Is It Legal for Companies to Count Sick Days as Annual Leave? How Do You Handle This?

Dear all,

In my company, there is a strange rule: if you are sick, it will be counted as your normal leave. Regarding normal leaves - we have a quota of just 2 days per month (with the option of accruing). The result is that nobody wants to use these precious days for sick leave and come to the office feeling unwell.

For example, today I feel terrible, but still, I have come to the office, as I didn't plan to be sick and I have plans for my annual leave, which are more interesting than spending it being ill. The question is: is it legal for my boss to merge two different types of leave?

Being an HR manager, I understand the potential for misuse of sick leave, but as a currently sick employee, I want to cry and absolutely disagree. In my country, if you take sick leave for more than 2 days, you have to provide a medical certificate, in accordance with Russian Labor Law. What about India?

In most MNCs and big organizations, it is not unusual that there is no classification in leaves, i.e., a total of 24/30 leaves per annum will be credited to the employee account. There is no specification such as Casual/Sick/Earned; the employee can use them as per their requirement. In-between holidays and WOFFs are not part of these leaves. A minimum of 12/15 leaves need to be availed; if not availed, it will also be deemed as availed. At the end of the year, the remaining leaves, i.e., 12/15 or less, will be encashed and paid along with the salary for the month of January. On the first of January, 24/30 leaves will be credited to the employee account, with no carry-forward allowed. In this scenario, employees are not required to submit any medical certificate or mention the type of leave; only the reason and number of days to be availed are necessary.

Most organizations in India follow Sick/Casual/Earned leave structures. In the case of Sick Leave, if it exceeds 3 days, a medical certificate needs to be attached. Casual Leave cannot be carried forward or encashed. Sick Leave, in some organizations, may have a carry-forward option for up to a maximum of 2 years, with no encashment permitted. Earned Leave can accumulate up to a maximum of 90 days or more/less, with the option for encashment as well.

Best regards,
Kameswarao