Is It Fair to Deduct Salary for a Holiday Ending on a Sunday? Seeking HR Advice

Dear All,

I am working with a Ltd. company as a Sr. HR Executive. Today, I am facing a new problem.

The problem is that an employee of our company went on holiday on 25th May 2007, Saturday, and rejoined on 11th June 2007, Monday. He is not eligible for Earned Leave (EL) because our company policy states that an employee becomes eligible for EL after 240 days of joining. Consequently, I have deducted his salary for 10 days, meaning that 10 days of June were without pay. However, the employee claims that 10th June is a Sunday and should not be considered without pay since he rejoined the company on Monday, the 11th.

Therefore, I seek assistance from anyone on whether 10th June should be considered with pay or without pay.

Regards,
R/P/Dixit

Hi Dixit,

The week off depends on the company policy. If an employee works from Monday to Saturday, then they are eligible. Alternatively, if the employee is present on either Saturday or Monday, they are also eligible for the week off.

I think you may solve the problem.

Thanks and regards,
Jay Deshpande
09866555513

Dear Dixit,

Please go and check whether your policies say anything about this or not. If not, then you should not deduct the salary for the weekly off. It may be perceived as a very harsh step to deduct salary for the particular W/Off and may demotivate the employee.

If he is an old employee, he would think, "What the hell, I have contributed so much to the company, and how are they treating me?" On the other hand, if he is a new employee, then he would feel that the management, especially the HR team, is not employee-friendly.

Also, check with your seniors for such an instance in the past and how it was handled.

Regards,
Harsh

Hi,

You need to pay for that Sunday. He is on leave until Saturday only; that's why you need to pay for that.

Regards, Murty

Hi Dixit,

In addition to everyone, I would like to add that as per what the employee mentioned in his leave application, if he had applied until the 9th of June, he'll get Sunday as his weekly day off. However, if he mentioned the 10th of June as his last day of leave, then he will not get that day off.

The rest depends on what your leave policy states regarding such situations.

Regards,
Sashmita

Hi Dixit!

I feel it depends on which day a person takes his weekly off. If it is Sunday, then you have to pay his salary for 10th June. If it is other than Sunday, it will be included in the total number of leaves, and you can deduct his salary.

Anindita

Hi,

In my opinion, you should first check your company policy. Next, check whether any precedence is available for such an instance. Third, if no such situation has arisen or if there is no specific policy available, discuss the matter with the HR manager responsible and decide.

Dear Dixit,

You did it rightly, if your company policy says so. My company has the same policy, and we count the weekly off as leave if it falls within or on the last day of leave, irrespective of the employee mentioning it in his leave application or not.

Regards,
Waqar