How Should We Handle Leave Adjustments for Employees Working on Their Days Off?

Leave Adjustment Query

I seek some opinions about leave adjustment. One of our employees has consumed all his leaves as listed in our company policy. He asks for a leave adjustment for one day that he worked on a weekly off, i.e., he worked on a Saturday (weekly off) which he wants to be adjusted to one of his Saturdays that falls in his leave dates so that his one leave is saved.

As we do not have any compensatory off policy, instead we have a credit policy wherein an employee who works on a WO/PH gets an additional privileged leave and one-day wages.

Therefore, kindly suggest the right approach for the following issue.

In my opinion, you should follow your company policy. If you want to introduce a compensatory policy, discuss it with your team and submit a proposal to your top management for approval.

Regards,
Vikram Bhati

Generally, if anybody works on a compensatory off (C-off) or public holiday (PH), that day will be adjusted to another day. If it is genuine, we can credit one day to his leave account. However, this should be approved by his superior, indicating that he worked on the specified dates.

Regards,
Hari

Compensatory Off as an Option

Compensatory off is a better option than paying one day's wage and one PL. You can implement a Compensatory Off policy after discussing it with your employees and seniors.

Regards,
Kamesh

As per the Factories Act, a person working on a weekly off day must be given a compensatory holiday within three days (+/-) of the weekly off day (Section 52). With a relaxation order from the Chief Inspector of Factories, such a compensatory holiday can be provided within the month or extended to the next two months. Otherwise, I am afraid you will be violating the Factories Act and will have no defense.

Regards,
KK Nair

If you have your leave policy and if it permits such adjustment, you can go ahead with it. So far as the law is concerned, the Factories Act 1948 does not prohibit such adjustment, and in fact, Sec. 79 of the Factories Act excludes holidays falling during the leave period or at the end of it.

Shops and Establishments Act Consideration

If your establishment is one covered under the Shops and Establishments Act, you need to refer to the relevant provision of the Shops Act of your State to make a decision on the matter. For example, Sec. 35 of the Bombay Shops Act 1948 treats a weekly off falling during leave as part of the leave period only.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR and Labour Law Consultant
Chipinbiz Consultancy Pvt. Ltd.

You are included in your Compensatory Off (C.Off) policy; it is part of the leave policy. He/She works on weekly off days with prior approval from the Head of Department (HOD) to be given in one or two months as per management's wish.

Regards,
Bhoopathi. J

Thank you all for your suggestions. However, we do not have a structured leave policy in our company. Instead, we provide 24 leaves per year to every employee, and no leave adjustments are made. It is the employee who may want their leave to be adjusted, but our management holds an opposite opinion, which is causing friction. I am trying to find a solution to this issue. Kindly suggest what possibilities exist in such a case.

I am in the process of developing a leave policy but am confused because there are a number of acts to consider. I will refer to the relevant Act to resolve this confusion. Your views and suggestions are welcome.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Mr. B Saikumar; your suggestion has addressed a part of the grievance.

There is no separate policy for compensatory offs (C-offs). You can add a line in the leave policy stating that all C-offs (can be carried forward or adjusted) will be included in their leave balance, depending on your management's decision. In general, leave adjustment is a common practice.

Regards,
Hari