It is common for companies to become occupied with the procedure for employees’ departures at the end of fiscal year, since workers often change jobs or resign around this time of the year. Before workers' departures, companies might face trouble regarding the date of resignation notice or the handling of unused paid leave. This article explains about these issues.
[1] Timing of resignation notice
Companies are required to include matters concerning severance in their work rules, including the procedure and the timing of notification to the company in the case of resignation for personal reasons. It is common for companies to require employees to notify the company of resignation at least a month or 14 days in advance. According to the Civil Law, an employment contract ends when 14 days have elapsed after the company is notified about resignation. The 14-day rule is based on this clause.
However, it is often difficult to appoint or hire a person to assume a resigning worker’s responsibility in 14 days. If job duties are not handed over properly, the company or the department might face a confusion. Companies should set the notification rule appropriately by considering the time required for appointing a successor and handing over the duties of leaving employee.
[2] Handling of unused annual leave when leaving a company
Employees often wish to take unused paid leave before leaving the company, but in some cases, companies receive a request to apply paid leave to holidays, when the worker finds it difficult to take all the unused leave before resigning.
Companies are allowed to change the dates of annual leave requested by their employees, if necessary, but this rule does not apply in the case a worker wishes to take unused leave all at once before resigning.
Meanwhile, even taking all the unused paid leave is difficult, workers cannot take paid leave on holidays, because of the rule that paid leave can only be taken on work days. Workers might try to take unused paid leave before leaving the company, especially if they already have found a new job, but please be careful not to count holidays in paid leave.
If a worker who is planning to resign is granted 10 or more days of annual paid leave, the company has to ensure the worker takes at least 5 days of paid leave before resigning. When a worker notified about resignation, the company should check how much paid leave is left for the worker.
Reference
Osaka Labor Bureau “Retirement, dismissal, termination of employment”
https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/osaka-roudoukyoku/yokuaru_goshitsumon/jigyounushi/taisyoku.html
Tokyo Labor Bureau “Annual paid leave”
https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/tokyo-roudoukyoku/yokuaru_goshitsumon/jigyounushi/nenjiyukyu.html
