Leave Dilemma: Should Employees Be Paid for Days Off Around Weekends?

Hi Seniors,

I want to know if an employee takes a leave on Friday and Monday, with Saturday and Sunday being the weekly offs, should they be entitled to pay for all four (informed/uninformed leave) days?

Thank you in advance for your time and suggestions. :icon1:

Hi,

As per leave policies followed in many companies other than government organizations, he is considered to have taken a 4-day leave. Even for block holidays provided by the company, Saturdays and Sundays will be included. But all that depends upon what leave policy the respective company has adopted.

Hi Mehul,

As sweetradha4u mentioned, she is correct. However, it totally depends on your organization's policy, HR policy, or leave policy. In fact, my organization also follows the same process in case anyone is not present before or after the weekly off or holiday. We only pay for the actual leave of that particular day. Please refer to your above-mentioned policy.

Regards,
Tushar Swar

As per the Factory Act, it is not mentioned that if someone remains on leave on Saturday and Monday, he will not be entitled to the week off. However, some companies follow the same practice. You may choose to enforce this rule if someone is absent without sanctioning the leave.

I agree with Radha. It is totally dependent on company policy.

In my company, if the employee applies for CL, then the weekly off will be considered as LWP. Whereas, if the employee applies for EL, then 4 ELs are counted.

Well, if they are not informed and still absent on the second day, in this case, he or she must be inquired about and a memo should be sent to their home.

Dear,

I do not agree with the views given above. If someone has taken annual leave on Friday and Monday, with Saturday and Sunday being off days, then he is entitled to all four days' salary, whereas only two days' leave will be debited from his account. This is as per the Factories Act. Please refer to Section 79, Subsection 1, Explanation 2.

Regarding casual leave and off days calculation, it depends upon company policy. As per the Shop and Establishment Act, different state acts say different things.

Thank you.

J. S. Malik

In most organizations, if an employee takes a leave before and after an official declared holiday, then they are considered absent on the holiday as well.

Dear all,

As per the above query, if an employee is not present on or before or after a day off or public holiday, that will be considered as part of their leave.

Dear Malik,

I agree with your version when it is EL (intervening holidays/weekends off are not to be part of leave). Normally, in most organizations, a minimum of FOUR EL/PL and a maximum of 3 times in a calendar year is the rule, as at any given time, an employee can avail a maximum of 3 CLs. In those circumstances, taking EL for two days is not possible. Additionally, any application for EL needs to be submitted well in advance. If it concerns intervening holidays and weekends off as part of leave, nobody is allowed to avail CL for more than 3 days. In such cases, the employee has to apply for one day's leave on Friday, and Monday will be without pay.

In some organizations, there may not be any CL/SL/EL, and instead, a consolidated 30 leaves per annum are provided. In these circumstances, intervening holidays/weekends off are not considered part of the leave.

Regarding leave without pay, if both the prefix and suffix are without pay, then intervening holidays and weekends off will also be without pay. Leave is a sensitive issue; therefore, advance intimation, sanctioning, rejection, with or without pay, all need to be handled with respect to the type of leave, the circumstances, and the reasons involved.

Thanks and regards,
Kameswarao

1. Company Policy Must Spell Out Its Policy On The Matter Of Leave Including Prefix - Suffix.

2. Any leave (other than sick leave - produce a medical certificate) taken without prior authorization is unauthorized leave, and the company holds the right to dispose of the matter as it sees fit, including leave without pay. Even casual leave needs to be authorized. To take care of emergency matters, the employee must inform the office by telephone and receive verbal approval.

3. If the leave has been sanctioned, it is always paid leave (subject to the balance of leave available in the employee's leave account) but will be accounted for under casual or privilege leave, as applicable.

4. If there is no leave balance in the employee's account, it will be authorized as 'LWP.' Even LWP needs to be authorized. Unauthorized leave can attract actions under "indiscipline."

In any case, the company must have established its policy and made it known to the employees. The HR department is responsible for implementing the established rules.

No department can stand in judgment after the event has occurred without having established rules. In such a case, the matter should be taken up with the body responsible for establishing/approving such rules, i.e., the Board.

Section 79, subsection 1, explanation 2 of the Factories Act is applicable to daily wage workers and not to staff who are paid a monthly salary. Hence, he or she will be marked as having taken 4 days of leave, inclusive of Saturday and Sunday. If only 2 days of leave are marked, this will encourage most staff to take leave on Friday and Monday, allowing them to enjoy a long weekend.

Dear Prasad,

Please update your knowledge about the Factory Act. It is applicable to all employees of the organization, including directors. Please check the applicability clause given in the act. You are absolutely wrong to say that the Factories Act is applicable to daily wage workers only.

Dear, who has made this term "staff"? We only created this term; nowhere is it written, and I have never read this word in any act. For other acts like the Industrial Disputes Act, we can determine whether they apply to workmen or not. There is also no mention of "staff."

What problem will you face if someone takes their leave and enjoys weekends? If the departmental head sanctions leave, then it is okay.

J. S. Malik

I agree with Malikjs. If an employee takes leave before the end of the week, then the weekly off should not be considered because the weekly off is compulsory.

Hi MehulV,

Mr. Malik is right. It depends on the leave taken. If he/she took leave for 2 days just before the weekend, only two leaves will be considered. If one leave is taken before the weekend and the other is in continuation with the weekend, then 4 leaves will be considered.

Regards,
Tarun V

Hi,

It depends on the leave policy of the company. In general, if it is sick days (Friday and Monday) - in between sick days are considered as leave only.

Hi Mehul,

I agree with our members' suggestions. The leave policy depends on the organization. Coming to your question, if a person is taking leave on Friday and Monday, and Saturday and Sunday are also days off, the leave should be considered for 4 days.

Other leave rules as per my company's policy are as follows:
1. Employees can avail of SL with CL.
2. CL cannot be taken for more than 3 days in a month.
3. PL and SL can be taken together.
4. Sick leave for more than three days should require a medical certificate.

These are some of the leave rules for your information.

Regards,
Manoj

In reference to the Factories Act Sec. 79A, if the employee is on Earned Leave, i.e., Privilege Leave, then only 2 days, i.e., Friday & Monday (in this case), will be credited from the Employee's Leave Account (Saturday & Sunday being considered as off-days). The employee will be entitled to get pay for the entire 4-day period "provided that it is a sanctioned leave." Unsanctioned leave or leave without information is treated as absence from duty, and therefore pay can be deducted for all 4 days.

In this case (to my knowledge), C.L. is non-applicable. The Company's Leave Policy has to be referred to.

Dear Mehul,

While availing PL/EL, holidays and weekly offs falling during the leave period will not be counted. For example, if "A" has taken a 10-day leave and two weekly offs fall in between, "A" can enjoy 12 days off, but only 10 PLs will be deducted.

Regarding CL and SL, it depends on the company policy whether to count weekly offs in the leave period. Our company does not count weekly offs or holidays in the CL and SL period.

Suresh

Dear Mehul,

If an employee is availing leave and weekly offs are falling in between the leave period, then the weekly offs will be reckoned as leave. The employee has to mention the same dates in the leave application form as continued leave. In this case, the employee has to mention the dates, i.e., from Friday to Monday, as continued leave and can avail leave of any type subject to availability of leave in his leave account. Depending on the availability of leave, payment for these days shall be made.

Thanks,
Amit Anand Gera

I agree with what Mr. Malik has said. Since I am working in the IT sector, we never consider Saturday and Sunday as part of our leave entitlement. This is because the terms and conditions of the company's service policy, specifically the Leave Policy and Working Days Policy, clearly state that we are expected to work five or six days a week. Consequently, only two leaves will be deducted from the employee's account, not four.

Dear all,

In my view, it is right to deduct 4 days of leave from his balance. Most companies follow this rule to control absenteeism. He must work either the previous day of the day off or the day following the day off. For example, if Sunday is a day off and someone takes leave on Friday and Saturday, we can consider it as two days of leave. If the leave is taken on Saturday and Monday, we can consider it as three days of leave.

Thank you.

Hi Manoj, you mentioned SL and CL, SL and PL can be taken together, but it is not right that CL, SL, PL any two are not clubbed together. Those are clubbed only with C/off. At least one day must be worked in between CL, SL, and PL.

CL-SL = do not give
CL-PL = do not give
SL-PL = do not give
CL-C/off = can give
SL-C/off = can give
PL-C/off = can give

Dear Kailas,

Generally, we provide 12 CLs for one year. In this, we will give one CL for one month. The maximum CLs that can be availed is 3, but the employee must have a balance. It is better to give CLs for the current month and the previous month. For example, if an employee applies for 2 CLs in January, we cannot grant them. However, if they apply for 2 CLs in February, we can provide them (given they have a balance from January).

If an employee wishes to take 3 CLs in March, we can approve it if they have the balance from January and February. If they apply for 4 CLs in April, we can only grant 3 CLs even if they have a balance of 4 CLs.

Thank you.

One person is absent for two days (between 1 to 7) in a week. Is he eligible for the 7th-day (Sunday) wage?

What if... the company is giving annually 14 leaves to the employees and from that, they are counting Saturday and Sunday as leaves from the account of 14 leaves. In this case, should the company also count weekends as leaves? Please suggest.