Government legislation ministry rules additional parental leave counts toward annual paid leave

The Ministry of Government Legislation said July 15 that periods of additional parental leave taken under revised laws must be counted as days attended when calculating annual paid vacation entitlements. This determination applies even to employees who had already used parental leave before the Labor Standards Act took effect on May 29, 2018.

The ruling addresses a gap created when recent amendments allowed specific groups of parents to extend their childcare leave by up to six months beyond the standard one-year limit. Under the Labor Standards Act, time spent on parental leave is generally considered attendance for the purpose of accruing the 15 days of paid annual leave granted to workers who attend at least 80 percent of scheduled days.

The ministry rejected a narrow interpretation that any employee with prior leave history was permanently excluded from having their absence counted as attendance, stating that the additional six-month period constitutes a new type of leave that did not exist when the original restriction was drafted. Officials noted that excluding these workers would contradict the legislative intent to support work-life balance and address low birth rates.

The eligibility for this extension covers parents where both have taken at least three months of leave for the same child, single parents, and parents of children with disabilities. The ministry issued this response to a public inquiry regarding the interaction between the old and new statutes, ensuring that parents qualifying for the extended term under the revisions effective February 23, 2025 will not face reduced annual vacation allowances upon returning to work.