Sick child care leave sits in the Childcare and Caregiver Leave Act, next to childcare leave but separate from it. It is short-term leave for the everyday emergencies of parenting: a child with a fever who cannot go to daycare, a hospital visit, a vaccination.
The April 2025 amendments changed it significantly. The name was extended to show it now covers more than illness. The age limit moved from the start of primary school to the end of the third year of primary school, roughly age nine. The permitted reasons now include class or school closures because of infectious disease, and attending a child's entrance or graduation ceremony. And the option to exclude employees with less than six months' service by labour-management agreement was abolished.
The entitlement is five days a year for one child and ten for two or more, and can be taken by the hour. The employer does not have to pay for it, and many do not. Like childcare leave, it is protected: an employer may not refuse a valid request or treat an employee less favourably for using it.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Update the work rules for April 2025. Old wording that stops at preschool age or excludes new joiners is now non-compliant.
- Unpaid leave pushes people into annual leave. Parents often use annual leave instead so they do not lose pay. Paying sick child care leave is an inexpensive way to support working parents.
- It applies to fathers too. Plan for male employees, including senior managers, to take days at short notice.
- It is a retention lever for mid-career parents. Hourly leave and remote working together let parents keep senior roles through the primary school years, which is when many otherwise step back.
Sources
- Act on Childcare Leave, Caregiver Leave and Other Measures, Article 16-2, as amended in 2024 (in force 1 April 2025).
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, guidance on the 2024 amendments to the Childcare and Caregiver Leave Act.