Understanding Leave Types: Can Short Leaves Be Counted as Paid Leave?

Respected Sir, kindly help me with the definition of Leave such as PL, CL, and SL. Is there any law which says less than 3 days of leave cannot be treated as PL? If the company does not offer any CL and SL, and offers 1 day leave after every 20 days of physical working, then too, should an employee's one day leave be treated as Absent or can we treat it as PL?

If the Company wants to give 15 days leave as per the Factories Act, is it possible to divide this 15 days leave into CL and SL to provide benefits to employees and avoid salary deductions for their one or two days of absence?

Kindly give your suggestions and reply as early as possible. If you can provide me with links that can help me prove my points in front of management, it will be really useful for me.

I look forward to your reply eagerly.

Thanks & regards,
Dipti

Leave Provisions in Various Acts

Provision for PL is available in the Factories Act. Provision of CL is available in the Shops and Establishments Act. Provision of SL is available in the ESI Act. If this Act is not applicable, an employee can avail of this leave by virtue of an agreement or policy.

Details on PL Granting

PL can be granted for a minimum of three days and for three occasions in a year as per the Factories Act. Apart from this, it will solely depend on the management's will. An employee can apply for 15 days of PL if no leave balance is available. Then PL can be granted in case of sickness only.

Categories of Leaves

There are three categories of leaves:

1. Casual Leaves: Taken at short notice.
2. Medical Leaves
3. Privilege Leaves: Granted by management decision.

Dear Dipti, there are no rules for availing minimum days of PL. In some companies, the policy allows for a fixed number of occasions. For example, if in a company an employee can avail PL only for 5 occasions, then he can avail half a day, 5 days, 1 day, 20 days, and 2 days, as long as he does not exceed the occasions. In some companies, they do not have any occasions.

Hence, it can be clarified that PL can be availed for half a day to any number of days at a time, and the Factories Act has no rule in this regard.

Regards, Clement

Quarter System Leave Policy

There is a Quarter System, which means an employee can take 5 leaves (3 casual + 2 sick leaves) in 3 months. If the leaves are not availed in the first 3 months, they can be carried forward. Any extra working days of employees are to be adjusted in leaves.

Regards,
Meena Sheoran
HR Manager

First, you need to determine under which Act you are covered, whether it is under the Factories & SO Act or the Shop & Establishment Act. Both the Factories Act and the Shop & Establishment Act provide provisions regarding leave, so it depends on the applicability of the Act.