Can Probationary Employees Take Leave? Seeking Advice on Adjusting Leave Policies

Dear all,
Am drafting the leave policies for my company, A BPO in Pune.
Would appreciate the inputs on the leave taken during the probation period – normally it would be considered as leave without pay.
Can we allow them to avail leave during the probation period and adjust the same on their confirmation after six months with their accrued leave.
Thanks,
Bhawana

Hi,

You can allow the trainee 11 days of leave entitlement. In my organization, we have CL and PL, and we allow 11 days of leave for any trainee joining the organization. However, we do not adjust it once he/she is confirmed.

Regards,
Derek

Different companies follow different patterns and leave policies. Our company does not allow any leave during the probation period. If somebody goes on "pre-approved" leave, their leave balance would be reflected as negative, which would be adjusted once they complete their probation period.

Furthermore, our company follows a policy of crediting the leave arrears at the end of the probation period to the employees' leave balance.

Dear Bhawana,

Not granting leaves during the probation period will be illegal. However, what the law states is that you need not allow leaves during the first calendar year of joining. To be more precise, as per the law, you earn leaves during the first calendar year of your joining, which are credited to your account on the following 1st January, even if you are a probationer (if the probation period is six months and the date of joining is 1st August).

Another situation is when the date of joining is 1/2, the confirmation date is 1/8, but legally the person is not entitled to leaves until 1/1 of the next year.

BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS GIVE MORE THAN IS PROVIDED BY LAW.

KKT

Dear Bhawana,

During the probation period, an employee is not considered confirmed; that is, he/she is under observation. When the employee is not confirmed, he/she can take leave with approval. However, you can put leave without pay during probation.