1. Introduction
Annual paid leave is an important factor for many workers to continue working at companies. The purpose of annual paid leave is to recover workers’ mental and physical exhaustion and to maintain a healthy living environment. In this News, we will mention the basic knowledge of annual paid leave.

2. Basic knowledge
Under the Japanese Labor Standards Act, full time workers are granted the minimum 10 days of annual paid leave per year after serving for six consecutive months from the start of hiring, on the condition that they are present for at least 80% of the scheduled working days. After that, the number of days of paid leave increases in proportion to employees’ years of services.

3. Part-timers’ paid leave
Part-timers are also granted certain days of paid leave even if they work less than thirty hours per week or under other conditions. Basically, part-timers’ minimum days of paid leave are set based on the prescribed working days per week under the labor agreement.

4. Unused paid leave
The right to request for annual paid leave lapses by prescription in two years; in other words, the unused paid leave for the year is carried over only to the next year.

5. Prohibition of disadvantageous treatment
An employer should avoid disadvantageous treatment toward workers who took paid leave (Article 136, the Labor Standards Act Supplementary Provisions). In detail, when deciding the amount of bonus or regular/perfect attendance allowance, an employer should not treat employees disadvantageously such as reduction of wages or taking paid leave as absence or almost equally as absence due to the use of their paid leaves.

6. Conclusion
In this News, we mentioned the basic knowledge of “annual paid leave.”
Please note that this News only introduces general outlines and does not include professional advice. So please make sure not to make any decisions without taking professional advice individually. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

(Reference)
Number of Days of Paid Leave – Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare