How Can We Revise Our Leave Policy to Satisfy New Hires and Current Employees?

Hi,

I am working as an HR professional in an IT company. I have been tasked with reframing the leave policy within my company. I am seeking some suggestions regarding the leave policies.

Currently, we operate on a 5-day working week with no allocated leaves. Any leave taken by an employee is deducted from their salary. Previously, we had a system of working alternate Saturdays with 12 leaves per year. However, due to certain issues, we had to make changes, and the policy was revised to a 5-day working week without any paid leaves. This decision was made with the agreement of all employees. Nonetheless, this revised policy has caused difficulties for new hires who are not satisfied with the lack of paid leave and seek clarity on the company's leave policies.

I am looking for suggestions on how to amend the leave policy to address these concerns and create a more satisfactory policy for all employees.

Thank you

Dear Arushi,

You can reverse the policies. As per that, you can again have the alternate Saturdays working. This would give you 24-27 extra working Saturdays. So, as per the management, you can make it 2 leaves per month which could be carried forward per month (which would not result in any extra leave), and the employees can plan accordingly. Maximum 5 leaves could be carried forward to the next year. Make at least 20-22 leaves mandatory so that the employee takes a short break intentionally and can come back to work revitalized. Furthermore, you can add or subtract the number of leaves as per the suitability of the industry.

Thank you for your prompt reply. We had thought of reverting back to the previous policies, but the current employees would not be willing to do so as the new policy (5 days working & no leaves) was established with their consent. Therefore, we cannot backtrack on transitioning from 5 days working back to alternate Saturdays.

Is it possible to implement a policy that allows for a few leaves in a year, around 8 - 12 leaves? Currently, we are already off for more than 108 days in a year and cannot afford too many leaves. These leaves should not be taken continuously as some employees and new joiners tend to misuse them by utilizing all the leaves within 2-3 months and then leaving the company. This situation impacts the work of the organization considering the company's workforce consists of only 35-40 employees.

If we were to provide 8 - 12 leaves per year, what other criteria should be added to prevent employees from misusing the leave policy?

Thank you

Dear Arushi,

Basically, I was thinking whether to reply to this topic or not. To be very frank, the companies in the IT sector/software industry do not always follow the laws of the land. Whether you observe a five-day week or a six-day week does not have any connection with leave policies. Legally, since you are located in Delhi, you are required to adhere to the Delhi Shop and Establishment Act, and you cannot provide fewer leaves than what is stipulated in the act. According to the Delhi Shop and Establishment Act, it mandates 7 CL, 7 SL, and 15 EL.

I apologize for any harsh words used.

Regards,
J. S. Malik

See, law is law. 27 leaves are mandatory for any organization to give to their employees. If you have made up your mind not to follow the rules, then I suggest you must be giving leaves on gazetted holidays, make a provision of providing 4 flexible leaves to the employees that can be availed by them on some occasion or emergency. Plus special leaves like B'day and Anniversary. Hope it may be of any help to you.

There are changes to be made, and adaptation to the changes is also required.

If you want to gain something, you should be ready to lose as well. So if you want to keep the working days the same, you need to have alternate Saturday working.

To convince the employees, you can always say that it's now a flexible leave for them, which can be carried forward as well. So they can enjoy it in a better way. All those who do not want to avail the same benefit can apply for leave for every working Saturday, which will keep things the same as before for them.

Regards,

Most IT companies do not follow the Shops & Establishment Act while framing their leave policies; they are supposed to. They work on a '40-hour week' format, although the law actually allows them a 48-hour week. Some companies have a 5-day week, but they work 9 hours a day (excluding lunchtime). Most of these companies offer leaves ranging between 20 to 30 days per year. The only solution I can think of for your situation is to increase the daily working hours by 45 minutes to 60 minutes a day. This adjustment would allow you to provide 2-3 leaves per month for your employees.

Hi,

Thank you all for the useful suggestions.

Please also let me know the daily working hours as per the government rules. Total working hours per week have to be 48. We work 5 days a week, so can we have normal working hours of 10 or 9.5 hours per day.

Thank you.

9.5 hours should be alright, but this may be too long. Efficiency may decrease. 9 hours plus lunch may be ideal.

Hi, I am working for a trading company. I am forwarding my leave policy for you to have a look.

Regards,
Swarna

Hi,

Regarding leaves, my company just implemented a new policy stating that every employee can take a maximum of 8 days (inclusive of off days) for each leave application.

Does the company have the right to limit the number of leaves? On what basis can I request the withdrawal of this policy?

As an expat staff member in the Philippines, I find it challenging to plan my trips due to this restriction.

Many thanks in advance.

Hi All,

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. I think I can come up with something good regarding the leaves with all your suggestions.

Thank you, Swarna, your attachment could help a lot.

Thank you all once again.

Arushi

Leave Policy Draft Request

Each company has its own leave policy. Please draft a new leave policy for my company as well. Currently, we have only 5 days of leave, but it is an MNC Company. Our rules state that we have 22 days of Paid Leave (PL) per year, 10 days of Casual Leave (CL) with CL leave encashment at the year-end, and 10 days of Sick Leave (SL). At the end of the year, the PL will carry over to the next year. Any PL exceeding 66 days will be encashed, while SL will not be encashed.

Regards,
KVR

Leave Policy as per Delhi Shops and Establishments Act 1954 (in short):

- PL: 15
- CL/Sick Leave: 12

Accumulation of Leave:

- Privilege: Accumulation up to a maximum of 3 years - 45 days
- Casual/sick: No accumulation is allowed or encashment; all CL will lapse on 31st December

Maternity Benefit: As per Maternity Benefits Act 1961.

Regards,
Shreekanth.P.R