Special Subsidiary Companies to Meet the Statutory Employment Rate for Persons with Disabilities

A career consultant I know, who is active within a company, was seconded to a different company this fiscal year and is now working on career support for people with disabilities. It seems to be a company established under the special subsidiary company system.

This was the first time I had heard the term "special subsidiary company," but it seems to be a system where, in order to meet the statutory employment rate for persons with disabilities, a separate company is established within a corporate group, and the number of disabled persons employed by that separate company can be included in the calculation of the statutory employment rate for the entire group.

 Companies want to employ people with disabilities, but there are issues with how to balance recruitment standards, working conditions, performance evaluations, and so on with those for able-bodied employees. Since it's difficult to maintain consistency within the same company, it seems that a separate company is created, and standards tailored to people with disabilities are established for them.

 According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the advantages for employers are:

  • It becomes easier to secure jobs and develop workplace environments that consider the characteristics of disabilities, thereby allowing persons with disabilities to fully utilize their abilities.
  • Retention rates improve, and an increase in productivity can be expected.
  • Investment in facilities for accepting persons with disabilities can be concentrated.
  • It becomes possible to set different working conditions from the parent company, allowing for flexible employment management.

 There are also benefits for persons with disabilities:

  • The establishment of special subsidiary companies expands employment opportunities.
  • Opportunities to demonstrate individual abilities are secured within a workplace environment that considers persons with disabilities.

(Above, from "Overview of the Special Subsidiary Company System," Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

 These are the advantages, but on the other hand, there is a concern that concentrating persons with disabilities in a separate company might create a division with other employees, which is a difficult point.

 However, as I wrote in another article ("Is the Statutory Employment Rate for Persons with Disabilities 2.7% (from July 2026) High or Low?"), the statutory employment rate for persons with disabilities has been rising, and companies must respond immediately. The number of special subsidiary companies is also increasing year by year, so the utilization of this system will likely continue to grow in the future.

 The career consultant who was seconded said that there are many people with mental disabilities in their workplace. Unlike physical disabilities, they look normal, so at first, they didn't realize they had disabilities. However, on their first day of work, no one spoke to them, and they laughed, saying it was hard to get outsiders to open up to them.

They haven't learned about career support for people with disabilities in their training courses, and they seem to be struggling with this new experience, but they also seem to be enjoying it.

"People with mental disabilities are very observant of others, and if I look unwell, they immediately come over and ask if something is wrong," my acquaintance said.

What a great workplace!

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