Part-Time Paid Leave in Japan: Calculate Days When Your Shifts Vary

Twenty hours is not the minimum for paid leave

Statutory annual leave generally arises after six months of continuous employment with attendance on at least 80% of total working days. This also applies to part-time employees. Do not confuse hours used in insurance enrollment tests with the conditions for paid leave.

The number of leave days depends on scheduled hours and days. Proportional entitlement applies below 30 scheduled hours a week when scheduled days are four or fewer weekly, or 216 or fewer annually where days are set over a nonweekly period. At five or more days a week (217 or more annual days for nonweekly arrangements), or at least 30 scheduled hours a week, the ordinary entitlement table generally applies.

For example, a worker scheduled for three five-hour days, totaling 15 hours weekly, receives five days at the initial six-month grant if the attendance requirement is met. Working below 20 hours does not turn that entitlement into zero. Check any more favorable company provisions too.

Separate scheduled days from actual records

Scheduled working days are days on which the employment contract creates a duty to work. Actual attendance in one busy month does not automatically determine every grant. Check the scheduled pattern applicable at the grant's reference date.

Do not simply divide one month's shifts by four and round to an approximate weekly pattern. First establish whether days are set weekly or over another period.

When future scheduled days are hard to calculate

MHLW's shift-worker paid leave leaflet explains that workers can request and take leave even if scheduled days have not been fixed. When the day count is difficult to calculate, the available approaches include:

• At the initial six-month grant, double the actual working days in those six months and treat that as the annual scheduled count.
• At grants from one year and six months onward, use the previous year's actual working days as the annual count.
• If indicative days are agreed, use them only where the resulting leave allocation exceeds the allocation calculated from actual records.

These approaches do not authorize ignoring an ascertainable contractual schedule. Ask which method was used and why it applies.

A fictional first-grant boundary example

Assume scheduled weekly hours below 30, future scheduled days that are difficult to calculate, six months' continuous employment, and the required attendance. The employer uses the actual-days-times-two method, with no additional company allocation.

Check the bands against MHLW's proportional entitlement table. Rounding both cases to “about two days a week” misses the boundary. If there are absences or suspended operations, separately confirm the records used for the grant and the numerator and denominator used for attendance eligibility.

Distinguish rostered time off from paid annual leave

Annual leave cannot be used on a scheduled holiday or another day without a duty to work. Conversely, workers can request annual leave for a working day on a finalized roster. Finalizing a shift does not categorically exclude leave on that date.

Make clear whether you are expressing availability or asking to use an accrued leave day. For example: “I would like to take one day of paid annual leave on November 12, rather than simply request an unassigned day. Please explain how it will appear on the roster and leave record.” The date is illustrative.

An employer may change the requested timing only where normal business operations would be impeded. Saying only that the workplace is busy or lacks a substitute does not automatically justify refusal. Keep the request, roster, and response, and consult the Labour Standards Inspection Office or another appropriate public office if the issue remains unresolved.

Entitled days and pay for one day are separate questions

One day of annual leave does not always mean eight hours' pay. Where an hourly worker is paid ordinary wages for leave, multiply the hourly rate by the scheduled hours for that leave date. An illustrative ¥1,300 hourly rate and five scheduled hours produce ¥6,500 under that method; it is not a formula to apply unconditionally at every employer.

Leave pay follows the method established in work rules or equivalent provisions, such as ordinary wages or average wages. Using an amount equivalent to one-thirtieth of health insurance standard monthly remuneration requires a labor-management agreement. Employees do not choose whichever method they prefer each day.

Five questions for the employer

1. What is my next grant date and continuous-service period then?
2. Which scheduled days and weekly hours were used, based on which documents?
3. If actual records were used, which period and calculation apply?
4. What are my new grant, carryover, used days, and remaining balance separately?
5. How do I apply for the date, how is it recorded, and how is leave pay calculated?

When working conditions change, ask for separate explanations of the new allocation calculation and already granted unused days. Our written working conditions guide can help you identify the contract fields to check.

Sources and further checks

• MHLW: paid annual leave for shift workers, worker leaflet, October 2026
• MHLW: shift-work employment guidance, revised June 19, 2026
• MHLW: eligibility and proportional entitlement table
• MHLW: calculating difficult-to-predict scheduled days
• MHLW: wages during annual paid leave