Legal Protection for Workers with Disabilities in Indonesia: Implementation Analysis and Comparison with Japan from a Labor Justice Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15294/lsr.v6i1.35803Keywords:
Disabled Workers, Legal Protection, Employment Law, Policy Implementation, Indonesia-Japan ComparisonAbstract
Workers with disabilities in Indonesia continue to face legal, structural, and social barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment in the formal sector, despite a legal framework that recognizes equal employment rights and freedom from discrimination. These barriers include fragmented regulations, weak institutional coordination, limited accessibility, inadequate workplace support, weak monitoring, and inconsistent enforcement. This study aims to analyze the legal implementation of disability employment protection in Indonesia through secondary evidence and to identify legal and institutional factors affecting its operation, while comparing Indonesia’s legal and institutional mechanisms with those of Japan. This normative-juridical study employs a comparative approach to relevant legislation, international legal instruments, policy documents, official reports, available data, and academic literature. The findings indicate that the main challenge lies not in the absence of legal recognition but in the limited operationalization of legal norms, weak oversight capacity, and inconsistent enforcement mechanisms. The comparison shows that Japan combines statutory protection with more developed administrative mechanisms, including employment reporting, reasonable accommodation guidance, and incentive-based compliance measures. The study concludes that strengthening disability employment protection in Indonesia requires clearer operational standards, stronger institutional coordination and oversight, more consistent enforcement, and contextual adaptation of relevant comparative practices. The study contributes to understanding how the protection of workers with disabilities depends not only on normative recognition but also on the institutional and administrative mechanisms that translate legal rights into effective protection.
References
Alfikro, Ananda. “Analisis Keabsahan Pengawasan Ketenagakerjaan Menurut UU No. 13 Tahun 2003 Dalam Pemenuhan Hak Pekerja Disabilitas Dalam Tinjauan Hak Asasi Manusia.” Gema Keadilan 10, no. 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.14710/gk.2023.20250.
Ardini, Ni Putu Ayu Meylan, Made Wiswani Wacika, Kadek Agus Sudiarawan, and Salwa Putri Hardiyan. “Disability Rights Violation: Failure to Provide Reasonable Accommodation and Employment Discrimination Against the Colorblind in Indonesia.” Jurnal Pembangunan Hukum Indonesia 8, no. 1 (2026). https://doi.org/10.14710/jphi.v8i1.1-24.
Dewi, Utami. “IMPLEMENTASI KEBIJAKAN KUOTA BAGI PENYANDANG DISABILITAS UNTUK MENDAPATKAN PEKERJAAN DI KOTA YOGYAKARTA.” NATAPRAJA 3, no. 2 (2015). https://doi.org/10.21831/jnp.v3i2.11969.
Dewi W, Imma Indra. “Employment Arrangement for Person with Disabilities in Indonesia in Post-New Order Era.” Indonesian Comparative Law Review 1, no. 2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.18196/iclr.1207.
“Disability Employment Quotas: Lessons for Indonesia from ASEAN and East Asia,” 2026. https://doi.org/10.54394/00033285.
Fauzi, Ade Ansah Muhamad, and Muhammad Yasir. “Kewajiban Mempekerjakan Penyandang Disabilitas Menurut Undang-Undang Nomor 8 Tahun 2016 Pada Perusahaan Swasta.” JOURNAL of LEGAL RESEARCH 1, no. 5 (2019).
Fitriani, Titis, Budi Santoso, and Zora Febriena H.P. “Konstruksi Sanksi Bagi Pengusaha Yang Tidak Mempekerjakan Pekerja Disabilitas Sesuai Kewajiban Sistem Kuota.” RechtJiva 1, no. 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.21776/rechtjiva.v1n2.10.
Gumelar, Rachmadani Fatria Agung, and Martinus Sardi. “Indonesian Government Policy To Provide Employment Opportunities For Persons With Disabilities.” Media of Law and Sharia 2, no. 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.18196/mls.v2i2.11486.
Harada, Yoriyuki, Anzu Shiraishi, and Kohei Arai. “The Current State of Employment and Vocational Support Policies for Persons with Disabilities.,” 2025.
Hasegawa, Tamako. “Reasonable Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities in Japan.” Japan Labor Review 12, no. 1 (2015).
Istifarroh, Istifarroh, and Widhi Cahyo Nugroho. “PERLINDUNGAN HAK DISABILITAS MENDAPATKAN PEKERJAAN DI PERUSAHAAN SWASTA DAN PERUSAHAAN MILIK NEGARA.” Mimbar Keadilan 12, no. 1 (2019). https://doi.org/10.30996/mk.v12i1.2164.
KAWASHIMA, Satoshi. “Reasonable Accommodation and Theories of Discrimination.” Japanese Sociological Review 74, no. 4 (2024). https://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.74.677.
“Levy and Grant System for Employing Persons with Disabilities｜Japan Organization for Employment of the Elderly and Person.” Accessed February 2, 2026. https://www.jeed.go.jp/english/disability/levy_and_grant_system.html.
Matsuda, Koichiro. “Examination of Important Conditions for Employment Retention and Employment Continuation of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.” Journal of Human Well-Being 22, no. 2 (2023): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.34591/humanwellbeing.22.2_1.
Matsumoto, Kodai, Yota Okumura, Atsushi Morimoto, and Kazufumi Yugami. “Do Levy Penalties Boost Disability Hiring in SMEs? Evidence from a Japanese Quota Reform.” Labour Economics 99 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102831.
“Menaker: Penyandang Disabilitas Yang Bekerja Baru Sekitar 7,5 Juta - ANTARA News Jambi.” Accessed February 2, 2026. https://jambi.antaranews.com/berita/433551/menaker-penyandang-disabilitas-yang-bekerja-baru-sekitar-75-juta.
Mithout, Anne Lise. “From Equal Access to Employment to Equal Career Opportunities? Employment Practices and Work Experiences of Qualified Disabled Workers in Japan.” Alter 15, no. 4 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alter.2021.07.001.
Mori, Yuko, and Norihito Sakamoto. “Economic Consequences of Employment Quota System for Disabled People: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design in Japan.” Journal of the Japanese and International Economies 48 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjie.2017.02.001.
MURAYAMA, Kayo. “Reasonable Accommodation as an Extension of Anti-Discrimination Doctrine.” Social Policy and Labor Studies 10, no. 3 (2019): 119–29. https://doi.org/10.24533/spls.10.3_119.
Mustika, Ella Ayu Septia, Ella Nur Hadi, Anharudin Anharudin, Aziz Rofi’i, and Siti Nurmala Dewi. “Stigma Pekerja Terhadap Penyandang Disabilitas Di Tempat Kerja.” Perilaku Dan Promosi Kesehatan: Indonesian Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior 4, no. 2 (2022). https://doi.org/10.47034/ppk.v4i2.6318.
Nakagawa, Jun, and Peter Blanck. “Future of Disability Law in Japan: Employment and Accommodation.” Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review 33, no. 1 (2010).
Nurhayati, Sherly Putri, Firyal Nurul Badriyah, Ayunda Firdaningrum, Nabila Amalia Maulida, Eny Faizah Mumtazah, Vira Giatyffany Harmako, and Ayu Ajeng Pamungkas. “Protection of Disability in the World of Work Through Law Number 8 of 2016.” Disable 1, no. 1 (2025). https://doi.org/10.26740/disable.v1i1.40360.
Nurhayati, Siti. “Social Inclusion For Persons With Disabilities Through Access To Employment In Indonesia.” Prophetic Law Review 2, no. 1 (2020). https://doi.org/10.20885/plr.vol2.iss1.art1.
Rianda Dirkareshza, Sahda Saraswati Akbar, and Gilang Abi Zaifa. “Exploring Employment Rights for Individuals with Disabilities: A Cross-National Comparative Analysis in The Context of Fair Competition and Sustainable Development Goals.” Alauddin Law Development Journal 6, no. 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.24252/aldev.v6i2.46473.
S., Laurensius Arliman, Elfrida Ratnawati, and Aida Abdul Razak. “Legal Guarantees for Persons with Disabilities to Secure Decent Work: A Human Rights Perspective from Indonesia.” Jurnal Wawasan Yuridika 8, no. 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.25072/jwy.v8i2.4463.
Sani Pratiwi, Alya, Sonhaji Sonhaji, Suhartoyo Suhartoyo, and Endah Pujiastuti. “Pelaksanaan Pemberian Sanksi Bagi Perusahaan Yang Tidak Mempekerjakan Tenaga Kerja Penyandang Disabilitas.” JURNAL USM LAW REVIEW 6, no. 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.26623/julr.v6i1.6817.
Suhartoyo. “Perlindungan Hukum Terhadap Pekerja/Buruh Penyandang Disabilitas Di Indonesia.” Jurnal Masalah-Masalah Hukum 43, no. 4 (2014).
Sulistyowati, Eny. “KESADARAN HUKUM PELAKU USAHA TERHADAP PEKERJA PENYANDANG DISABILITAS TERKAIT PENYEDIAAN AKOMODASI YANG LAYAK DI PERUSAHAAN.” Indonesian Journal of Contemporary Law 1, no. 06 (2025): 1–20.
Suryahadi, Asep. “Disability and Labor Market Exclusion: Evidence from Indonesia.” Sustainability Science and Resources 2, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.55168/ssr2809-6029.2022.2004.
Tsuchihashi, Toshihiro, and Daisuke Oyama. “Disability Employment Levy-Grant Scheme from an Economic Viewpoint.” Japan Labor Review 7, no. 2 (2010): 43–53.
Ulya, Tahta Rifatul, Zuiyin Zuhda Nailarruhma, Alya Alfa Adilia, and Ahmad Azza El-Fadholy. “Legal Protection in Fulfilling the Right to Employment for Persons with Disabilities.” Disable 1, no. 2 (2026).
Utami, Yeski Putri, Winda Afriyanti, and Aliyyah Najmah Kamiilah. “Keterbatasan vs Kesempatan: Analisis Akses Dan Stigma Penyandang Disabilitas Pada Pasar Kerja Formal.” Jurnal ISO: Jurnal Ilmu Sosial, Politik Dan Humaniora 5, no. 1 (2025). https://doi.org/10.53697/iso.v5i1.2208.
Wicaksono, Imam. “Access to Justice for People with Disabilities in Employment.” Jurnal Hukum Volkgeist 4, no. 1 (2019). https://doi.org/10.35326/volkgeist.v4i1.402.
