Continuous Leave Dilemma: Should National Holidays Be Paid During Leave?

Query Regarding Continuous Leaves

I have one query related to continuous leaves. Suppose a person is going on leave from 13th August to 17th August, and 15th August falls on a Saturday, which is a national holiday, and 16th is Sunday.

So, should I deduct their salary for all days, or should I pay them for the national holiday? That means 15th August will not be counted as a leave day.

As per my understanding, those days will be deducted, but I would appreciate comments on this. I may be mistaken.

Regards,
Simran Mandla

15th August will be considered as a leave because one day before attendance is necessary for paid national holiday.

Hello Simran,

To the extent I know, if the person has applied Casual Leave (CL), then the intervening holidays (be they national, festival, or Sundays) won't be counted as 'leave'. If, however, the person applies Earned Leave (EL) or Privileged Leave (the term some companies use) or any other form of leave, then all the intervening holidays will count as leave.

Regards,
TS

Dear Simran Mandla,

There are differences on this point. According to the Shops and Establishments Act and the Factories Act, if the leave starts or ends on a holiday or a closed day, such leaves are excluded (in many states). With regard to intervening holidays and closed days, however, there are differences. The Factories Act includes such a holiday or closed day in the leave.

Mr. Srivastava, can you please elaborate on the above statement?

It will be considered as leave.

I have worked in 3 different companies; this is my 3rd job. In all companies, we followed the same pattern: if GH falls within the leave period, it will also be considered as leave.

Dear Simran, we can apply one or two days as casual leave. Suppose it is more than that, it will be considered earned leave only. In this case, we need to know whether he reported back to work on the 17th or not. If he reported back to work on that particular day, it will be a holiday for him.

Regards,
Parvathi Shetty

Hi Simran,

You will have to pay him for 15th August as it's a national holiday. You cannot deduct his salary for that day.

Nisha

Dear All,

To summarize, in this case on August 15, since the employee has taken leave on the preceding and succeeding days, this will be treated as leave. Let me clarify, since this time Independence Day falls on a Sunday, whether we need to pay for that day...?

Regards,
PT Ramesan

Dear [Recipient],

If he takes continuous leave, then it's not a matter of a national holiday or Sunday. You want to deduct salary for both days.

Regards,
Sachin

Dear Simran,

If an employee applies for PL from 13th to 17th, then 15th August will be counted in his PL. If an employee goes on PL from 16th, then 15th can be paid to him as a Paid Holiday; otherwise, not.

Suresh Chavan H.R. Manager - Navnit Group

Dear Simra,

First of all, you should understand that leave is only provided against working days instead of national holidays, holidays provided to employees by the establishment, i.e., gazetted or restricted, or week off for the employees.

The person who is on leave from 13th Aug to 17th Aug, with 15th Aug being Independence Day and 16th Aug treated as Sunday, which I think may be the week off. So his leaves will be 3 days (if balance i.e., EL/CL/SL) and if approved by the competent authority, then no deduction can be done. You have to pay for the national holiday and his week offs.

Thanks & regards,

Sumit Kumar Saxena

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons], [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Hi Simran Mandla,

You must pay for that day. There are no criteria for such type of deduction.

Regards

Hi all,

It depends on the company's leave policy. However, in many companies, in the case of continuous leave, all days are counted as leave even if there is a holiday or Sunday in between. Stringent care should be taken while framing any HR policy or rule, keeping in mind the interests of both employees and the company.

Dear Simran,

If he is not present on 17th August, then you have to consider it as leave. If he is present on 17th, then you have to pay for it as Public Holiday and a day off in his salary.

Satish

Dear Sir/Madam,

Give me some suggestions. I have one query: one employee is working in two different companies. Are PF benefits applicable for both sides or not?

Thanks,
Yaraballi.

Dear friend,

Leave Categories: Earned Leave vs. Casual Leave

There are two categories of leave titles: Earned Leave and Casual Leave. If the employee applies for earned leave, the entire period from August 13th to 17th, including August 15th and 16th (Sunday), will be considered as leave and will be deducted from the leave account of the individual.

On the other hand, if it is casual leave, the employee can avail of the Public Holidays and weekly holidays during their casual leave period; in such cases, those holidays will not be counted as leave. However, continuous casual leave is limited to 10 days only as per Government rules.

I hope your doubt has been cleared.

Regards,
Suri Babu Komakula

I agree with TS—if it is a CL, no leave; if any other type, then consider leave.

Regards,
Shivani

As per the rule, it's counted as leave (as applicable in most organizations). If he is absent on the 17th, but if he joined on the 17th, the salary will be deducted only for the 14th. If not, 4 days' salary to be deducted.

As per my knowledge, if an employee takes leave after and before a festive holiday, Sunday, or National holiday, then it will be counted as leave in the case of Sunday and Festive holiday. However, a "National Holiday" will be counted as a holiday.

You can pay the person on the 15th only if the person is reporting on the 17th. If he does not report on the 17th, though the 15th of August is a holiday, it is considered as a leave, and Sunday is also considered as a leave.

Hi,

As per the Factory Act, staff and workers should be given time off for festivals and national holidays. Whether they take leave or not is dependent on this requirement.

Regards,
Hari

Re: Continuous Leave

Simran,

According to the Factory Act of 1948, the National festival or even Sunday falling within the period of earned leave will not be counted as leave.

Regards,
Meetu Sharma

Hi,

During continuous leaves, if there is a holiday, it is not considered as a leave and does not need to be deducted from casual leave or paid leave.

Dear Simran,

If your establishment is covered under the National and Festival Holidays Act of your respective state, then the following guidelines are applicable.

Categories of Holidays

There are two categories of holidays: National Holidays and Festival Holidays.

National Holidays

- 26th January
- 01st May
- 15th August
- 02nd October

For these days, there is no qualifying period for granting leave. In other words, if any employee absents himself or applies for leave, then this should not be treated as leave (no deductions from his leave account), and he will be entitled to wages on that day of absence or leave. It is immaterial whether it is Casual leave or Earned leave. Even if the employee does not have any leave to his credit and he is not present on any of the National Holidays, then he is entitled to wages.

Festival Holidays

In the case of a Festival Holiday, he must have worked for at least 30 days in the preceding 90 days prior to the holiday to become eligible for granting leave.

Please note that each establishment is required to submit to the inspector every year in December the list of 4 National Holidays mentioned above and 5 festival holidays after consulting with the union if present. The concerned inspector will approve the list, and this has to be displayed on the company's notice board.

In the event any of the above 9 holidays (4 NH & 5 FH) falls on a Sunday, which is their weekly off, then the employee has to be given a substituted holiday or has to be paid wages for the day. As per the act, the monthly wages/salary paid is computed considering 26 days with Sundays as the weekly off (no wages).

Trust the matter is clear.

Regards,
M.V. KANNAN

Leave Policy Clarification

It varies from organization to organization depending upon the HR policies. There are concepts of Earned Leaves, Casual Leaves, and Sick Leaves. For Sick Leaves, intervening holidays or closed days are counted in the leave entitlement, whereas for Earned Leaves or Casual Leaves, intervening holidays or closed days are not included in the leave calculation.

Regards,
HC Nagar

It is surprising that this debate is still raging on. One question on leave, and no consensus among members! Does it not reflect the state of HR in our country? No better example of "India is a land of diversity," perhaps?

I find that some members have given "correct" replies, which have not been taken note of. Full marks to members tajsateesh, nishakanodia, sumitk.saxena, phaiboon, Meetu Sharma, pratap_drf, nagarhc among others.

It is correct that the way of calculation of leaves differs from organization to organization; the best and the good ones give the benefit to employees, whereas the Shylockian organizations keep on making rules that deny the employees clubbing national/closed holidays or using it as a suffix and prefix.

Organizational Policies and Their Impact

What kind of policies an organization has defines what kind of organization it is. It is for the HRs to propose a good leave policy to the management, rather than trying to find out whether certain dubious practices are also being followed in other organizations or not. I hope some members come out with a "fair" policy on leave.

Warm regards.

Maybe the leave comes continuously for him. For national festival holidays, you should not deduct wages. You have to pay for all national festival holidays as it's a rule.

It depends on the company's internal policies. No act mandates cutting the salary before and after holidays for leaves. Employees sometimes take advantage of these holidays by extending their leave. Usually, companies implement this type of leave policy to prevent increased absenteeism and ensure production is not affected. Kindly mention which type of firm yours is because BPO and IT-related companies may have some exemptions. Act according to how your internal guidelines reflect.

Regards,
Jagadish V
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

It depends on what policy regarding continuous leave a corporation is following. It may vary from one company to another. It is always advisable to provide benefits to employees, but a limit should also be set to prevent the misuse of the policy. I agree with the view expressed by Raj Kumar Hansdah.

Regards,
UK

Suppose the 1st day of any month starts with Sunday, and an employee, X, is absent on Monday. My question is, should Sunday be added to his wages or considered as a leave day? The condition is that the employee was present on the last day of the previous month, which was Saturday. If the salary for the month has already been paid, how should we manage the situation regarding the absent Sunday?

Thank you.

Query on Leave and Salary Calculation

Suppose the 1st day of any month starts with Sunday, and an employee, X, is absent on Monday. My question is, should Sunday be added to his wages or considered as a leave day? The condition is that X was present on Saturday, the last day of the previous month. However, if we have already paid the salary for that month, how should we manage that day (Sunday)?

Dear Pradeep, I presume that X is a regular employee of your company and that you are the concerned HR of the company, and I hope the rules/policies apply to all. Now, just put yourself in place of X. I am sure you will immediately arrive at the solution on your own.

Warm regards.

It is up to the company whether it gives him Sunday off or not, but I would like to hear your suggestion, please.