Privilege Leave Policies: Is My Company Being Too Generous or Just Right?

Hi all,

My company's leave policy states that a permanent employee can have 24 days of privilege leave - this can be accrued as well. This is in addition to the casual leave and sick leave quota.

What does your company say in terms of privilege leave? What does it mean to you? Is my company being too generous to employees? Please give me your inputs.

Sneha

Hello Sneha,

It is difficult for a third party to comment on your company's approach towards employees in terms of leaves. The number of leaves offered to the staff depends on various factors such as statutory compliance, nature of work, working hours, and whether the staff works 5, 6, or even 7 days a week at times. Therefore, your allocation of 24 days of leave may also include compensatory time off. I suggest you thoroughly analyze all the parameters before making a decision.

Best wishes,
Babita

Hi everyone,

I am Anju, working as an HR Assistant at AsiaPower Overseas. I want to know where I can find good resources for HR-related studies in Delhi.

Companies consider that leave is not a right but a privilege granted to meet social and personal needs of the employees. As per Delhi Shop & Establishment Act, all establishments in Delhi have to give a minimum of 12 CL and 15 PL. These figures may vary from state to state. It is at the company's discretion whether to give more leaves or not. So, in my view, it's good that your company is giving 24 privilege leaves. Most of the MNCs follow such practice regarding leaves. Moreover, productivity doesn't depend on how long you work but on how efficiently you work.

Regards,
Abhishek

Hi Alin,

I was wondering why you have this doubt that you are being too good to your employees. What you have described is normal in the banking sector in India. Considering that they get nearly all public holidays, it's frightening when you count the actual working days. However, they don't seem to be the worse for wear - as far as organizational performance goes. Some of them get "AAA" ratings and do quite well.

As Abhishek mentioned, leave is a privilege. Do you have cases of misuse? Those would have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. I overall agree with Abhishek's comments. What is the reason for your doubt?

Regards,
Ryan

Dear Abhishek,

It's true that productivity depends on efficiency, but in some cases, being present in the office becomes important. We are a software company, and employees work closely with clients. There is always something that the client wants to discuss with them, so long absences can be problematic. Since employees know they have leave, they tend to use it even if they don't strictly need to.

I just want to know if your company also offers 24 days of privilege leave? By the way, our company is in Tamil Nadu.

Thanks,
Sneha

Dear Ryan,

The reason I had this doubt is because of the hitches that we face as a mid-sized organization when employees take long holidays. It does not affect their individual performances, though. I understand that they are allowed to take such holidays according to their leave policy. All I wanted to know was, does your company provide 24 privilege holidays per employee?

Thanks,
Sneha

Hi Sneha,

Actually, my organization gives 30 days of PL per annum to all employees. 😊 So, if productivity is not affected, then it's no problem. To handle customer queries in their absence, ensure that your process documentation is up to the mark and current. Also, ensure that the current status is handed over to colleagues and the boss before the employee proceeds on leave.

All the best.

Regards, Ryan

Wow! Ha ha, okay.

Then I guess we aren't as good to our employees as you are to yours. The PL can be carried for a maximum of 3 years, right?

Thanks for the input, Ryan.

Sneha

Hey Sneha, please remember that giving them a leave entitlement of x days and sanctioning (allowing) them to avail the leave are 2 different things. 😂 😉 Would you like to revise your definition of "being good to employees"?

By the way, this is also a complaint in quite a few organizations that work pressure is such that they are unable to avail leave (part or all of it), and hence a policy of leave encashment was born.

I am not aware of such limits for carrying forward of PL. As far as I understand, carrying forward one's leave balance is an internal company policy, which can vary from organization to organization.

All the best! and you're welcome.

Ryan

Hi, Sneha,

I guess we might need to redefine "being good" in our company's policy. The PL can be carried over for a maximum of 3 years; it expires after 3 years with no encashing. As you said, it seems to be a matter of internal policy and does not appear to be hard and fast legally.

Best regards