No Sick Leave Policy at Work: Is This Even Allowed? Seeking Advice on Rules and Rights

My company does not have any provision for sick leaves. If anyone is absent due to sickness or a proven illness, he/she is marked absent if they do not have Casual Leaves and earned Leaves (1 in 52 days). So, is there any rule regarding this?

Sick Leave/Medical Leave:

Sick leave is the leave that an employee can avail in case of sickness of self or a relative (as specified under law). Sick leave provides pay to employees when they are out of work due to illness. Most of the time, the quantum of such leave is fixed by the company/organization in accordance with the State's Shops and Establishment Act or any other applicable law, but some legislations do contain specific provisions in this respect. Sick leaves accumulated in a year can be carried forward and availed in the next year. The quantum of leaves that can be carried forward should be commensurate with the one provided under the applicable law.

Apprentices Act, 1961

Section 15 (Rule 13)

Any person appointed as an apprentice under the Act can avail medical leave for a maximum period of 15 days in a year and in case of accumulated leave up to 40 days in a year.

Plantation Labour Act, 1951

Section 32

Employees covered under this Act are entitled to sick leave in accordance with the company policies.

Working Journalist and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955

Section 7 (Rule 28)

These employees are eligible for one month of medical leave for every 18 months of service rendered at half the wages.

Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976

Section 4

Any person covered under the Act can avail sick leave of not less than one-eighteenth of the service period at half the wages. This leave gets sanctioned only when a medical certificate is presented.

Except for the workers covered under the Acts mentioned above, casual leaves are available as per the company policy. For establishments not covered under the ESI Act, workers get sick leave as per the company policy or standing orders.

Thank you for providing information on sick leave provisions. You did not mention any provisions for sick leave under the Factories Act or the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act. If there are provisions under the aforementioned acts, please specify. The number of sick leaves varies from one organization to another.

I have one doubt regarding whether "sick leaves are not carried forward; these will lapse at the end of the year if the employee has not used them." This is as per my knowledge. Karthee, can you clarify this for me?

Regards,
Siva Kumar Tata

The carry forward of sick leave depends on the company's policy. Generally, sick leaves are allowed to be carried forward for up to 60/90/120 days as per the company policy. However, at the time of retirement or leaving the company, any unused leave lapses.

Regards,
Chandrakant

Please check whether your company is covered under the Factories Act or the Shops and Establishment Act. Also, please see if they have merged sick leave under casual leave (to avoid administration issues). Normally, an employee is entitled to 6 casual leaves and 6 sick leaves.

Regards,
Lokesh

Based on my knowledge, sick leave and casual leave are not carry-forwardable. Only earned leave can be carried forward. However, this depends on whether the company follows a specific policy. If not, it is based solely on the company's policy.

Regards,
Siva Kumar Tata

Dear All, as per the Bombay Shops and Establishment Act, the following leaves are specified:

National Holidays: 04 (Any additional holiday is at the discretion of the company's management)

PL / EL: 21 days a year. Accumulation up to 63 days for 3 years.

CL: 07 days a year

SL: 07 days a year

"PL" gets carried forward whereas CL and SL, if not availed, lapse.

Regards,
Abhishek

You have to mention the type of company because sick leave depends on the rules and regulations that are appropriate for your company. I know about the factories. It is 14 days according to section no. 116 of the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, but it is different for the EPZ area.

Thanks,
Haider

Hi all, any act doesn't prohibit a more favorable arrangement. If the organization applies the facility to carry forward and accumulate, my company employees are entitled to 15 days of sick leave per year, which can be accumulated up to 120 days.

Dear itzarsh, Greetings for the day. It may be noted that sick leave is generally provided to those who are not covered under ESIC. If a person is covered under ESIC, they will receive sick leave and treatment through ESIC, with all monetary benefits provided by ESIC, including salary and wages for the sick period. If the individual is not covered under ESIC, the provision of sick leave exceeding the same should be subject to higher management decisions, and only PL/EL should be carried forward, not CL/SL.

Thanks and Regards, Sumit Kumar Saxena [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons], [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]