The Labor Standards Act requires companies to give annual paid leave to employees who have worked for 6 months continuously with an attendance rate of at least 80%. Recently, rules regarding the calculation method of shift workers’ annual paid leave have been revised. This article looks at details.
[1] The number of leave days
Employees who have worked 6 straight months after becoming hired are entitled to 10 days of annual paid leave. In the case of part-timers who work 4 days or less in a week or 216 days or less in a year and whose scheduled weekly working hours are less than 30 hours are given paid leave in proportion of their scheduled work days.
[2] New calculation method
In some cases, however, shift workers’ working days or hours are not specified in their employment contract, because actual days or hours are determined according to their shifts. Since it is difficult to calculate their scheduled working days, the new rules allow companies to determine scheduled working days in the following methods for the calculation of annual paid leave.
1. When annual paid leave is given to an employee in continuous service of 6 months, the number of days worked in the period multiplied by 2.
2. When annual paid leave is given to an employee in continuous service of 18 months or more, the number of days worked in the previous year.
[3] In the case there is an estimation of working days
Some companies indicate an estimated number of working days in shift workers’ contracts. In calculating their paid leave, the estimated number in the contract may be used, if the number of paid leave days based on the estimation is greater than the leave days calculated in the new method described above.
It is common for companies to adjust shift workers’ working days flexibly, according to their circumstances. The new rules have been set to accommodate such situations. It is advisable for firms employing shift workers to review their management of annual paid leave, including the calculation method.
Reference
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Shift system”
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_22954.html
*This information is based on laws and regulations as of the date of the original article.
