Can an Employee's Notice Period Be Extended if They Take Earned Leave? Seeking Advice

Please advise,

An employee can avail E.L. during the notice period, as per the appointment letter, which states a one-month notice period for confirmed employees. If he avails E.L. during the notice period, can we extend his notice period against E.L.? Please advise on how to treat his E.L.

Regards,
Rakesh Dubey

Employee cannot avail any kind of leave during the notice period. If he has availed any leaves, the number of days can be extended as a notice period.

Hi,

An employee can avail earned leave (EL) during the notice period. To take EL, the employee must submit the leave application at least 15 days before availing EL to the employer. According to the Factories Act, it is at the management's discretion to sanction the leave based on the service requirements of the employees.

The notice period exists for the purpose of ensuring that the work or department where the employee is currently employed does not suffer when the employee leaves the organization. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the departing employee, train the replacement, and provide guidance on the tasks the departing employee used to handle.

In the interest of natural justice, a person who has resigned should refrain from taking any leave to avoid causing inconvenience to the organization. Doing so would be considered unfair and illegal.

Regards,
Mohan Rao
Manager HR

Depends upon the company policy, but in practice, EL can be adjusted against the notice period in most of the companies.

SK

Employees can avail earned leave during their notice period because they have accrued it through working, so it can be adjusted accordingly.

Paramjeet Singh

It purely depends on company policy. I don't think there is any rule regarding the non-availing of earned leave during the notice period.

It may also happen that if any employee is taking leaves during the notice period, it will be counted as LWP (Leave Without Pay).

Dear Mr. Mohan Rao and Mr. Sanjeev have given their views, which are universally accepted.

Regards,
R. Palaniswamy

It's not like that. LWP is marked only when he/she has no earned leave in his/her account, and the employee proceeds on leave with the consent of the HOD.

Paramjit

Dear,

The notice period has nothing to do with EL. It is very clear that an employee can avail EL during the notice period, and as such, there are no restrictions for taking such leaves during the notice period.

Thanks,
Paramjit

Dear all,

As I understand, there is no law governing the adjustment of leaves in the notice period. Mr. Mohan Rao has referred to the Factories Act, but most offices will be covered under the Shop and Establishment Act. Whether to adjust or not, and how many leaves to adjust, should be mentioned in the HR policy. It is generally not specified in the appointment letter. Based on practice, the number of leaves is at the discretion of management.

What is also important here is the calculation of the right number of earned, privileged, or annual leaves that have to be considered. In conclusion, it is better to have these details mentioned in the HR policy or appointment letter. If not covered by law, calculate the prorated leaves available and provide the benefit to the separating employee. In this case, management should decide whether to grant the leaves depending on the employee's utility.

Importantly, ensure that a comprehensive HR policy covering all such points is implemented. It should have a solid legal foundation.

Hope this clarifies.

Vikas Bhardwaj

Dear Friends,

Let's look at this situation as follows:

1. An employee resigns and gives, say two months' notice as per the terms of his contract of employment.

2. He wants immediate release and is willing to pay for the notice period. He is within his rights as most appointment letters, in their exit clause, stipulate a notice period or salary in lieu of the notice period.

3. He works for some days during the notice period, and in between, he requests for some days of leave. Now, there is no hard and fast rule that he cannot be granted leave. It is a decision which the management will have to take. His request can be considered favorably or it can be declined.

Please remember EL will be encashed at the time of his full and final settlement. Therefore, it is not a big deal if leave is granted to the employee. However, it is necessary to impress upon the employee that he is obliged to do the handover properly to the satisfaction of the management before being finally relieved.

4. Also, at times, the management decides to accept and relieve the employee immediately, waiving off the notice period.

Considering all the above situations, I recommend that the employee be spoken to, and it is mutually agreed that he will do a proper handover, and only then would he be formally relieved. Leave may then be granted at the discretion of the management.

Best Wishes,

Vasant Nair