It's been a year in which working from home has become widespread due to the coronavirus pandemic, and travel restrictions and family gatherings have been discouraged due to factors such as traffic restrictions, so many employees may not have taken annual paid leave this year. On the other hand, under current legislation, annual paid leave rights are valid for one year. Some companies do not grant the right to annual paid leave on each employee's day of employment, but instead grant it to all employees at the same time on a specific date, such as January 1st or April 1st, and any remaining unused paid leave rights expire on the same day. In particular, companies that grant paid leave all at once on a specific day will have everyone's paid leave rights invalidated on the same day, so employees tend to take paid leave at the last minute in a hurry, and in cases like this year, this can have an impact on company operations. At the end of this year, the date for taking annual paid leave all at once has already been moved from the fasting festival to the end of the year, so it is possible that employees will not come to work for half a month if they take their remaining paid leave all at once before the holidays. Is there a way to adjust it a little more?

[Purchase of paid vacation rights is illegal]

Some companies may purchase remaining unused paid vacation rights, but this is illegal under current laws and regulations. In Indonesia, the purchase of unused paid vacation rights is only allowed at the time of retirement. This provision is not well known, and I believe that there are quite a few requests from employees and labor unions to buy back their employees, but in reality such requests should be rejected and employees should be allowed to take paid leave. If it is possible for the company's operations, it is possible to set a day for all employees to take paid leave and take time off from work, but it is of course possible to expect a backlash from those who do not have many days left. We need to find ways to find the sweet spot.

[Changing the expiration date of paid leave rights]

On the other hand, because paid leave expires after one year, employees who feel that it would be a loss if they do not use their remaining days tend to rush to take paid leave even though they do not really need it. If that's the case, why not extend the validity period by six months or a year just this year? Current legislation stipulates that annual paid leave is valid for one year, but it is not considered illegal as it is beneficial for workers to be able to take their annual paid leave for a longer period of time. If you want to make changes forever, you can just change the current regulations that stipulate it, and if you want to take special measures only for rights that occurred in 2020, you can decide on new regulations and make them known to all employees. However, paid vacation is a worker's right, so it is recommended that any changes to the rules be agreed upon by labor and management in advance.

Related legislation: Article 79 of Law No. 13 of 2003