Small Company Dilemma: Should We Deduct Sunday Pay if Saturday and Monday Are Taken Off?

In a small company setup where Saturday is a working day, if an employee takes off on a Saturday as well as Monday, should their salary for Sunday be deducted as well? We offer one leave a month. So, should Sunday's leave be deducted, considering Saturdays and Mondays are taken off or not?

I understand that leave policies vary among different companies, but I would like to know your opinion. Please remember that ours is a very small firm.

Please advise.

Hi,

As per our leave policy, if an employee takes leave on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, we will treat Sunday as a leave day. If the leave is only on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, we will not consider Sunday as a leave day. In this scenario, Sunday will be considered the weekly off.

Pradeep Nambiar
Hyderabad

Hi,

Please check the contract to determine whether you are paid on daily wages or monthly. If it's on a daily basis, then the scenario described is applicable. However, if it's a monthly wage structure, when an employee takes leave on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, Sunday is also considered as a leave day.

I have also encountered a similar situation with my previous employer, but when she clarified that it was a monthly wage, things got sorted out.

Regards,
Shalini Nair

Hi,

Thanks so much for your reply. As you're saying, if it's Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tue, then Sunday is deducted as a weekday. In your case, is Saturday a weekly off, or is it a working day? Please clarify.

Thanks again for your response.

Hi,

If any employee takes leave on Saturday as well as on Monday, Sunday will be treated as part of the leave. For one leave in a month, Sunday/weekly off is not calculated.

Deepak

Hi Shalini,

I endorse your opinion. I too have experienced the same issue a few months back when I took leave for four consecutive days from Friday to Monday. The management deducted my two days' salary since I had two compensatory offs in my account. When asking for the reason, they responded to me by saying that I am getting paid on a monthly basis and the company carries the policy of considering Sunday as leave if it comes in between the leave period.

Regards,
Sumir.

Dear Meenu,

As per the Labour Laws and State Shops and Establishment Act, Sundays will not be counted in the case of casual leaves. However, if an employee is availing paid leaves/earned leaves, then Sundays will be counted. For example: 'A' takes casual leaves on Saturday and Monday, then Sunday will not be counted. If he is on PL for the same period, then Sunday will be counted.

Regards,
Abhishek Bhowmik

Keep it Simple and Short (KISS) - Leaves are granted for rest and recreation and to honor personal commitments. If your company is a progressive company and believes in employee care, none of the in-between holidays should be counted. But if your company lives in an old age value system and believes that employees should be discouraged to take leaves, the in-between holidays should be counted. The choice is yours.

Dear All,

It depends on how many leaves you are entitled to in a year while having Saturday and Sunday off. Each company has its policy of encouragement or discouragement for employees regarding leaves. Most companies include the weekly off in the count if a leave is taken if it falls between two working days. The weekly off can be on any weekday.

Regards

Most of the IT companies have kept it simple. None of the in-between holidays are counted.

Most of the manufacturing companies have kept it complex for themselves and for their employees. They count in-between holidays.

You have to decide what your company wants.

According to our leave policy, if any employee takes leave on Saturday as well as on Monday too, Sunday will be treated as leave in the case of casual leave or also in the case of privilege leave. 😄😄😄😄😄

Hi,

You may refer to your respective state law in this regard. As far as the Factories Act is concerned, yes, all the weekly off/holidays falling in between the annual/privilege leaves are counted as leaves. However, for CL/SL, for legal purposes, you may refer to either your state's Shops and Commercial Establishment Act or Leaves and Holidays Act as applicable in your case.

As a growing company, you may also suggest to management to adopt unique/liberal policies to attract and retain employees.

Regards,
Rajeev

In our company, Sunday is treated as a leave day when leave is taken on Saturday and Monday if the leave is casual. Sunday is not treated as leave if the leave is PL.

Regards,
Padmini.

In general, and as per a legal point of view, if casual leave is taken on Saturday and Monday, it is treated as 2 days of C/L, excluding Sunday. This rule is applicable for any other closed holiday like Independence Day, etc. The same way, it is applicable for Sick Leave as well. The reason behind the sick leave concept is to safeguard the interest on humanitarian grounds because due to sickness, medical expenses may incur for the employee. Moreover, he/she may have to take more than the available sick leave entitlement, which may lead to Loss of Pay (LOP) as well. In this case, they will receive the salary for the days in between Sundays and other closed holidays at least. However, it depends on the company and its generosity.

The reason behind the casual leave calculation is also to safeguard the interest of the employee because this leave is taken suddenly and is not a pre-planned one. Moreover, in any company, the casual leave in a year cannot be more than 12 days, and if you start deducting Sundays and other holidays that fall in between, it will be exhausted quickly. This is not the case with Privilege leave because the number of privilege leave days can be much more, and employees are entitled to carry forward the same to future years, accumulating up to 24 days or even more, depending on the company policy. In such a case, even after deducting Sundays and other holidays in between, the employee won't face significant losses.

Please note that Sick Leave and Casual Leave cannot be combined. However, Sick Leave and Privilege Leave can be combined.

Regarding the query about salary deduction for Sunday when an employee takes off on Saturday and Monday in a small company setup where Saturday is a working day and one leave is offered per month, the deduction of Sunday's leave should be considered based on the company's leave policy. While leave policies vary across companies, in your small firm's case, it's advisable to check your specific company policy to determine the applicable leave deductions.

S. Kumarasubramanian

This is just a rule of thumb. The employer cannot deduct salary for Sunday. You should further let me know whether your employer is a company, whether it is engaged in trading, manufacturing, or both, the number of employees, etc. Then I will be able to determine whether it is covered under the Factories Act, 1948, or the Shop and Establishment Act, etc. All these statutes provide not only for a weekly off but also for the minimum leave structure.

Deepak Thukral
Chandigarh

Hi!

It's fair to consider the weekly off day as leave in the case of pre and post absence of the weekly off. In other organizations, it depends on the nature of the leave. For example, if it is a casual leave (CL), the weekly off falling in between will be considered as leave. In the case of sick leave supported with a medical certificate, the weekly off will not be counted as leave. Earned leaves with a weekly off are not counted as leaves.

In your case, we are considering the leave as a casual leave.

Regards,
Sonal

Our company has alternate Saturdays off. If an employee takes a day off on Friday and reports on Monday, how many leaves should be deducted? If an employee does not report on Monday, how many leaves should be deducted?

Thank you!

My current company deducts leaves in the following scenarios:

Case 1: If you come to the office on Saturday but take Monday off, they consider it as 2 days of leave (counting Sunday and Monday as holidays). Is this practice legal?

Case 2: If you don't come to the office on Saturday but take Monday off, they again consider it as 2 days of leave (counting Saturday and Sunday as holidays). Is this practice legal?

I have always believed that the prefix-suffix pattern is followed by the majority of companies for leave deductions. Can someone please provide assistance on this matter?

Kindly reply with your insights.

Dear All,

Kindly provide your valuable updates on the following situation: If Saturday is a regional/national holiday and a person is taking leave on Monday and Tuesday as well, will Sunday be included in the leave or not?

Thanks! I am eagerly awaiting your prompt response.

In such a case, Sunday is not a leave for him. He will get 2 days of leave for Saturday and Monday if there is leave balance. It means 1 day of leave a month gets accumulated if not availed.

On Saturday, I did not come to the office, but I did come in on Monday. My employer has not paid me my Sunday salary, as they have considered it as a holiday and deducted two days from my leave balance. This is correct as per company policy. If you have any HR-related questions, please feel free to ask.

Dear All,

If any employee takes 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 leave on Saturday as well as on Monday, should we consider Sunday as an absence or weekly off?

Regards,
Bhavesh