GEOS Teachers- How to claim unemployment benefits

To claim unemployment benefits you will need:
1) To get a rishokuhyou（雇用保険被保険者離職票) from GEOS.
2) Proof of enrollment in unemployment insurance koyou hoken shoumeisho (雇用保険非被保険証明書).
3) Some form of ID.
4) You will need 2 copies of a recent photo. Dimensions required for the photo: 3cm long by 2.5cm wide.
5) You will need a savings account in your name. It must be a Japanese account. Foreign accounts are not acceptable.
Once you have your rishokuhyou go to Hello Work. They should have English support at most offices. Tell them you worked for GEOS and that you want to apply for unemployment benefits. Show them your Rishokuhyou. You will then need to fill out some paperwork. Your application should take about a week to be processed. After it has been approved it will be about another 3 weeks before you receive your first payment.

Proof of unemployment insurance.
If you are enrolled in this insurance you should be able to see the deductions for it on your salary receipts. The deduction is about 1000yen a month. Your receipts should be proof enough of your enrollment in unemployment insurance, but if possible get GEOS to send you your certificate of enrollment in the unemployment insurance. Example of an unemployment insurance certificate. www.hellowork.go.jp/html/info_1_e6.html

The Rishokuhyou
The rishokuhyou is a green form that details why you left the company. The rishokuhyou is important because it determines your eligibility for the unemployment payments. For those of you who resigned after GEOS went bankrupt, you should qualify for the benefit immediately (although you won’t receive your first payment for about a month after you apply). If you left your job for personal reasons prior to the bankruptcy you will probably have to wait 3 months before you can receive any entitlements. I have attached pictures of the front and back of a rishokuhyou to this post. GEOS must provide one if you request it. If you are going to work for G. Communications you will not be eligible for the payments. 　

Proof of ID
You will also need some form of ID showing your current place of residence. A Japanese drivers licence or alien card should be sufficient for this purpose.

How much will I get paid?
The unemployment amount is calculated based on your earnings for the past 6 months. Please ask your friendly Hello Work for the specific details.

How long will I get paid for?
The unemployment benefits will be paid for a short period of time only. It does not continue indefinitely. The exact period is determined by your age and how long you were employed by GEOS. The minimum is 90days and the maximum is 330days. Most people can expect it to be around 90days. Refer to the below document for specific details.
osaka-rodo.go.jp/topic/employment_insurance_system.pdf
If you find immediate employment after resigning from GEOS you will not be entitled to employment insurance as detailed below.
Unemployment benefits (basic allowance) of the employment insurance are provided to
the insured when they become unemployed so that they can concentrate on finding new
jobs and be reemployed as quickly as possible.
Therefore, unemployment benefits are not paid to those who are reemployed immediately
after their separation from employment or who are unable to work in immediate future
because of an illness, injury, pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, etc.
More information in regards to this can be found here osaka-rodo.go.jp/topic/employment_insurance_system.pdf

Am I eligible?
In order to qualify for payments, you must have been enrolled in the Employment Insurance program for at least 6months.

The below pictures show the front and back of a Rishokuhyou.

I imagine some former GEOS employees are still in the situation I was during Golden Week. They've been to Hello Work and been told that before any unemployment insurance proceedings can begin they must wait for their rishokuhyou (the 'Separation Notice for Unemployment Insurance' mentioned in the letter from GEOS dated 4/30) to arrive. All the standard advice being given to ex-GEOS teachers says the same.

I assume many people took that at face value, and are still waiting for the documents that GEOS state may arrive as late as 5/15. Perhaps they have also made fruitless calls to GEOS in vain attempts to get those documents in the time-frame required by law.

However, after successive visits to Hello Work and some dedicated digging by the wonderful staff there, I found out that they can short-circuit this process as the paperwork grinds its way through the layers of administration dealing with GEOS' liquidation.

Registering us for unemployment insurance proceedings before we have access to the necessary documents is an unusual procedure that many people will not be aware of and will not ordinarily be informed of.

For any former GEOS teachers waiting for their 離職票 (rishokuhyou) to arrive, you should go back to Hello Work immediately, even without the documents:

It is actually possible to start your registration for unemployment insurance now, without the document. My 仮受付 (kariuketsuke) started on 5/6, so by 5/12 the registration will be done. Between 5/13 and 6/2 my rishokuhyou should arrive, at which time I'll attend the Hello Work orientation meeting, and 6/3 will be the first payment date.

You can start receiving your insurance 11 days earlier than if you wait for the documents to arrive. Please let others know!

I hope this is of some use to someone out there.

Cheers,

Thanks a lot Benkyo! I didn't know that you could apply for unemployment payments before receiving the GEOS paperwork.
You just saved me a lot of wasted time

Good luck. I hope your Hello Work staff are as friendly and helpful as the people I've been dealing with.

Unemployment benefits update:

Although a month has passed and I have yet to receive my 離職票 (rishokuhyou) I just confirmed with Hello Work today that I'll receive my first unemployment insurance payment on 6/3, regardless of whether or not the documents arrive.

Apparently only 300 out of 2000 former/current employees' documents have been sent out from the GEOS offices, so I really hope there aren't any people out there still patiently waiting!

On the downside, the Hello Work system is virtually useless for finding work if you are still on a humanities visa. Going there is no more than a formality to get your insurance.

Congrats on the soon to come payment!

the Hello Work system is virtually useless for finding work if you are still on a humanities visa.

I agree, I remember visiting Hello Work after Nova went bankrupt. It wasn't bad if you were looking for work in a different industry, but as far as the English industry was concerned there wasn't much.