Annual holiday list for employees

[dcrimson]

Hi,
I am a non Japanese, planning to join a Japanese firm in their Japan office. I need to understand the general leave policies followed by companies, especially small enterprises with 10-20 employees. How many sick leaves, casual leaves and national holidays are given to employees?

 

[Dotanbatan]

Hello dcrimson,

You should be able to find answers to most of your questions here:
2013-2014: Ⅴ. Working Conditions/ Japanese Working Life Profile/ The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (JILPT)

Japanese companies often have generous leave entitlements but you are usually frowned upon if you take them all.

E.g. Look at the stats for the annual paid holidays in 2012 for companies 30 - 99 employees:

Average days of annual leave given - 17.1
Average days of annual leave taken - 7.2

Saying that I usually took my full quota. They were also extremely generous with sick leave and bereavement leave that I was granted when these were needed. This company was small but well established (over 300 employees at my site) and I know that my experiences there were not the norm.
This was almost 20 years ago so others on the forum may have mor recent tales of joy .... or more likely woe.

 

[dcrimson]

Thanks Dotanbatan!
Could also share details regarding National holidays given as working off in Japan?

 

[Dotanbatan]

You are luck in Japan - 16 days of National Holidays which most companies would close on.

Here's a list:
National holidays in Japan 2014, 2015, 2016 - travel tips from JTB UK | JTBUK, the Japan specialist

 

[Glenski]

Hi,
I am a non Japanese, planning to join a Japanese firm in their Japan office. I need to understand the general leave policies followed by companies, especially small enterprises with 10-20 employees. How many sick leaves, casual leaves and national holidays are given to employees?

I'm surprised that your company hasn't already informed you of their own specific policies. You are legally entitled to no paid vacation for the first 6 months, so if the company gives it to you, that's their own rules. After that, you are legally entitled to a minimum of 10 days off per year. There is no official sick leave, only paid time off which you can use for vacation or sickness.
Japan.- Labour Standards Law