Japan 80% Attendance Rate Calculator
Check whether an employee meets the 80% attendance requirement for annual paid leave in Japan. Counts maternity, childcare and work-injury leave as attended, exactly as Article 39 of the Labor Standards Act does.
Attendance rate calculator
Attendance rate
–%
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- Attended–
- Absent–
- Needed for 80%
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- Margin above 80%
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- Absence limit
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- Reference date
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Attended days, by category
| Category | Days |
|---|---|
| Attended days | – |
Based on Article 39 of the Labor Standards Act, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's guidance (Nagano Labour Bureau handbook, February 2026 edition, PDF in Japanese) and the ministry's July 10, 2013 notice on total working days. A general reference, not legal advice. Check individual cases with a licensed labor and social security attorney.
Days off
How many days can an employee miss and still keep 80%?
The absence limit is the total working days minus the days needed for 80%. "Miss" here means absences: paid leave, childcare leave and the other days treated as attended do not count against it, and taking paid leave never lowers the rate.
| Days worked per week | First period (6 months) | Later periods (1 year) | Per month(approx.) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total working days | Absence limit | Total working days | Absence limit | ||
| 5 days | 130 | 26 | 260 | 52 | 4.3 |
| 4 days | 104 | 20 | 208 | 41 | 3.4 |
| 3 days | 78 | 15 | 156 | 31 | 2.6 |
| 2 days | 52 | 10 | 104 | 20 | 1.7 |
| 1 day | 26 | 5 | 52 | 10 | 0.8 |
An estimate on 26 weeks for six months and 52 weeks for a year, with no public holidays or company closures removed. The more days off a company has, the fewer working days and the lower the limit: five days a week with weekends and public holidays off comes to about 245 working days a year, so up to 49 days can be missed. Attendance is judged over the whole period, not month by month, so the per-month figure is only a way to pace it. For an exact count, use "Calculate from the calendar" in the calculator above.
Checking partway through the period
The remaining allowance can be worked out at any point in the period. With 253 working days in the year, 253 × 0.8 = 202.4 rounds up to 203 days needed, so up to 50 days can be missed. An employee who has already been absent 13 days has 37 left. In the calculator, pick the reference date still in progress and enter days worked so far plus the days still scheduled: the "Margin above 80%" figure is what remains.
How it works
How the 80% attendance rule for paid leave works in Japan
The 80% attendance rule means attending at least 80% of the total working days in the reference period. It is one of the two conditions for annual paid leave in Japan (Labor Standards Act, Article 39): complete six months of continuous service and meet it, and the first grant follows. Every later grant is judged the same way, on the year before each reference date. The rule applies to every employee, full-time or part-time. This page covers only how attendance is counted; for the number of days granted, use the Japan annual paid leave calculator. The calculator above follows these five steps.
Attendance rate (%) = attended days ÷ total working days × 100
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Set the reference period
The first period is the six months from the hire date. Each later period is the year from one reference date to the day before the next. For an April 1 hire, the first period runs April 1 to September 30 and the reference date is October 1. The second period runs October 1 to the following September 30.
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Count the total working days
Total working days are the days in the period minus contractual days off: the days the employee is required to work. Work done on a day off is not counted. Force majeure closures, closures caused by the employer's own business or management problems, and days of lawful strike with no work at all are also removed. A company with two days off a week and public holidays off has roughly 240 working days a year.
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Count the attended days
Add the days the law treats as attended to the days actually worked. There are four. A day with late arrival, early leave or half a day of work counts as one attended day.
- Days of annual paid leave taken
- Leave to recover from a work-related injury or illness
- Maternity leave before and after childbirth
- Childcare and family care leave, including paternity leave at birth
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Compare with 80%
Divide attended days by total working days. The requirement is met at 80% or more, so exactly 80% passes. The calculator tests the threshold with whole numbers, so no rounding error can flip a result, and it rounds the displayed rate down to one decimal. A rate of 79.96% never shows as 80.0%.
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Carry the result into the grant calculation
On a pass, paid leave is granted on that reference date. How many days depends on years of service and the weekly schedule, so the result's "Calculate the days granted" button carries the hire date and reference date over to work out the paid leave entitlement. Below 80%, no leave is granted on that reference date; what a missed year means for later grants is covered on the paid leave calculator page.
Days needed for 80%, by total working days
The days needed are the total working days × 0.8, rounded up to a whole day. The absence limit is the total minus that number.
| Total working days | Needed for 80% | Absence limit |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 40 | 10 |
| 100 | 80 | 20 |
| 120 | 96 | 24 |
| 121 | 97 | 24 |
| 150 | 120 | 30 |
| 200 | 160 | 40 |
| 240 | 192 | 48 |
| 243 | 195 | 48 |
| 245 | 196 | 49 |
| 250 | 200 | 50 |
Worked example: back from childcare leave
Over a one-year period, an employee has 240 total working days: 100 days worked, 120 days of childcare leave, 5 days of paid leave and 15 days absent. Attended days are 100 + 120 + 5 = 225, so the rate is 225 ÷ 240 = 93.7%, a pass. Counting the childcare leave as absence would give 43.7% and wrongly withhold leave the employee is owed.
Worked example: moved from three days a week to five
Over a one-year period, an employee works three days a week for the first six months (78 working days) and five days a week for the next six (130 working days). They attend all 78 days in the first half, work 122 days in the second and take 3 days of paid leave. Total working days are 78 + 130 = 208 and attended days 78 + 122 + 3 = 203, a rate of 97.5%. Counting the whole year as five days a week, 260 working days, would give 78.0% and wrongly fail them.
Attendance cases that often go wrong
- If the weekly schedule changed during the period, count the scheduled and attended days for each part separately, add them up and enter the totals (see the example above).
- A fixed-term employee whose contract keeps being renewed has continuous service. The period does not restart at each renewal.
- When a company grants leave earlier than the statutory date, for example on one common date for everyone, the shortened part of the period counts as fully attended.
- An employer may grant paid leave to someone below 80%. The statutory rule is a floor, not a ceiling.
- The attendance test is separate from the weekly days and hours that set the number of days granted. Part-time employees face the same 80% rule, and on a pass receive the days in the standard and pro-rated grant tables.
What counts
Which days count as attended, and which do not
- Days actually worked Attended
- A day with late arrival, early leave or half a day of work counts as one day. Attendance is judged in days, not hours, so a day with any work cannot be treated as an absence.
- Paid leave taken Treated as attended
- A day of annual paid leave counts as attended, so using paid leave never lowers the rate.
- Work-injury leave Treated as attendedArt. 39(10)
- Time off to recover from a work-related injury or illness. Leave after a commuting accident is not work-related, so the law does not treat it as attended.
- Maternity leave Treated as attendedArt. 39(10)
- Six weeks before birth (14 for multiple births) and eight weeks after. If the baby arrives after the due date, the extra days also count as prenatal leave and are treated as attended.
- Childcare and family care leave Treated as attendedArt. 39(10)
- Leave under the Childcare and Family Care Leave Act, including paternity leave at birth.
- Work wrongly refused Attended2013 MHLW notice
- Days the employer refused work without a valid reason, such as the time between a dismissal a court later rules invalid and reinstatement. The employee was not at fault, so these days count as attended.
- Days off and work on days off Not counted
- Contractual days off are not working days. Work done on a day off is not added to the attended days either.
- Excluded closures Removed from the total2013 MHLW notice
- Force majeure closures, closures caused by the employer's own business or management problems, and days of lawful strike with no work at all. They leave both sides of the fraction, so the rate does not drop.
- Substitute leave taken Removed from the total2009 MHLW notice
- A full day of substitute leave, given instead of the premium for overtime beyond 60 hours a month. The duty to work was lifted, so the day counts in neither the total nor the attended days.
- Absence and disciplinary suspension AbsentIn the total
- Personal absences and days of suspension as a disciplinary measure stay in the total working days but are not attended days.
- Menstrual and special leave Set by work rules
- The law does not treat these as attended, but the employer may. Special leave such as bereavement leave, child nursing leave, short-term family care leave and sick-leave suspension also follow the company's work rules.
In practice
Tracking attendance in Excel, attendance software and the work rules
Excel formulas for the 80% test
With total working days in cell B1 and attended days (including days treated as attended) in B2. Compare attended × 5 with total × 4 rather than the decimal rate, and no rounding error can flip the result.
- Attendance rate (%)
=ROUNDDOWN(B2*1000/B1,0)/10- Needed for 80%
=ROUNDUP(B1*4/5,0)- Absence limit
=B1-ROUNDUP(B1*4/5,0)- Margin (negative = short)
=B2-ROUNDUP(B1*4/5,0)- Result
=IF(B2*5>=B1*4,"Passed","Below 80%")
To check a whole team at once, download the free attendance check workbook with these formulas built in. No sign-up. It has a column for each category treated as attended and one for leave the work rules count as attended, and follows the same rules as this page.
80% attendance check (Excel)Settings to check in attendance software
Most attendance systems calculate the rate automatically, but a setting that does not match reality can fail an employee who should pass. Check that:
- the company calendar or shift roster holds the right scheduled days, and work on days off is not added to the attended days;
- paid leave, childcare and family care leave, maternity leave and work-injury leave are classed as attended;
- menstrual leave, special leave such as bereavement leave, and child nursing leave are classed the way the work rules say;
- company closures and substitute leave days are removed from the total working days;
- half-day leave, late arrivals and early leaves are not counted as absences;
- the period starts on the hire date, or on the common grant date if the company uses one.
Sample work rules clause
The 80% rule is set by law, so the work rules do not have to repeat it. Whether menstrual leave or special leave counts as attended is the company's choice, though, and writing it down keeps the test consistent and avoids disputes. A sample clause, in English for reference (filed work rules are normally in Japanese):
Article X (Attendance rate for annual paid leave)
1. The attendance rate that qualifies an employee for annual paid leave is the ratio of attended days to total working days in the reference period.
2. The following count as attended:
(1) days of annual paid leave taken;
(2) leave to recover from a work-related injury or illness;
(3) maternity leave before and after childbirth;
(4) childcare leave and family care leave under the Childcare and Family Care Leave Act.
3. The following are not total working days:
(1) contractual days off, including days worked on them;
(2) closures due to natural disaster or other force majeure;
(3) closures caused by the company's own business or management problems;
(4) days on which no work at all was provided because of lawful industrial action;
(5) days of substitute leave taken.
4. Days of special leave, menstrual leave, child nursing leave and short-term family care leave are [treated as attended / treated as absent].
Choose one option in the brackets to match company policy. This is a general template. A workplace with 10 or more employees must file changes to its work rules with the Labor Standards Inspection Office. Check with a licensed labor and social security attorney before adopting it.
FAQ
Questions about the 80% attendance rule
How is the 80% attendance rate calculated?
Divide attended days by total working days and multiply by 100. The requirement is met at 80% or more. Total working days are the days in the period minus contractual days off. Attended days include days actually worked plus the days the law treats as attended, such as paid leave taken, maternity leave and childcare leave. With 240 working days, for example, at least 192 days of attendance are needed.
What counts as a total working day?
A total working day is a day the employee is contractually required to work: the days in the period minus contractual days off. Work done on a day off counts in neither the total nor the attended days. Force majeure closures, closures caused by the employer's own business or management problems, days of lawful strike with no work at all, and full days of substitute leave for long overtime are also removed from the total.
How are total working days counted for shift workers?
The days assigned as working days on the shift roster are the scheduled days, and their sum over the period is the total. Days without a shift are not counted. A rostered day the employee misses for their own reasons is an absence; a rostered day taken as paid leave counts as attended. How weekly or annual scheduled days set the number of days granted is covered in the paid leave calculator FAQ.
Do paid leave days count as attended?
Yes. A day of annual paid leave counts as a day attended, so taking paid leave never lowers the attendance rate. A day with half-day or hourly leave also counts as one attended day.
Do days with late arrival or early leave count as attended?
Yes. Attendance is counted in days, not hours, so a day with late arrival or early leave is one attended day. A day with any work cannot be treated as an absence, even under a company rule such as three late arrivals counting as one absence.
How is the attendance rate calculated under flextime?
Under flextime the rate is still judged in days, not hours. The working days set in the work rules are the total, and any work on such a day makes it an attended day. Falling short of the hours for the settlement period does not reduce the attended days.
How are maternity, childcare and work-injury leave counted?
Leave to recover from a work-related injury or illness, maternity leave before and after childbirth, and childcare or family care leave are all treated as attended under Article 39, paragraph 10 of the Labor Standards Act. Paternity leave at birth is part of childcare leave. These days stay in the total and are added to the attended days. Leave after a commuting accident is not a work-related injury, so the law does not treat it as attended.
How are menstrual leave, bereavement leave and child nursing leave counted?
The law treats four kinds of absence as attended: paid leave, work-injury leave, maternity leave, and childcare or family care leave. Menstrual leave, special leave such as bereavement leave, child nursing leave, short-term family care leave and sick-leave suspension follow the company's work rules, and the employer may choose to count them as attended. This calculator lets you classify them as attended, absent or excluded from the total.
How are days the company closed counted?
Closures caused by the employer's own business or management problems and closures due to force majeure are removed from the total working days. They are not attended days either, so they never lower the rate. Days on which the employer refused work without a valid reason, for example after a dismissal a court later rules invalid, count as attended.
Which period is the attendance rate measured over?
The first period is the six months from the hire date, and each later period is the year from one reference date to the day before the next. For an April 1 hire, the first period runs April 1 to September 30 and the second October 1 to the following September 30. A mid-month hire date still starts the period on the hire date itself.
Does an employee need 80% attendance every month?
No. The rate is judged on the whole period. A month with many absences does not matter as long as attendance across the six months or the year reaches 80% of the total working days.
How many more days can an employee take off and still keep 80%?
The absence limit is the total working days minus the days needed for 80%. With 240 working days, 192 days of attendance are needed, so up to 48 days can be missed. Three days a week, about 156 working days a year, needs 125 days of attendance and allows 31 absences. Paid leave counts as attended, so taking paid leave instead of an unpaid absence never lowers the rate. What falling below 80% means for the days granted is covered on the annual paid leave calculator page.
About the author
Emmanuel Gendre
- Former Google recruiter
-
12 years in talent acquisition
LinkedIn
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Official sources
This page is based on the primary Japanese government sources below. Each links to the issuing body, so you can check the rule itself. The documents are in Japanese.
- e-Gov Law Searchelaws.e-gov.go.jp Labor Standards Act, Article 39 (annual paid leave) The 80% attendance requirement, and paragraph 10 on work-injury, maternity, childcare and family care leave.
- MHLW Nagano Labour Bureaujsite.mhlw.go.jp Working conditions handbook: annual paid leave (February 2026) The days treated as attended and the closures removed from the total. The calculator's categories follow this document.
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfaremhlw.go.jp Working hours, days off and leave The paid leave system as a whole: eligibility, days granted and the five-day usage obligation.
Please note. This calculator checks the 80% attendance requirement of Article 39 of the Labor Standards Act. It is a general reference, not legal advice. The categories of days treated as attended follow the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's guidance and its July 10, 2013 notice. Results can differ with the company's work rules and the facts of a case, for example how menstrual or special leave is treated, a common grant date for all employees, or a schedule that changed during the period. For a specific decision, consult a licensed labor and social security attorney.