Long Leave Dilemma: Should Sundays and Holidays Count as Unpaid Leave Days?

Can anyone tell me if an employee is on leave for a long time, should Sundays or other holidays also be counted as part of the leave from the office? In other words, should only absence from working days be considered as leave, or should Sundays and other holidays falling within the leave period be treated as leave without pay?

Regards,
Shalini

If an employee goes on leave and during the period of his/her leave, there is any weekly off or paid holiday that falls in between, then those weekly offs or paid holidays will be counted as part of the leave.

If a shop floor employee, i.e., a machine operator, takes leave and encounters a weekly off or a paid holiday during this time, those days will not be considered as part of his leave because he is paid on a daily wage basis and does not receive payment for weekly offs or paid holidays.

On the other hand, if a management employee, i.e., an employee from a management cadre, goes on leave and experiences a weekly off or a paid holiday during this period, those days will be counted as part of his leave since he is paid monthly and is compensated for weekly offs and paid holidays.

Thank you.

If any employee is on leave for a long time, then their weekly off and paid holidays are considered as leave. If an employee is absent before and after a holiday, then their weekly off and paid holidays are also considered as absent.

In my company, if any employee goes on leave, we consider their weekly off as a weekly off, not as leave. This also depends on company policy, but generally, it is considered as leave.

Let me know if you have any queries.

Regards,
Hemant Modi
Sr. Officer - Human Resources
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

The counting of leave in the middle of a leave period generally depends on the leave policies of the company. Your query is not very clear; however, if it is regarding sick leave, all days from day one until the last day are counted as sick leave and remain paid or unpaid based on the leave balance available to the employee.

Earned Leave (EL) / Privilege Leave (PL) or Casual Leave

This is based on the management's discretion.

For operators, as explained by Ankit.

Regards,
Suresh

Thanks, guys. My only concern was to know if my two days' leave prior to Holi for a home visit will be treated as leave from the office, even on Holi leave (Saturday and Sunday).

You need to first tell us when you joined. If you resumed your work on Monday, then you can apply for leave only for Thursday and Friday. However, if you resumed your work after Monday (i.e., on Tuesday or Wednesday), then even your holidays (Saturday & Sunday) will be counted as part of your leave.

Intervening Leave Policy

As per the Factory Act, intervening leave should not be considered as leave if it is taken with pay. However, the company can establish a policy for situations where leave exceeds the prescribed limit.

Thank you.

According to my knowledge, leave rules are prepared by companies based on statutory provisions (Factories Act/Standing Orders/Shops and Establishment Acts). In EL (Earned Leave), intervening holidays/off days will not be treated as leave, whereas in the case of PL (Privilege Leave), intervening holidays/off days are considered as leave. Public sector companies, banks, MNCs, and some other organizations provide 21 to 30 days of PL.

For CL (Casual Leave), intervening holidays/off days will not be counted as leave. In the case of SL (Sick Leave), intervening holidays/off days are considered as leave since one cannot be sick only on a Saturday and then miraculously recover by Monday.

However, this could be subject to the discretion of the management.

Types of Leave

Leave is generally of three types: Casual, Medical/Sick, and Earned. CL (Casual Leave) and SL (Sick Leave) are granted as per the organization's policy. Normally, an intervening holiday or Sunday that comes in between CL will not be taken into consideration. The standing orders will have clauses about this.

In the case of SL or medical leave, the intervening holiday or Sunday is taken into consideration. Normally, the standing orders or disciplinary rules of the company will address this. When we were working, we made it a point that any holiday or Sunday preceding or following a weekly off or holiday would also be considered leave. For example, if an employee applies for leave on Thursday and Friday, then the preceding Saturday and Sunday will also be considered as leave. This principle was common in manufacturing companies to discourage employees from being absent on all working days. However, with the influx of software companies and MNCs, this practice has changed, and the above principle is conveniently forgotten.

Earned Leave (EL) and Legal Considerations

EL is granted according to the Factories Act. Therefore, if any holiday (declared under national and festival holidays) or Sunday falls on leave days, it shall not be taken into consideration, as per the law. However, this practice has also seen some changes.

I hope I have made myself clear about this.

Regards,
Dr. Nagaraj
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear All, The above discussions may be summed up as follows (except for daily wage earner shop floor employees as beautifully explained by Shri Ankit Chaturvedi Ji, Board Moderator):

Leave Policy Summary

Leave begins as leave and ends as leave. No holidays or weekly offs are to be allowed in between leave. However, holidays and weekly offs can be prefixed and/or suffixed to the leave. This rule does not apply to casual leave. Casual leave may have intervening holidays/weekly offs. However, casual leave cannot be clubbed with privilege leave, earned leave, leave without pay, sick leave, or maternity leave, etc.

Yes, Sunday and other leave days count as leave when somebody takes a long leave. If any Sunday or other day off falls between your leave period, it will be counted as leave.

In case 1, if someone is using SL (Sick Leave), and in that scenario, any weekly off or NH falls in between, it will be counted as leave.

In case 2, it depends on the category:
- For employees in the staff category: If Sunday falls in between, it will be counted as leave.
- For employees in the worker category: If Sunday falls in between, it will be considered as a weekly off or national holiday.

In case 3, in the event of CL: If a weekly off occurs between two leaves, it will be treated as absent.

I hope you now have a clear understanding of the policies.

Regards,
Purushottam Dass Matta
Sr. Executive HR & Admin
Jaipur
Mob: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons], [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Hi All, I am working in an IT company in Pune, Maharashtra. I have a query regarding leaves. If an employee (who is on probation) takes leaves from 25th March till 4th April for exams, the company has declared a half-day due to the India-Pakistan match on 30th March, and also on 2nd April. Additionally, we have a holiday on 4th April for Gudipadva. In this case, what will be the deductions?

Leave Policy Clarification

We have a policy that if a paid holiday or Sunday falls in between leaves, they will be considered as leaves.

Thanks & Regards,
Suvarna

If you are getting paid for the holidays, holidays will also be counted (i.e., paid monthly salary for 30 days). If you are getting paid for only working days (i.e., 20, 24, or 25), only the leaves that you have taken will be considered as leave.

It varies from company to company. Some companies count the offs and holidays as leave, whereas some companies don't.

If weekly off is payable, then it should be counted in leave (in overlapping cases), e.g., monthly paid; 30 days cases, Management Staff category.

If weekly off is not payable, it should not be counted in leave, e.g., daily rated - monthly paid; 26 days cases (workmen).

With best regards,

Sunil L. Panse
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Will someone tell me if an employee on leave (EL)/(SL) and during that period, if a national holiday occurs, what should we do? Should we request a leave application or provide a paid holiday?

Please reply.

Regards,
Vishwajeet Kadam

Hi Shalini,

The policies regarding leave and holidays can vary depending on the company and the specific employment contract or labor laws in your jurisdiction.

Leave and Holidays Policy

In many organizations, when an employee is on leave, weekends and public holidays that fall within the leave period are not typically counted as part of the leave. These days are considered non-working days by default, so they don't count toward the leave balance.

For example, if an employee takes a week of leave starting from Monday, they would generally return to work the following Monday, and weekends in between would not be considered part of the leave.

Thanks

Specificity in Leave Policies

The question should be more specific. Long leave must be on a loss of pay or leave without pay. If so, the weekly off and all holidays intervening must be included as leave without pay.

Privilege Leave

For privilege leave, weekly offs and holidays will not be counted for the total days of leave, and no salary will be deducted.

Casual Leave and Sick Leave

For casual leave and sick leave, intervening holidays are included.

Dr. K. K. Anirudhan