Employment management systems and employment management methods

Abstract

The aim is to help companies employing foreign workers streamline management operations, prevent illegal employment, and create a favorable working environment for legally employed foreign workers. [Solution] An employment management system 100 for managing the employment of foreign workers, comprising a server 10, an attendance device 30, and a management terminal 40 connected to each other by a network 50, includes an employee information management database 121, a work hours management database 122, and a long-term leave information database 123 for each educational institution, and includes an expiration information management function that updates whether residence card information, etc., has expired at predetermined intervals of days, a work hours management function that registers maximum possible working hours information in the employee information management database 121 based on long-term leave information of the educational institution where the foreign worker's residence status is that of an international student, and a planned and actual working hours management function.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an employment management system and an employment management method for foreign workers.

Background Art

[0002] Regarding employment management systems for foreign workers, the following patents have been filed. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2022-085640) discloses an information processing device that is beneficial to both employers and persons who have a residence card and engage in working activities.

[0003] The information processing device described in Patent Document 1 includes an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the qualifications of the country of destination recorded on the residence card of a person engaging in working activities for a predetermined employer in a predetermined country, a qualification confirmation unit that confirms whether the qualifications of the person engaging in working activities are qualifications that allow working in the country of destination based on the information regarding the qualifications acquired from the residence card, and an employment availability determination unit that determines the availability of employment for the person engaging in working activities based on the confirmation result by the qualification confirmation unit.

[0004] Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-107339) discloses an information processing device for an employer seeking workers to manage foreign workers seeking employment whose residence qualifications are comprehensively considered without the employer having special knowledge.

[0005] The information processing device described in Patent Document 2 includes a management unit that acquires and manages first information regarding an employer that includes at least information indicating the conditions of the employer's job offer and second information regarding a person seeking employment that includes at least information indicating the conditions for the person seeking employment to reside in the country of destination, a matching unit that performs matching between the employer and the person seeking employment based on the first information and the second information, and a presentation unit that presents at least third information including the result of the matching to at least one of the employer and the person seeking employment, in an information processing device that supports matching between an employer seeking workers and a person seeking employment.

[0006] Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-117747) discloses an information processing system that can perform identity verification using eKYC for foreign workers who wish to work, and can also verify their identity based on the eKYC data when they come to work.

[0007] The information processing system described in Patent Document 3 includes a user terminal for foreign workers who wish to be employed, a corporate terminal and authentication device installed at the employing or working company, and a server connected to the user terminal, corporate terminal and authentication device via a network. When a user wishes to be employed, the server works with the user terminal to perform identity authentication using eKYC, and if the authentication is successful, it transmits the result of the user's identity authentication to the corporate terminal. The authentication device then verifies the identity of the employed or working user upon arrival at work based on the facial image taken during eKYC identity authentication and the facial image of the employee that has been photographed. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-085640 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-107339 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-117747 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0009] In recent years, the number of foreign workers residing in Japan and seeking employment has been increasing. Furthermore, the number of companies seeking to employ foreign workers has also been growing. However, there are challenges in employing foreign workers, as follows: First, when employing foreign workers, it is necessary to confirm that the applicant has a valid residence status and that they are the person listed on their residence card. However, especially when verifying identity via the network, there are cases where the applicant's identity is not sufficiently verified due to forged residence cards or the use of someone else's photograph. Furthermore, since residence cards may expire under other conditions even within the validity period indicated on the card, it is necessary to continuously check their validity using the website provided by the Immigration Services Agency for checking the expiration information of residence card numbers even after employment has begun. However, it is difficult for employers to check the expiration information of the residence cards of all foreign workers they employ, for example, twice a month.

[0010] Furthermore, foreign workers with student visas are only permitted to work up to 28 hours per week, even if they have permission for activities outside their visa status. However, during long breaks such as summer and winter holidays at their educational institutions, they are exceptionally allowed to work up to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. However, it is difficult for employers to reliably ascertain the long breaks of the educational institutions to which all of their employed international students belong, and if an employer allows an international student to work more than 28 hours a week when it is not a long break, the employer may be charged with aiding and abetting illegal employment. Furthermore, even when foreign workers are verified through eKYC during employment, there are cases where a different person shows up for work than the one identified, a practice known as impersonation. If identity verification at the time of arrival is done visually, it may be affected by factors such as hairstyle and beard, making it difficult to reliably detect impersonation among, for example, around 100 foreign employees who come to work each day.

[0011] The information processing device described in Patent Document 1 has a function to determine whether or not to employ a person engaged in work activities based on qualification information obtained from a residence card, but it does not have a function to verify the identity of the job seeker, nor a function to verify the identity of the person in charge of daily attendance management if employed, so separate identity verification is required. Furthermore, it lacks the functionality to check the expiration of residence cards after employment, and to track long-term holidays at the educational institutions to which international students belong.

[0012] Although the information processing device described in Patent Document 2 is equipped with a matching means for matching employers with job seekers, it does not have a function for verifying the identity of job seekers, nor a function for verifying identity for daily attendance management after employment, so separate identity verification is required. Furthermore, the system lacks the functionality to verify the validity of the residence card after employment, and to track changes in the maximum permitted working hours due to long holidays at the educational institution to which the international student belongs.

[0013] The information processing system described in Patent Document 3 has a function to verify the identity of job seekers and a function to verify identity in daily attendance management after employment, but it does not have a function to verify the validity of the residence card after employment, nor a function to grasp the changes in the maximum possible working hours due to long holidays at the educational institution to which the international student belongs.

[0014] As described above, conventional technologies only possess some of the functions necessary for employers who wish to hire foreign workers. No employment management system has been disclosed that includes functions to verify the validity of residence cards after employment, or functions to understand fluctuations in the maximum working hours that international students can work due to long holidays at their educational institutions.

[0015] The main objective of the present invention is to provide an employment management system and method that enables employers employing foreign workers to perform functions such as verifying the identity of job applicants, continuously confirming the validity of residence cards, understanding fluctuations in maximum working hours due to long holidays for international students, verifying identity upon arrival at work, and managing planned and actual working hours, thereby improving the efficiency of management operations for employers, preventing illegal employment, and creating a comfortable working environment for legally employed foreign workers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0016] (1) The employment management system, which follows a single-pronged approach, is an employment management system that manages the employment of foreign workers who possess at least one of the following: residence card information, specific residence card information, and special permanent resident certificate information, at the employing company or workplace, and comprises servers and management terminals connected to each other by a network, the servers having an employee information management database, and updating the status of expiration of residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information in the employee information management database at predetermined intervals based on residence card number expiration information provided by the Immigration Services Agency. Furthermore, the term "employer" refers to the company where an employee directly performs their duties, while "workplace" refers to a company other than the employer where the employee performs their duties, such as in the case of a dispatched worker.

[0017] In recent years, the number of foreign workers residing in Japan and seeking employment, as well as the number of companies seeking to employ foreign workers, has been increasing. If an employer or company where a foreign worker is employed fails to properly manage their work status in accordance with the Immigration Control Act, the employer or individual responsible may be charged with aiding and abetting illegal employment. This not only hinders the future acceptance of foreign workers but also risks hard-working workers facing unfavorable treatment in the hiring process or unexpectedly losing their jobs. Furthermore, the amendment to the Immigration Control Act, passed in June 2024, includes stricter penalties for aiding and abetting illegal employment. On the other hand, since residence cards may expire under other conditions even within the validity period indicated on the card, it is necessary to continuously check their validity even after employment begins using the website provided by the Immigration Services Agency for checking information on the expiration of residence card numbers. However, it is extremely difficult for general foreign employers to reliably and continuously verify the validity of the residence cards of all foreign workers they employ.

[0018] In an employment management system according to one aspect, an operator of a management terminal regularly collects information on whether the residence card number has expired on the website provided by the Immigration Services Agency based on the employee information management database, and registers the collected information in the employee information management database, so as to reliably grasp whether the numbers such as residence cards have expired. As the predetermined number of days for regularly checking whether the residence card number has expired in this case, it is desirable to set it to about 11 days, for example. In addition, it is desirable that the employee information management database has functions such as setting foreign workers who need to inquire about the information on the expiration of numbers such as residence cards, searching for expired workers, and automatically sending emails to the employing companies.

[0019] In the future, when information on the expiration of numbers such as residence cards is directly provided in electronic data through the network, it is also desirable that in this employment management system, the server receives the information provided by the Immigration Services Agency and registers it in the employee information management database. In an employment management system according to one aspect, by providing a function for managing the expiration information of residence cards, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the management work of the employing companies, prevent illegal employment, and provide a working environment that is convenient for foreign workers who work legally.

[0020] (2) An employment management system according to the second aspect is an employment management system that manages the employment of foreign workers with student status in an employing company or a workplace company, and includes a server and a management terminal connected to each other through a network. The server includes an employee information management database and a long-term vacation information database for each educational institution, collects the long-term vacation information of the educational institution where the foreign worker studied abroad, registers it in the long-term vacation information database, and registers the maximum possible working hours information in the employee information management database based on the long-term vacation information.

[0021] Foreign workers with the status of residence "student" are only allowed to work up to 28 hours per week even if they have permission for off-campus activities. However, during long vacations such as summer and winter vacations of the educational institution they belong to, they can work up to 8 hours a day and 5 days a week on an exceptional basis. However, it is difficult to reliably grasp in advance the long vacation information of the educational institution to which the international student belongs. The employment management system according to the second invention has a function of managing the available working hours information for foreign workers with the status of residence as international students, thereby improving the efficiency of the management operations of the employer company or the work destination company that employs international students, preventing illegal employment, and providing a working environment that is convenient for foreign international students to work legally.

[0022] (3) The employment management system according to the third aspect is an employment management system that manages employment in the employer company or the work destination company of foreign workers, and includes a server and a management terminal connected to each other by a network. The server has an employee information management database and a long vacation information database for each educational institution, and based on the invalidation information of numbers such as residence cards provided by the Immigration Bureau, it updates the presence or absence of invalidation of the residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information in the employee information management database at a predetermined number of days interval, and collects the long vacation information of the educational institution where the foreign worker with the status of residence as an international student studies and registers it in the long vacation information database, and registers the maximum available working hours information in the employee information management database based on the long vacation information.

[0023] The employment management system according to the third aspect has a function of managing the invalidation information of residence cards and a function of managing the available working hours for foreign workers with the status of residence as international students, thereby improving the efficiency of the management operations of the employer company or the work destination company that employs foreign workers including international students, preventing illegal employment, and providing a working environment that is convenient for foreign international students to work legally.

[0024] (4) The employment management system according to the fourth invention is an employment management system according to the second or third aspect, wherein the server comprises a study abroad educational institution registration unit, a long-term leave information registration unit, and a work availability registration unit, wherein the study abroad educational institution registration unit identifies the study abroad educational institution based on an image of the student ID uploaded by the student and / or information provided by the student or each educational institution and registers it in the employee information management database, the long-term leave information registration unit registers long-term leave information for each educational institution in the long-term leave information database based on information from the long-term leave certificate submitted by the student or long-term leave information provided by each educational institution, and the work availability registration unit may compare the name of the educational institution registered in the study abroad educational institution registration unit with the long-term leave information for each educational institution registered in the long-term leave information registration unit and register each student's long-term leave information and maximum work availability information based on the long-term leave information in the employee information management database.

[0025] Foreign workers with a "student" visa are generally only permitted to work up to 28 hours per week, even with permission for activities outside their visa status. However, during long breaks such as summer and winter holidays at their educational institutions, they are exceptionally allowed to work up to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Therefore, in order to accommodate the wishes of international students while avoiding illegal employment, it is important to be aware of the long holiday schedules of their educational institutions. To understand the working hours available to international students, it is necessary to know the names of the educational institutions where the students are studying, to know the long-term holiday information for each educational institution, and to determine each student's long-term holiday information and their maximum working hours based on that long-term holiday information by correlating the names of the educational institutions where the students are studying with the long-term holiday information for each institution.

[0026] In this case, it is possible to individually identify the name of the educational institution for each international student and collect information on the long-term holiday schedules of those institutions. However, by creating a database of long-term holiday information for each educational institution, the efficiency and reliability of collecting long-term holiday information from educational institutions can be improved. For example, when an international student submits a long-term holiday certificate, it is possible to check for any inconsistencies with existing information, and if there are inconsistencies, the reliability of the long-term holiday information can be improved by directly contacting the educational institution.

[0027] (5) The employment management system according to the fifth invention is an employment management system according to the third aspect, further comprising an attendance device for recording the attendance and departure times of foreign workers at the employer or workplace of the foreign worker, the server further comprising a work time management database and a work schedule and actual work management unit, the work schedule and actual work management unit registers the maximum possible working hours of international students in the work time management database based on the employee information management database, and also registers the attendance and departure times of the attendance device as actual work hours in the work time management database, and the server and / or attendance device may output a warning if each person's planned or actual work hours exceed the maximum possible working hours.

[0028] Managing the employment of foreign nationals is a significant burden for employers, as the prescribed working hours vary depending on the worker's residence status, the calculation method is complex, and in the case of weekly work, the hours must always be within the prescribed limit regardless of which day of the week is used to calculate the start date. Furthermore, while international students are normally allowed to work 28 hours over 5 days, they are exceptionally allowed to work up to 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, during long holidays.

[0029] The employment management system according to the fifth invention includes a work schedule and actual work performance management unit that automatically calculates the maximum possible working hours and registers them in the work time management database based on conditions such as whether the residence card number has expired, differences in residence status registered in the server's employee information management database, and whether the employee is on a long-term leave in the case of international students, thereby avoiding the creation of work schedules that exceed the maximum possible working hours. Furthermore, by equipping the employer or workplace of foreign workers with an attendance device, the attendance times from the attendance device are registered as actual working hours in the work time management database, and if each person's actual working hours exceed the maximum possible working hours, a warning is issued from the server and / or the attendance device, thereby avoiding working beyond the maximum possible working hours.

[0030] (6) The employment management system according to the sixth invention is an employment management system according to the third aspect, further comprising a user terminal connected to a network and a facial recognition device, wherein the server cooperates with the user terminal to perform identity authentication using at least one of residence card information, specific residence card information, and special permanent resident certificate information, and registers it in the employee information management database, and the facial recognition device may perform facial recognition when an employee comes to work, based on the facial appearance image at the time of identity authentication registered in the employee information management database and the facial appearance image of the employee that has been captured.

[0031] Even when foreign workers are verified through eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) during employment, there are cases where a different person shows up for work than the one who initially reported their identity, a practice known as impersonation. If identity verification is done visually upon arrival, it can be affected by factors such as hairstyle and facial hair, making it difficult to reliably detect impersonation.

[0032] In the employment management system according to the sixth invention, facial recognition is performed based on the facial image of the employee registered in the employee information management database during authentication and the facial image of the employee that has been photographed, thereby reliably eliminating impersonation and attendance. Furthermore, in this employment management system, the facial recognition device may also function as a time clock device. In this case, the facial recognition device registers the time clock time as actual working hours in the time management database. Also, if each person's actual working hours exceed the maximum available working hours, the server and / or time clock device will output a warning.

[0033] (7) An employment management method that follows other aspects is an employment management method that uses an employment management system equipped with servers and management terminals connected to each other via a network to manage the employment of foreign workers at the employing company or place of employment, wherein the server is equipped with an employee information management database and a long-term leave information database for each educational institution, and includes an expiration information management step that updates the expiration status of residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information in the employee information management database at predetermined intervals based on residence card number expiration information provided by the Immigration Services Agency, and a workable hours registration step that collects long-term leave information of the educational institution where foreign workers with student status are studying and registers it in the long-term leave information database, and registers maximum workable hours information in the employee information management database based on the long-term leave information.

[0034] An employment management method that follows other phases is an invention of an employment management method that corresponds to an employment management system that follows a third phase. By including a step for managing expired residence card information and a step for managing the working hours of foreign workers whose residence status is that of international students, it is possible to streamline the management operations of employers or workplaces that employ foreign workers, including international students, prevent illegal employment, and provide a comfortable working environment for foreign students who work legally. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0035] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the employment management system in this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a server configuration. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of an attendance clock system. [Figure 5] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) authentication function. [Figure 6] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the expiration information management function. [Figure 7]This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart for managing the functions of an educational institution where students are studying abroad. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the long-term leave information management function. [Figure 9] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the work availability management function. [Figure 10] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart for the facial recognition function and work time management function of a facial recognition device used for attendance. [Figure 11] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart for a work schedule management function. [Figure 12] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart for the function that manages actual working hours. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0036] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, identical parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions of them will not be repeated.

[0037] [Embodiment] (Configuration of Employment Management System 100) Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the employment management system 100 in this embodiment, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 10, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user terminal 20, and Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the attendance device 30.

[0038] As shown in Figure 1, the employment management system 100 is configured with a server 10, user terminals 20, attendance devices 30, facial recognition devices 30a, and management terminals 40 connected to a network 60. If the attendance devices 30 also function as facial recognition devices 30a, a separate facial recognition device 30a is not required. Furthermore, if facial recognition is not performed when employees arrive at or leave work, the facial recognition device 30a is not required. As shown in Figure 2, the server 10 consists of an eKYC authentication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a control unit 13, and a communication unit 14.

[0039] The eKYC authentication unit 11 works in cooperation with the user terminal 20 to perform eKYC authentication. Details of eKYC authentication will be described later. The memory unit 12 includes an employee information management database 121, a work hours management database 122, and a long-term leave information database 123. Of these, the employee information management database 121 and the work hours management database 122 are databases for individual foreign workers, while the long-term leave information database 123 is a database for international students, categorized by the educational institution where they are studying. Details of these will be described later. The communications unit 14 has the function of connecting the server 10 to the internet.

[0040] The control unit 13 includes a study abroad educational institution registration unit 131, a long-term holiday information registration unit 132, a work availability registration unit 133, and a work schedule and actual work management unit 134. The Study Abroad Educational Institution Registration Unit 131 has the function of identifying the name of the educational institution where a student is studying abroad and recording it in the employee information management database 121. Details of the functions of the Study Abroad Educational Institution Registration Unit 131 will be described later in the flowchart of the Study Abroad Educational Institution Management Function. The Long-Term Vacation Information Registration Unit 132 has the function of collecting long-term vacation information for each educational institution where international students are studying and recording it in the long-term vacation information database 123 for each educational institution. Details of the functions of the Long-Term Vacation Information Registration Unit 132 will be described later in the flowchart of the Long-Term Vacation Information Management Function.

[0041] The Work Availability Registration Unit 133 has the function of matching the name of the educational institution where the international student is studying, recorded in the Employee Information Management Database 121, with the long-term holiday information for each educational institution, recorded in the Long-Term Holiday Information Database 123, to identify the long-term holiday information for each international student and the maximum available working hours based on that long-term holiday information, and recording this information in the Employee Information Management Database 121. Details of the functions of the Work Availability Registration Unit 133 will be described later in the flowchart of the Work Availability Management Function.

[0042] The Work Schedule and Actual Work Management Unit 134 calculates whether an individual is eligible to work and the maximum possible working hours based on whether their residence card number has expired and their long-term leave information. It also records the clock-in and clock-out times from the clock-out device 30 as actual working hours in the work time management database 122 and has a function to output a warning if each individual's scheduled or actual working hours exceed the maximum possible working hours. Details of the functions of the Work Schedule and Actual Work Management Unit 134 will be described later in the flowcharts for the scheduled work time management function and the flowcharts for the actual work time management function.

[0043] Furthermore, at least some of the functions of the Study Abroad Institution Registration Unit 131, the Long-Term Vacation Information Registration Unit 132, the Available Working Hours Registration Unit 133, and the Work Schedule and Performance Management Unit 134 can be made to function by inputting a program into the CPU of the Control Unit 13. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the employment management system 100 is equipped with all of the following functions: a function for managing expired information such as residence card information, a function for managing the available working hours of international students, a function for managing planned and actual working hours, and a facial recognition function. However, if, for example, the function for managing the available working hours of international students is not required, the study destination educational institution registration unit 131, the long-term holiday information registration unit 132, the available working hours registration unit 133, and the long-term holiday information database 123 may be omitted.

[0044] Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of a user terminal 20. The user terminal 20 is, for example, a smartphone owned by a foreign worker and includes a camera 21, a display 22, an input device 23, near-field communication (NFC) 24, an audio output 25, a storage unit 26, a control unit 27, and a communication unit 28. In the case of eKYC authentication using residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information, camera 21 is used to take a photograph of the person's face and residence card, and near-field communication (NFC) 24 is used to read data from the residence card. The camera is also used to photograph the student ID of international students.

[0045] Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of the attendance device 30. If the attendance device 30 is equipped with the function of a facial recognition device 30a, the attendance device 30 performs identity verification by the identity verification unit 33 at the time of attendance, based on the facial image of the employee at the time of authentication recorded in the employee information management database 121 and the facial image of the employee captured by the camera 31. The attendance tracking device 30 is installed at the employing company or the company where the worker is employed. The employing company refers to the company in which the worker directly performs their duties, while the company where the worker is employed refers to the company in which the worker performs their duties at a company other than the employing company, such as in the case of dispatched workers.

[0046] Note that Figure 4 also shows Near Field Communication (NFC) 32, but this is necessary when verifying identity during attendance by reading residence cards or other documents in addition to facial recognition; it is not necessary when identity verification is performed using facial recognition alone. On the other hand, if the attendance device 30 only records the attendance time of employees when they arrive and leave work, and does not have the function of a facial recognition device 30a that performs facial recognition of employees, then the camera 31 is not necessary.

[0047] If the attendance control device 30 is equipped with the functionality of a facial recognition device 30a, it is desirable to download the facial feature data of the relevant employee during authentication from the employee information management database 121 in advance and store it in the storage unit 34. Note that the management terminal 40 is a terminal operated by the administrator of this employment management system 100, and since it is a personal computer equipped with normal communication functions, its explanation will be omitted.

[0048] [Flowchart of employment management methods using Employment Management System 100] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the eKYC identity verification function, and Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the revocation information management function. Furthermore, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the function of managing educational institutions abroad, Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the function of managing long-term vacation information, and Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the function of managing available working hours.

[0049] Furthermore, Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the attendance facial recognition function and work time management function when the attendance device 30 is equipped with the function of a facial recognition device 30a, Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the scheduled work time management function, and Figure 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a flowchart for the actual work time management function. The following describes the operation of each flowchart step by step.

[0050] (Flowchart for user authentication function) Figure 5 shows an example of a flowchart for the eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) authentication function. If a user wishes to be employed, the server 10 requests that the user perform identity verification via eKYC through the user terminal 20. If the user requests identity verification via eKYC, the user terminal 20 prompts the user to present their residence card, specific residence card, or special permanent resident certificate, and reads the data from the residence card via short-range communication 24 (step S1).

[0051] Next, the user terminal 20 guides the user and captures the user's facial features with the camera 21 (step S2). In this case, the user terminal 20 may display on the display 22 the image of the user captured by the camera 21 and a frame indicating the desired position and orientation of the user's face. Once the shooting is complete, the user terminal 20 transmits data containing the user's facial features image and the facial features image of the residence card holder read from the residence card to the server 10 via the network 60 from the communication unit 28 (step S3).

[0052] Server 10, having received the user's facial image and data read from the residence card, performs a first authentication by comparing the captured facial image of the user with the facial image read from the residence card (step S4). In the first authentication, it is desirable to also check whether there are any suspicious points in the name and other information recorded on the residence card.

[0053] If the facial image does not match during the first authentication, or if there are suspicious points in the data read from the residence card, and the first authentication fails, the server 10 instructs the user terminal 20 to restart the authentication process by reading the residence card again (step S5). It is desirable that the number of repetitions of this first authentication be limited to a predetermined number of times, and that if the first authentication is not successful within the predetermined number of times, the first authentication will be considered unsuccessful.

[0054] If the first authentication is successful in step S5, the server 10 notifies the user terminal 20 of the success of the first authentication and instructs the user to perform a predetermined action (step S6). It is desirable that there be multiple predetermined actions to be requested from the user. The user terminal 20 instructs the user to perform a predetermined action via the display 22 or audio output 25 (step S7). A predetermined action is, for example, turning the face to the right or left, or turning the gaze to the right or left.

[0055] After the user terminal 20 instructs the user to perform a predetermined action and a predetermined amount of time has elapsed, the camera 21 takes another photograph of the user's face (step S8). It is desirable that steps S7 and S8 be repeated multiple times with different actions instructed to the user. Once the user's facial features have been captured, the user terminal 20 sends the captured facial feature data to the server 10 (step S9).

[0056] Server 10 compares the received user facial features data with the facial features data received in step S3 and determines, as a second authentication step, whether the instructed predetermined action has been performed (step S10). In the second authentication, if the instructed predetermined action is not performed, the server 10 sends another action request to the user terminal 20 (step S6) and instructs it to resume the authentication process from the action request instruction (step S7) (step S11). It is desirable that this repetition of the second authentication be limited to a predetermined number of times, and that if the second authentication is not successful within the predetermined number of times, the second authentication will be considered unsuccessful.

[0057] If it is determined that the prescribed actions instructed in the second authentication have been performed, the server determines that the user is the foreign national whose name is on the residence card. In other words, the authentication is successful. In this case, the server 10 sends the authentication result to the user terminal 20, and the user terminal 20 displays the authentication result (step S12). In the above embodiment, the second authentication is an active authentication that requires the user to perform an additional action; however, passive authentication that does not require the user to perform an additional action may also be used as the second authentication.

[0058] (Flowchart for managing expired residence card information) Figure 6 shows an example of a flowchart for the expiration information management function. Server 10 extracts employees who are subject to expiration information inquiries based on the employee information management database 121 and sends them to the management terminal 40. Expiration information inquiries for residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information must be performed periodically at predetermined intervals. Specifically, it is desirable to perform them every 11 days. Therefore, when making an expiration information inquiry, Server 10 lists employees who have had their last expiration information inquiry more than 11 days ago as employees subject to expiration information inquiries in the employee information management database 121 and sends them to the management terminal 40 (step S21).

[0059] The administrator of the employment management system 100 accesses the website for checking the expiration information of residence card numbers provided by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan via the management terminal 40, and sequentially enters the residence card numbers of the individuals whose expiration information has been submitted, and checks whether they have expired (step S22). If the residence card has expired, the administrator records that it has expired in the employee information management database 121 (steps S23-S24). The above is repeated until the expiration information check has been completed for all individuals whose expiration information has been requested, at which point the expiration information check is finished.

[0060] The employee information management database 121 should ideally include features such as the ability to search for expired workers and automatically send emails to their employers. Furthermore, regarding the management of expired information on residence cards, specific residence cards, or special permanent resident certificates, the current website for inquiring about expired residence card numbers provided by the Immigration Services Agency requires human access, not machine access. However, if the information becomes available as a data file in the future, it is desirable to configure server 10 to directly obtain the data file and check whether the information has expired.

[0061] (Flowchart for managing the functions of educational institutions abroad) Figure 7 shows an example of a flowchart for managing the educational institution where students are studying abroad. The function for managing educational institutions abroad involves investigating the names of educational institutions where employees with student visas are studying abroad, prior to the start of a new academic year and during long holidays, and registering them in the employee information management database 121.

[0062] First, the server 10 extracts employees with student visa status from the employee information management database 121 and sends a message to the user terminal 20 of the relevant employee requesting them to upload images of the front and back of their student ID card within the deadline (steps S31-S32). Upon receiving the message, the international student takes pictures of the front and back of their student ID card using the camera 21 on the user terminal 20 and uploads them to the server 10 (step S33).

[0063] Server 10 extracts the name of the educational institution from the uploaded image and registers it in the employee information management database 121 if there are no suspicious points (steps S34-35). The above flowchart is a standard step for recording information about educational institutions abroad. However, if, for example, the student ID image is not uploaded within the deadline, or if there are any suspicious aspects to the uploaded image, the administrator of the employment management system 100 may contact the student or educational institution directly. The flowchart for managing educational institutions abroad is complete once the names of the educational institutions for all employees with student visa status have been confirmed.

[0064] (Flowchart for managing long-term leave information) Figure 8 shows an example of a flowchart for the long-term leave information management function. The long-term holiday information management function registers the long-term holiday information of each educational institution in the long-term holiday information database 123 on server 10 before long holidays such as summer vacation. First, the server 10 extracts international students whose educational institution names have been confirmed from the employee information management database 121 and sends a message to the user terminal 20 of the corresponding international student requesting the submission of a long-term leave certificate (steps S41-S42).

[0065] The international student who receives the message on user terminal 20 obtains a certificate of long-term leave from their educational institution abroad and sends it to server 10 (step S43). Server 10, upon receiving the long-term leave certificate, checks for any inconsistencies with existing information, such as long-term leave information submitted by other international students. If there are no inconsistencies, it registers the certificate in the long-term leave information database 123 of the relevant educational institution. Alternatively, the duration of the long-term leave may be determined based on the long-term leave information provided by each educational institution, rather than the long-term leave certificate submitted by the international student. Once the long-term leave dates for all international students whose educational institutions have been confirmed have been verified, the flowchart for the long-term leave information management function is complete. In this case, while it is possible to manage long-term holiday information for each international student individually, aggregating the long-term holiday information by educational institution first can improve the efficiency of collecting long-term holiday information and enhance the reliability of the data.

[0066] (Flowchart for managing available working hours) Figure 9 shows an example of a flowchart for the work availability management function. The work availability management function records each international student's long-term holiday information and maximum work availability information in the employee information management database 121 before long holidays such as summer vacation. This maximum work availability information is used to manage each employee's work schedule.

[0067] First, server 10 extracts international students whose educational institution names have been confirmed from employee information management database 121 (step S51). Next, the long-term holiday information database 123 is consulted for information on the long-term holidays of the educational institutions where the international students are studying (Step S52).

[0068] If long-term holiday information of the educational institution where the student is studying abroad is stored in the long-term holiday information database 123, the long-term holiday information and maximum working hours information are recorded in the employee information management database 121 (steps S53, S54). If the long-term holiday information of the educational institution where the student is studying abroad is not stored in the long-term holiday information database 123, the student reports this to the administrator via the management terminal 40, and the administrator contacts the educational institution for confirmation (S55).

[0069] If information on long-term holidays is obtained from educational institutions, the long-term holiday information and maximum working hours information are recorded in the employee information management database 121 (steps S56, S54). If information on long-term holidays is not obtained from educational institutions, it is assumed that there are no long-term holidays. The maximum working hours for international students are normally 28 hours per week, and 40 hours per week during long-term holidays. The flowchart for the work-hour management function is complete once the long-term holiday information and maximum work-hour information for all international students whose educational institutions have been confirmed have been verified.

[0070] (Flowchart of the facial recognition function and work time management function of the facial recognition device 30a for attendance) Figure 10 shows an example of a flowchart for the attendance facial recognition function and work time management function when the attendance device 30 is equipped with the functionality of a facial recognition device 30a. In this case, the attendance device 30 is placed at the entrance or exit of the foreign worker's workplace, and performs facial recognition based on the facial image of the employee at the time of attendance and the facial image of the employee that has been photographed, and transmits each employee's attendance time to the server 10.

[0071] First, when an employee approaches, the facial recognition device 30a uses the camera 31 to photograph the employee (step S61). Next, the identity verification unit 33 compares the photographed employee's facial image with the facial image recorded in the employee information management database 121 during authentication to identify the employee (step S62). Alternatively, the facial image used during authentication may be downloaded in advance from the employee information management database 121 and stored in the storage unit 34 of the facial recognition device 30a. If the employee can be identified, the facial recognition device 30a transmits the attendance time to the server 10, and the server 10 records it in the work time management database 122 (steps S63, S65). If the employee cannot be identified, the facial recognition device 30a outputs a warning from the display 37 and / or the audio output 38.

[0072] Furthermore, if the attendance control device 30 is equipped with the function of a facial recognition device 30a and also has short-range communication 32, then when clocking in, facial recognition and reading of a residence card or employee ID card via short-range communication 32 may be used in combination. Also, when clocking out, the clock-out time may be sent to the server 10 by reading the residence card or employee ID card without facial recognition. Furthermore, although this flowchart assumes that employee working hours are recorded in the working hours management database 122 of the server 10, it is also possible to provide a working hours management database 341 (not shown) in the storage unit 34 of the attendance device 30 and register the hours in the working hours management database 341 of the attendance device 30.

[0073] (Flowchart for the work schedule management function) The scheduled and actual work time management function combines the scheduled work time management function with the actual work time management function. Figure 11 shows an example of a flowchart for the work schedule management function. First, the maximum available working period (usually one week) for each employee's new employment period is recorded in the work time management database 122 on server 10 (step S71).

[0074] Next, create a shift schedule for each employee and enter their planned working hours (Step S72). If the total scheduled working hours exceed the maximum available working period, server 10 displays a warning and prompts the user to change their work schedule (step S74).

[0075] If the total planned working hours do not exceed the maximum possible working period, the planned working hours are finalized (Step S75). Furthermore, if the time clock device 30 has a time management database 341 in its storage unit 34 and registers employees' working hours in the time clock device 30's time management database 341, then the scheduled working hours are registered in the time clock device 30's time management database 341.

[0076] (Flowchart for the function to manage actual working hours) Figure 12 shows an example of a flowchart for the work time performance management function. First, the scheduled working hours for each employee's new employment period (usually one week) are recorded in the working hours management database 122 on server 10 (step S81). This corresponds to step S75 in Figure 11.

[0077] Subsequently, each time an employee arrives or leaves work, the attendance device 30 records the arrival and departure times (step S82), and further records this as actual work time in the work time management database 122 on the server 10 (step S83). If the actual work time exceeds the maximum possible work period at the time of departure, or if the actual work time is expected to exceed the maximum possible work period at the time of arrival, the attendance device 30 outputs a warning from the display 37 and / or the audio output 38 (steps S84, S85).

[0078] If the maximum period of employment is not exceeded, or is not expected to be exceeded, the recording of arrival and departure times is repeated until the end of the employment period (Step S86). In the management of actual working hours, if a work time management database 341 is provided in the storage unit 34 of the attendance device 30, and employee working hours are registered in the work time management database 341 of the attendance device 30, then the actual working hours are registered in the work time management database 341 of the attendance device 30.

[0079] (How to handle situations where an employee has multiple employers) This employment management system can be used in conjunction with multiple employers. In this case, each company has its own company-specific servers 10a, 10b, etc., company-specific attendance devices 301, 302, etc., and company-specific facial recognition devices 301a, 302a, etc. Meanwhile, the management system has a server 10.

[0080] Furthermore, from a security standpoint, it is desirable that the company-specific servers 10a, 10b, etc. be equipped with employee information management databases 121a, 121b, etc., work time management databases 122a, 122b, etc., and work schedule and actual work management units 134a, 134b, etc., respectively, while server 10 is equipped with an eKYC identity verification unit 11, a long-term leave information database 123, a study abroad educational institution registration unit 131, a long-term leave information registration unit 132, and a work availability registration unit 133. In this case, the study abroad destination educational institution registration unit 131, the long-term leave information registration unit 132, and the available working hours registration unit 133 of server 10 read and write necessary information using the long-term leave information database 123 of server 10 and the employee information management databases 121a, 121b, etc. of each company-specific server 10a, 10b, etc.

[0081] In this embodiment, Network 50 corresponds to "Network", User terminal 20 corresponds to "User terminal", Server 10 corresponds to "Server", Management terminal 40 corresponds to "Management terminal", Attendance device 30 corresponds to "Attendance device", Face recognition device 30a corresponds to "Face recognition device", Employment management system 100 corresponds to "Employment management system", Employee information management database 121 corresponds to "Employee information management database", Working hours management database 122 corresponds to "Working hours management database", Long-term leave information database 123 corresponds to "Long-term leave information database", Study abroad educational institution registration department 131 corresponds to "Study abroad educational institution registration department", Long-term leave information registration department 132 corresponds to "Long-term leave information registration department", and Available working hours registration department 133 corresponds to "Available working hours registration department".

[0082] While the above describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the invention is not limited thereto. It will be understood that various other embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Furthermore, although the operation and effects of the configuration of the present invention are described in this embodiment, these operations and effects are examples and do not limit the invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0083] 10 servers 11 eKYC Identity Verification Department 121 Employee Information Management Database 122 Attendance Management Database 123 Long-Term Holiday Information Database 131 Study Abroad Destination Educational Institution Registration Department 132 Long-Term Vacation Information Registration Department 133. Registration Department for Available Working Hours 134 Employment Schedule and Performance Management Department 20 User terminals 30 Attendance Clock System 30a Facial Recognition Device 40 Management terminals 50 Networks 100 Employment Management Systems

Claims

1. An employment management system for employing or working at a company that manages the employment of foreign workers who possess at least one of the following: residence card information, specific residence card information, and special permanent resident certificate information, Equipped with servers and management terminals that are interconnected via a network, The aforementioned server is equipped with an employee information management database, An employment management system that updates the validity status of the residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information in the employee information management database at predetermined intervals, based on residence card number expiration information provided by the Immigration Services Agency.

2. An employment management system for employing or working at a company that employs foreign workers who have the status of international students, Equipped with servers and management terminals that are interconnected via a network, The server includes an employee information management database and a long-term leave information database for each educational institution. An employment management system that collects information on long-term leave from educational institutions where foreign workers are studying and registers it in the long-term leave information database, and registers information on the maximum possible working hours based on the long-term leave information in the employee information management database.

3. An employment management system for employing or employing foreign workers, Equipped with servers and management terminals that are interconnected via a network, The server includes an employee information management database and a long-term leave information database for each educational institution. Based on the expiration information of residence card numbers provided by the Immigration Services Agency, the expiration status of residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information in the employee information management database is updated at predetermined intervals. An employment management system comprising: a function for managing available working hours that collects information on long-term holidays of educational institutions where foreign workers with international student status are studying, registers this information in the long-term holiday information database, and registers information on the maximum available working hours based on the long-term holiday information in the employee information management database.

4. The aforementioned server includes a section for registering educational institutions to study abroad, a section for registering long-term holiday information, and a section for registering available working hours. The aforementioned Study Abroad Destination Educational Institution Registration Department identifies the study abroad destination educational institution based on the student ID image uploaded by the student and / or information provided by the student or each educational institution, and registers it in the aforementioned employee information management database. The Long-Term Vacation Information Registration Unit registers the Long-Term Vacation Information for each educational institution in the Long-Term Vacation Information Database based on the information from the Long-Term Vacation Certificates submitted by international students or the Long-Term Vacation Information provided by each educational institution. The employment management system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the work availability registration unit compares the names of educational institutions registered in the study abroad destination educational institution registration unit with the long-term holiday information for each educational institution registered in the long-term holiday information registration unit, and registers the long-term holiday information for each student and the maximum work availability information based on the long-term holiday information in the employee information management database.

5. The employer or workplace of a foreign worker is further equipped with an attendance device that records the employee's arrival and departure times. The aforementioned server further includes a work time management database and a work schedule and actual work management unit. The aforementioned work schedule and performance management department registers the maximum possible working hours for international students in the work time management database based on the employee information management database, and also registers the clock-in and clock-out times of the clock-in and clock-out device as actual working hours in the work time management database. The employment management system according to claim 3, wherein if each person's scheduled working hours or actual working hours exceed the maximum available working hours, the server and / or the attendance device outputs a warning.

6. The system further includes a user terminal connected to a network and a facial recognition device. The server, in cooperation with the user terminal, performs identity authentication using at least one of the residence card information, the specified residence card information, or the special permanent resident certificate information, and registers it in the employee information management database. The employment management system according to claim 3, wherein the facial recognition device performs facial recognition when an employee arrives at work, based on a facial image of the employee registered in the employee information management database at the time of authentication and a facial image of the employee that has been photographed.

7. An employment management method for employing or working at a company that employs foreign workers, using an employment management system equipped with interconnected servers and management terminals, The server includes an employee information management database and a long-term leave information database for each educational institution. A revocation information management step that updates the status of revocation of residence card information, specific residence card information, or special permanent resident certificate information in the employee information management database at predetermined intervals based on the revocation information of residence card numbers, etc., provided by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, An employment management method comprising: a work availability registration step, which involves collecting long-term holiday information from educational institutions where foreign workers with international student status are studying and registering it in the long-term holiday information database, and registering maximum work availability information in the employee information management database based on the long-term holiday information.

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