I thought about a welfare project at my favorite cafe.
Investor YI recently discovered a lovely café in my neighborhood and rewrote my walking route.
It is, of course, a "cafe" to me, but it is essentially a "welfare facility with a roastery cafe where disabled baristas and roasters are active" (from the official website). In this space, the welfare facility is the main attraction, and the café is attached to it.
The welfare facility is not only a welfare facility, but it is also a fashionable place that stands out even in the Kanda/Jimbocho area, a town known for its cafes. And the coffee is first-rate and delicious.
The shop is on the second floor. Looking up from the back street of Yasukuni Dori, you can see that the greenery is growing vividly. You can either walk up the outside stairs or take the lift.
Coffee bags, original mugs, and T-shirts are displayed for sale on the left side of the short hallway and can be picked up freely.
Walk a little further and place your order at the counter on the right. Cash and cashless payment are available. I ordered my usual "Chiyoda Blend Hot".
While the staff brew your coffee, there are two recommended ways to spend your time.
Sit on the wooden bench in front of the counter and watch the barista carefully drip your coffee. Or I relax on the bench at the back, my favorite on the terrace. I enjoy both almost alternately.
Head inside the store to the terrace, where a full-scale roasting machine sits in the back. In front of it are several tables where the beans are sorted and lectures on coffee are given.
It is impossible to pass by here unannounced. Everyone greets me in a friendly way and I greet them in return.
I find myself going there almost every day because I can enjoy a cup of delicious coffee on the terrace with a pleasant breeze blowing in my face.
This café (originally a welfare facility), Social Good Roasters, has been awarded the Good Design Award (GOOD DESIGN AWARD) for 2020.
https://www.g-mark.org/gallery/winners/9e40949f-803d-11ed-af7e-0242ac130002
It was established in 2018 by the general corporation Beans ("Beans").
Mr. Sakano, the representative director of Beans, used to work as a management consultant, but he changed his job to an employment support company specializing in working with people with disabilities out of a desire to "work more closely with individuals".
Based on the experience and awareness of the issues he gained there, he created Beans (from the "Interview with the representative director" on the official website).
One of several services that Beans offers is this Social Good Roasters.
The official name of the facility is "Social Good Roasters Chiyoda, a Type B Workplace for Continuous Employment Support".
This is a project supported by Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, which proposes the profession of roaster or barista to people with disabilities and helps them provide value to society as coffee professionals.
Looking around the restaurant, one can see that the concept of the project has reached every corner.
One question arises here.
How does this business model work ?
The café business in particular is known for its difficulty in generating profits. This type of business requires a variety of innovations, such as offering not only coffee but also light meals to raise the unit price, reducing labor costs and rent, and so on.
However, the customer side of this café shows almost no signs of the hard work that goes into improving unit prices and cutting costs that is done in ordinary cafes.
Coffee is the main attraction, and while there are some scones and other items available, there does not appear to be a strong emphasis on light meals. The goods for sale in the store do not seem to be selling well.
There are usually always at least a few people with disabilities and support staff working in the store. There are more shop staff than customers coming in for coffee.
How are these people paid?
The rent for this floor of the new, fashionable building is estimated to be around 600,000-700,000 yen according to rental office information available on the Web, partly due to its location behind Yasukuni Street.
It is difficult to turn a profit in a normal business. How do they keep it going?
The answer lies in a business called "Type B Workplace for Continuous Employment Support".
Many of you may not be familiar with this business model. I had never heard of it before.
Type B Workplace for Continuous Employment Support is a welfare service for persons with disabilities provided to persons with disabilities who have difficulty finding employment in general companies and organizations on the basis of the Comprehensive Support for Persons with Disabilities Act, or businesses that provide such services. Since this name is very long, I will use "Type B" or "Type B workplace" hereafter.
There is also "Type A" as well as "Type B". The difference is the existence of an employment contract.
In Type B, (unlike Type A) there is no employment contract between the workshop and the user. Therefore, there is no minimum wage guarantee. Instead, there is the freedom of being able to go to work whenever they want.
I would like to introduce Type B in more detail.
First, let's start with the disabled people: at Type B workplace, the disabled people are "users" of the support services provided by Type B workplace, and are supported in acquiring skills that will lead to employment in the future through work. Since there is no employment contract, they are not paid a salary, but they receive "wages" as compensation for their work.
On the other hand, Type B workplace is a service provider. In order to open a Type B workplace, it must meet certain requirements (e.g., at least one full-time manager) and undergo procedures before being designated by the prefectural governor.
The procedure is not as straightforward as it seems. It seems that one can consult with an administrative scrivener; a Google search for "Type B workplace" should show several ads for consultants to set up such an office.
If a Type B workplace can be established, it will be eligible to receive "training and other benefits" (hereinafter referred to as "benefits") from the national and local governments.
This benefit is the largest source of income for Type B workplaces.
The amount of this benefit is detailed according to the operational performance of the office.
Reference: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Compensation Calculation Structure, Service Code Table, etc.,".
Specifically, benefits consist of a basic fee plus an alpha (additional fees for temporary support, etc.).
Of these, the "basic remuneration" is calculated based on the monthly capacity of the establishment and the average monthly wage.
In plain English, the lower the capacity of the establishment (i.e. more generous support is expected), and The higher the average monthly wage (i.e., many users work daily or for long hours), the higher the basic remuneration is structured.
Let us now estimate the earnings of Type B establishments based on the above Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's remuneration calculation table.
For example, let us assume the following conditions.
・The area is Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
・At least 1 support staff for 7.5 users
・Capacity of 20 people
・The average monthly wage paid to users is less than 10,000 yen.
*Example of monthly wage: 200 yen per hour wage x 2 hours of use per day x 22 days of visits = 8,800 yen
Under the above conditions, the amount of remuneration for one user for one day of use is
566 units (*1) × 11.14 yen (*2) = 6,305 yen (fractions rounded down)
*1 Based on the above Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare compensation calculation table, from the capacity and average monthly wage.
*2 The ratio (1114 / 1000) according to the regional classification (Chiyoda-ku) multiplied by 10 yen. Reference: "Unit price per unit as defined by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare".
And if the utilization rate against the capacity is 80% (16 users per day) and the number of business days in a month is 27 days, the total monthly base fee is
6,305 yen x 16 persons x 27 days = 2,723,760 yen
＊In addition, this figure is added for temporary correspondence and subtracted for other reasons.
The revenue of the business office is not limited to these benefits. Sales of services provided to clients and other revenues are added.
Assuming sales of 500 yen per cup of coffee, if 20 people visit the coffee shop, the daily sales would be 10,000 yen, or 270,000 yen for 27 business days.
If all expenses can be contained within a monthly amount of approximately 3 million yen, the business can continue to operate.
It can be said that the business of Type B establishments will be stable if they provide generous support to users and if users come every day.
However, this does not necessarily mean that the Type B business will endure.
There are problems of fraudulent receipt, such as inflating the number of days of attendance of users and reporting them.
There is also the issue of the quality of support. In particular, it seems that the services provided to the users by the establishments that are receiving illegal payments are simple tasks that do not improve the skills of the users, and cannot be considered essential "support" at all.
These problems of fraud and service quality will lead to a review of benefits, stricter benefit requirements, and more complicated procedures for opening Type B establishments and stricter designation requirements.
It is an issue that could cause hurdles to be raised for those who want to follow in the footsteps of establishments like Social Good Roasters that are trying to make an honest effort to employ people with disabilities.
*Reference (Japanese only)
・Wikipedia, "Support for Continuous Employment"
・Employment Support Guide for Persons with Disabilities "Type B Continuous Employment Support
・Disability.com, "Sources of Income and Fraudulent Practices in Type B for Work."
…and as I looked into it, the ecosystem of this café (originally a welfare facility) finally became clear to me at last.
Anyway, the coffee brewed by the folks at Social Good Roasters is top-notch delicious, and the stylish, clean space and terrace are comfortable.
Laughter could be heard from time to time among the people sorting the beans, and they seemed to be having a good time. It seems as if there is a place for them.
I will probably go back for coffee tomorrow, in between work.