SME Disability Employment Survey: 'Task Extraction' Remains a Major Barrier; 40% of Outsourcing Users Report Challenges

General Partners Inc. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hitoshi Shindo) conducted a survey on the challenges and realities of disability employment and the use of outsourcing services among HR and recruitment managers at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

### Statutory Employment Rate Hike and Corporate Preparedness In July 2026, the statutory employment rate for people with disabilities in Japan will be raised to 2.7%, and the mandate will expand to companies with 37.5 or more employees. Regarding preparedness, approximately 60% of respondents stated they have either 'already achieved the 2.7% threshold (20.0%)' or 'accurately calculated and understood the required number of new hires (40.4%).' This indicates that a majority of SMEs have already taken concrete initial steps.

### The Barrier of 'Task Extraction' in SMEs When asked about the difficulties in promoting disability employment, the following challenges were prominent: - **Difficulty in extracting specific tasks to assign to disabled employees (37.3%)** - Lack of know-how regarding disability employment (35.1%) - Lack of resources to appoint a dedicated manager (28.3%)

In SMEs, where each employee typically covers a broad range of responsibilities, it is structurally difficult to isolate the repetitive, routine tasks that are often most suitable for providing stable employment for persons with disabilities.

### Resource Scarcity and Individualized Reliance The survey revealed that HR managers (43.0%) and field staff/leaders (24.7%) are primarily responsible for these tasks. With less than 10% having dedicated personnel, most handle these duties alongside other roles. 13.5% reported that they 'respond on a case-by-case basis,' suggesting that disability employment often relies on individual effort rather than standardized organizational processes.

### High Interest in Outsourcing Services vs. Practical Challenges Approximately 60% showed interest in disability employment outsourcing services (such as farm-type or satellite office-type). However, over 40% of those who have used such services reported experiencing 'challenges.' SMEs find themselves caught between the need to meet legal quotas and the practical difficulties of cost and internal readiness.