Workers with 10 or more days of annual leave have an obligation to take 5 days a yearThe rule that "5 days off must be used," part of your right to take leave
For workers granted 10 or more days of annual paid leave (including those in supervisory or managerial positions), the employer is obliged to have them take 5 days within 1 year from the base date by designating the timing. Days the worker has taken on their own and days under a planned leave system are deducted from the 5 days, and if 5 days have already been taken, no designation is needed. Violations are punishable by a fine of up to JPY 300,000.
- 1. Grant10 or more days of annual leave are granted (base date)
- 2. Taken by the workerCount days the worker requested and days under planned leave
- 3. Hear opinionIf days are short, hear the worker's opinion
- 4. Designate timingDesignate so that 5 days are reached within 1 year from the base date
- 5. LedgerRecord in the annual paid leave management ledger and keep it
Key points
- Applies to workers who are granted 10 or more days of annual leave by law. This includes supervisory or managerial workers and fixed-term workers
- 5 days within 1 year from the base date. Before designating the timing, hear the worker's opinion and make efforts to follow their wishes
- For workers who have already requested or taken 5 or more days, there is no need to designate the timing, and it also cannot be done
- Create and keep an annual paid leave management ledger for each worker (for the time being, for 3 years)
- If you designate the timing, state the scope of covered workers and the method in the rules of employment
What to do in practice
- For each base date, check the days taken in the management ledger and plan timing designation for those who are short
- Set out the method of timing designation in the rules of employment
When you have worked for a certain period, you get days off where you are still paid (paid leave). Of these, the company must take responsibility to make sure you rest for 5 days a year. This rule exists to remove the feeling that leave is hard to take.
- Days that must be taken
- 5 days
- - Days you took yourself
- 3 days
- Days the company decides and has you take
- 2 days
Points
- It applies to people who have 10 or more days of paid leave
- Days you took yourself count toward those 5 days
- If you have not taken them, the company decides "please take this day off" and has you take it
What the words mean
- Paid leave
- Time off for which you still get paid
- Base date (kijunbi)
- The day you were given paid leave. You need to take 5 days within 1 year from here
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW): MHLW Start-up Working Conditions: Q&A on ensuring workers take 5 days of annual paid leave per year
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW): MHLW "Check Your Working Conditions": Annual paid leave
This article summarizes and explains materials published by government agencies and is not advice on any individual case. Rules can change, so for actual procedures and decisions always check the latest original materials and consult professionals such as tax accountants or labor and social security attorneys. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese versions are translations prepared from the Japanese articles for convenience. If anything differs, the Japanese text and the original source take precedence.