Understanding Leave Policies and Holiday Considerations in IT Companies

Dear All,

Greetings of the day!

I am working with an SME that is partially into IT. My query is, if any employee takes leave on Saturday (a working day) and on Monday as well, should the number of leaves be counted as 3 (inclusive of Sunday)? If yes, should the same rule be followed for any other public holidays?

Regards,
Shikha

Yes, taking days off during holidays amidst leaves is considered as leave due to its continuous nature.

Regards,
Pankaj Chanan

No, they are not considered as leaves. It depends on company policy, but for government employees, it is considered as leave if there is an off day between two leaves. 🍂🍂

Thanks, Pankaj, for your reply on the same. However, I have heard that in IT companies, off/holidays in between are not considered as leave. Is this right? Since my company is also partially into IT, I would like to know the general practice that can be followed.

Regards,
Shikha

If you want to follow the herd, you are most welcome. But if you yourself want to frame the policies, then it's in your hands.

Thank you, Ravi, for your reply.

I would like to know whether non-government companies have to separately make a policy for the same because many of the private companies do not have any written policy for it but still, they follow the practice of counting off/holidays as leaves. What is the general practice for any private company that is into IT?

Regards,
Shikha

Dear Shikha,

Don't go by what you have heard; go for what is right. I do have IT company experience, and they are following what I have said earlier. More suggestions from seniors will help you.

Regards,
Pankaj Chandan

Hi,

There are two types of leave in any organization. The first is CL (Casual Leave) and the second is EL (Earned Leave), etc.

In case someone takes CL, then a holiday/Sunday will not be considered as a leave. Hence, the total is two leaves for Sat-Sun-Mon= 2 Leaves.

In the case of EL, a holiday/Sunday will be considered as a leave. Hence, the total is three leaves for Sat-Sun-Mon= 3 Leaves.

Best wishes,

Manoj Sharma

Actually, it is not considered as a leave. But company policies vary, as Ravi mentioned. Please check this personally with your management. If they question you on how it's done with other companies, please tell them that the in-between holiday "Sunday" is usually not counted while calculating the leave. A few companies do so, but employees don't prefer this and sometimes get demotivated.

We take it as three leaves in order to avoid absenteeism on Monday. For example, taking leave on Saturday and Monday, wherein we count Sunday as well.

Dear,

In Government Companies, in cases of leave taken on Saturday and Monday, then Sunday will also be counted as leave in cases of Earned Leave & Half Pay Leave. Whereas in cases of Casual Leave/Special Casual Leave/Optional Holiday, Sunday will not be counted as a holiday.

Thanks,
K. Sanju

Dear Shikha,

Our company considers it as only 2 days instead of 3 days, yet the employee still has to take leave on Saturday and Monday. This depends on the policy and agreement between management and the recognized union.

Regards,
Govind Pawar

After a long discussion with all of you, I want to share something. There are 32 leaves allowed to any type of salaried employee in any firm:
- Sick leaves = 8
- Casual leaves = 10
- Annual leaves = 14
These leaves are also paid or encashed at the end of the financial year by the validity of leaves. However, in your case, Shikha, it is definitely wrong and unethical if the company deducts or marks Sunday as absent because it's simply a compensation issue. Therefore, Sunday cannot be included in the Saturday and Monday holiday.
Regards,
UsufAnif

Dear Shikha,

As per the Factories Act of India, the leave admissible under the sub-section shall be exclusive of all holidays, whether occurring during or at either end of the period of leave.

As mentioned in one of the posts, there are types of leaves available as options to the employee. You may consider leaving the option to the employees. However, I would say if you really care for your employees and have a dedicated group of employees who are there not just for a salary, then your policies should be people-friendly. Just see how companies like Google are doing. They offer freedom, and with freedom goes more responsibility to the employees.

Dear Mr. Shikha,

I think you must consider only 3 days, as it will help avoid unwanted absenteeism. Actually, there is no government rule to consider that as leave. It's better if you establish rules and regulations or standing orders that need to be certified by the concerned labor inspector.

With regards,
Ramnath

Sanjeev,

Most of the top IT firms follow the policy of not considering the intervening holidays while calculating leaves. Casual leaves taken on Saturday and Monday are treated as 2 leaves and not 3. However, many small IT firms consider the holidays in between leaves as a leave, but it is not a healthy practice. This demotivates employees.

Such a benefit provided in leave policy would yield mind-blowing results and productivity. There are small things that make a huge difference.

Note: Intervening holidays will be treated as leave in case of maternity, paternity, and annual leaves.

Arpita

As Ravi said, it depends upon company policy.

Public organizations never do this, but my private and IT companies do consider continuous leave.

Actually, I think it is the HR people who suggest, prepare, or modify company policies, though management ratifies them. But which one do you think is better and more beneficial for both the employer and employee?

For example, in January, Mr. XYZ wants to take three days off. He has a total of 40 leaves in a year (6 CL, 6 SL, 28 EL) and accordingly, he has to utilize these leaves. If the company policy considers a holiday in between leaves as an additional leave, then Mr. XYZ may opt to use working days for leave to avoid losing a holiday. On the other hand, if a holiday in between leaves is not considered as leave, then he may prefer to use holidays for time off and be available on working days. In this scenario, in my opinion, it is beneficial for the employer as well.

I would appreciate it if other members could share their opinions on this issue.

Regards,

Hi Shikha,

I am an HR professional in an IT company. As per our policy, we consider it as respective leave. We do not work on Saturdays, but if an employee remains absent on Friday followed by Monday, then the total leave count goes up to 4 days. As mentioned earlier, it depends on the company and the framing of policies.

Regards,
MS Nair :)

Dear all,

There are various types of leaves provided in the statute:
- Casual Leave
- Earned Leave (Leave with Wages)
- Sick Leave.

The intervening holidays and rest day shall not be counted towards the days of leave. Earned leaves are governed by the Factories Act sec. 79.

Annual leave with wages.- (1)
(i)
(ii).

Explanation 1.-
Explanation 2.-
The leave admissible under this sub-section shall be exclusive of all holidays whether occurring during or at either end of the period of leave.

Similar is the situation for Casual leaves.

But for sick leave, the days of sickness leave during the holidays shall be counted towards the leave.

Bye.

Puneet Gupta

Dear Shikha,

It depends on the personnel policy of the company. However, if there are no leave rules in place, it is better to frame one to have a uniform policy and not leave something to the whims and fancies of the individual. The general policy followed is that if it is a Casual Leave or Earned Leave, intervening off is not considered as leave. However, if the leave is either Sick leave, Maternity leave, or Half-pay leave to be availed in sickness, illness, or maternity-related cases, then the intervening off will also be considered as leave.

Regards,
Premson

Hi,

If you refer to the act, it only specifies the number of minimum leave entitlements. Whether to account for holidays/weekends in between depends on the company, but a good practice is not to consider them as leaves. For example, if someone takes leave on Friday and Monday, it is ideally taken as two days of leave (as a good HR practice).

Ask yourself this: an employee gets paid for the month, i.e., 30 days, and not for 22/25 working days as the case may be. Hence, irrespective of when the leave is taken, leave deduction should be only for the absent dates if a good HR practice is to be set.

Regards,
Pankaj

In our organization, we do not consider the weekly offs or intervening holidays as leave. Only the actual working days for which the employee is absent are considered as leave, which is the practice in 80% of IT companies.

Ensure there is a single line break between paragraphs.

Hi Shikha,

It depends on company to company as my company is also an IT company, and we do not calculate Saturdays and Sundays in the case of continuous leaves.

Regards,
Trapti

Dear Shikha,

In my company, we don't count Sunday as leave if a person is on leave from Saturday to Monday. Mine is an NBFC. I don't know about IT companies. One more thing, as earlier stated, it depends on the HR person who is making the policy. There is no written law on the same.