-time workers regular employees, or that create rules to raise pay. It is meant to help people work with peace of mind for a long time.
- ○Applies: Made a part-timer a regular employee
- ○Applies: Raised the pay rules for contract employees by 3% or more
- ○Applies: Created a bonus or retirement allowance system for the first time
- ×Does not apply: Gets the money without applying or doing anything
Points
- If a company makes a contract or part-time worker a regular employee, it may receive several hundred thousand yen per person
- Raising the pay rules by 3% or more also counts
- Creating a bonus or retirement allowance system for the first time also counts
What the words mean
- Fixed-term employment
- A way of working where the end date is decided in advance
- Regular employment conversion
- Changing from a job with a set period to a regular job with no set end
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW): MHLW: Guide to Employment and Labor Subsidies for Fiscal 2026 (Reiwa 8) (simplified edition)
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW): MHLW: Career Advancement Subsidy page
This article summarizes and explains materials published by government agencies and is not advice on any individual case. Rules can change, so for actual procedures and decisions always check the latest original materials and consult professionals such as tax accountants or labor and social security attorneys. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese versions are translations prepared from the Japanese articles for convenience. If anything differs, the Japanese text and the original source take precedence.