Laws Governing Holidays and Leave Policy in Karnataka
There are two primary laws that govern the holidays and leave policy of your company in Karnataka:
The Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961
Similar legislations have been enacted in other states.
Categories of Holidays and Leaves
The holidays and leaves under these statutes can be categorized as follows:
- **National Holidays:** These holidays are declared compulsorily, and the establishments do not have flexibility in timing them. The specified national holidays are 26th January, 1st May, 15th August, 2nd October, and 1st November.
- **Festival Holidays:** Though the festival holidays are compulsory, the establishment has the flexibility to choose from a list of about 50 festivals available in the Schedule to The Karnataka Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Act, 1963. Five festival holidays in each calendar year have to be declared in addition to the National Holidays.
- **General Elections:** In case of general elections to the Lok Sabha and Vidhana Sabha, and in case of any by-election, a holiday needs to be declared for all employees on polling day.
- **Weekly Holidays:** Every establishment is required to remain closed for at least one day of the week. The employer shall fix such a date at the beginning of the year. Information Technology Establishments, Information Technology enabling services or establishments, Bio-Technology and Research Centres, in addition to certain other establishments, are exempt from the provisions of Weekly Holidays.
Annual Leave with Wages
Every employee in an establishment is entitled to leave with wages, calculated as follows:
- **Earned Leave:** One day for every twenty days of work performed by an adult, resulting in about 1.5 days a month and 18 days per annum.
- **Contingency/Sick/Medical Leave:** Every employee is entitled to leave with wages for a period not exceeding twelve days, due to sickness, accidents, or other reasonable causes.
Carry Forward of Leave Balances
If an employee does not take the whole of the allowed leave in a calendar year, the remaining leave shall be added to the leave for the succeeding calendar year. The total number of days of leave carried forward should not exceed thirty days. Excess leave will either expire or be paid to the employee as Leave Encashment.
Other leaves include Maternity leave, ESI leave, etc. The national, festival, and weekly holidays declared by the establishment must be prominently displayed at the place of business and intimated to the Labor Department every calendar year.
Summary of Minimum Leave/Holidays Requirements
The table below summarizes the Minimum Leave/Holidays requirements for an establishment registered under The Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961:
| Sl No. | Type of Leave | Number of Days |
| ------ | ------------------- | -------------- |
| 1 | National Holidays | 5 |
| 2 | Festival Holidays | 5 |
| 3 | Weekly Holidays | 52 |
| 4 | Earned Leave | 18 |
| 5 | Contingency Leave | 12 |
| | Total | 92 |
The total of 92 days mentioned in the table above may seem quite a lot, but in actual practice, if one were to include holidays that an employer is forced to declare because of frequent bandhs, the demise of prominent personalities, etc.