Leave Dilemma: Should Sunday Count as a Paid Day Off When Deducting Pay?

Hi,

Can anyone advise on the leave procedure? One of my employees applied for leave from Friday to Monday. He did not turn up on Monday but came to the office on Tuesday. My management instructs me to deduct his pay for four days, from Friday to Monday.

However, the employee argues that Sunday is a general holiday and should not be considered a loss of pay. According to him, he should only be docked for three days instead of four.

Please advise.

Naveen

Dear Naveen,

Please frame your query more precisely.

Anyway, the current system is as follows:

1) If an employee applies for leave from Friday to Monday, then a holiday/off day inside the leave period is to be included.

2) If an employee applies for leave from Friday to Monday, and the same is sanctioned by the management, and he comes on Tuesday, then it would be wrong on the part of management to mark the whole period as absence (You cannot sanction leave and change your decision after the employee avails it).

3) If an employee goes on leave from Friday to Monday without any sanction and reports for duty on Tuesday, then he must be marked absent for all four days.

Regards,
SC

Hi Naveen,

Generally, as per the leave rules in most companies, one has to work on either day, i.e., before or after the holiday. If one has taken leave for both days as a suffix or prefix, the in-between holiday also has to be considered as leave. For example, if you apply for leave from Saturday to Monday, even though Sunday is a holiday or a weekly off, you are required to count Sunday as leave as well, and one must apply for leave for all three days.

Even when applying for Earned Leave or Privilege Leave, it depends on the leave rules prevalent in the company. Normally, if Sundays and holidays/weekly offs fall in between the leave period, those days will also be counted as leave. In some companies, the weekly offs and holidays will be excluded. The treatment of these days depends on how the leave rules are framed and implemented, varying from company to company. These rules are flexible and can be tailored to address the specific needs of the organizations.

Regards,
PRADEEP

Hi Naveen,

From what I understand, you want advice on how to explain to your DR why Sunday was also considered for a leave without pay.

The way it works is this: the number of working days accounted for by the company is 30/31 days of a month. Hence, they calculate the employee's cost to the company (pay) for every day, including weekly offs.

If an employee takes a day off from Friday to Tuesday, with Tuesday being the unscheduled leave, his entire leave, including his official weekly off, is considered for LWP (leave without pay). However, if he had informed you 24 hours in advance of his unscheduled leave (Tuesday), let's say on Monday, he could get off the hook. That's only possible, of course, if his supervisor has the necessary proof.

I hope this helps in explaining to your DR why the leave policy works that way! I know it seems unfair, but it would be helpful to educate people on your company's leave policy so that they don't get "hit by the same bus"!

Take care 😉

The facts are clear. Management agreed to the leave (with pay?) The employee failed to report for work on Monday as promised. Conclusion: no pay for Monday and a verbal reprimand to remind the employee of his responsibilities.

Having said that, what has the company done in similar circumstances in the past? In all fairness, the employer is obligated to provide the same response where all circumstances (employee's record, length of service, impact on morale and efficiency, etc.) are the same.

PALADIN