Understanding Weekly Holiday Eligibility: Can You Take Thursday Off After Missing Days?

Eligibility for Weekly Holiday Under Section 52

As per Section 52 - Weekly Holidays, suppose the weekly off is on Thursday. If an employee is absent or on leave from work on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and then joins duty on Tuesday and also works on Wednesday, is he eligible to enjoy the weekly holiday on Thursday? Even though, as per Section 53, he has not worked for six days?

Thanks in advance.

Dear Prashant, always do not rely solely on the act. The wages are fixed for the month by the government, and they are divided by 26 days to derive the daily wage rate. Hence, if the employee is absent, his weekly off rate will also be proportionately reduced. So, you need not worry about the off and salary details for the weekly off if you make the payment as per the daily rate calculation.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no 31 days. If it is on a daily wage rate basis, it is for 26 days. If it is monthly, it should be treated as 30 days only. If the employee has a leave balance, these leaves, say, Friday to Monday - 4 days, should be adjusted against eligible leave. If not eligible, then loss of pay can be calculated based on excess leave taken days only.

Regarding your other question, yes, the employee is eligible for the weekly off, which is fixed for Thursdays (even though the employee was on leave from Friday to Monday). Having worked on Tuesday and Thursday, yes, the employee is eligible for the weekly off.

Here is one small request (I hope you are from HR). If we from HR take leave in a similar way, we will ensure we get that Thursday weekly off. Let us treat our co-employees in a similar way.

Regards, Sundararaman

It doesn't matter whether he takes leave or not. He can take his weekly holiday since you have specified his week off on Thursday.

Suppose you say he should not avail of the holiday, then if he is working, tell me, will you give him a week off on the next Monday (7th day) or Thursday (10th day)? You shouldn't change the week-off schedule. Just mark it as leave (if leave balance is there), else mark LOP on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

If he has leave, adjust 4 days in leave, and the full salary will be calculated for 30 or 31 days. Otherwise, if LOP, he will be paid for 26/30 or 27/31 days respectively for the month.

Regards,

Your query appears to me as follows: if a factory worker is on leave for 4 days prior to his weekly off, is he eligible for the weekly off under Sec. 52 since he did not work for six days? Here, Sec. 53 deals with establishments exempted from Sec. 52, and hence, Sec. 52 and Sec. 53 are independent of each other.

Understanding Section 52

Nowhere does Sec. 52 state that a factory worker must work for six days to earn a weekly off. It simply states that an adult worker should not work on the first day of the week. If they have to work on that day, they should be granted a weekly off on one of the three days immediately before or after that day, which in this case is Thursday. The section does not require the worker to work for six days to earn a weekly off. In my view, the section is silent on this condition that you have raised.

Support from Section 79

Support for this view can be found in Sec. 79 of the Factories Act. The explanation to Sec. 79 stipulates a minimum of 240 days of service for a factory worker to earn annual leave and explains how to compute those days of service. Clause (c) of the explanation states that the days on which a worker is on leave (with wages) during a week shall be deemed as the days worked in the factory for the purpose of entitlement to annual leave for the next year. Therefore, a factory worker is entitled to a weekly off on Thursday, even if they were on leave for four days prior to Thursday.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Consultant
Chipinbiz Consultancy Pvt. Ltd
Mumbai
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Prashant, the intention of the legislature in stating "worked for six days" is being employed for six days. It is akin to continuous employment, which includes holidays, approved leaves, leaves applied for but not approved with a reason, and the weekly off. Therefore, if an employee is employed for six days, they are entitled to one day of weekly off.

I hope this clears up any doubts. This issue revolves around interpretation.

Regards,

Dear Prashant, I fully agree with Mr. Kumar and Mr. Bhaskar's logical explanations. You should proceed accordingly.

Regards,
Sumit

Please clarify what the rule is for granting Sunday/weekly off as per the Factory Act.

Regards

Please help me in giving a weekly off to the employee if the condition is as below:

Weekly Off Conditions

- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - Present and Friday, Saturday - Absent
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - Present and Saturday, next Monday - Absent
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - Present and Thursday, Friday, Saturday - Absent
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - Absent and Thursday, Friday, Saturday - Present

Regards

Dear All Seniors, please suggest how many minimum holidays are compulsory as per the Factory Act to be given to employees in a year.

Regards,
Pavan Gupta

Dear Sir,

If an employee is on leave from Monday to Thursday, then they are eligible for a weekly off on Sunday. If an employee is on leave from 26/08/15 to 03/09/15, then they are eligible for a weekly off on Sunday (30/08/15) or Sunday (06/09/15).

Please reply to my query.

Dear Somnath,

There is no notification for the same; you can find it in the Act itself in the Leaves section. However, it does not mean that if a workman only literally works for six days, then he is entitled to get leave. No, it is not. Those six days may include any holiday or leave which may fall during the week.

Hope you got what you sought.

As per my knowledge (though it may be incorrect), in Model Standing Orders, there is a clause regarding Weekly Off or Paid Holiday. The concerned employee may need to be physically present as a suffix or prefix on the holiday. This rule is intended for Paid Holidays or Weekly Offs.

This rule is applicable to companies that pay a salary for 30 or 31 days. Some companies that pay a salary for 26 or 25 days are not subject to this rule for Weekly Offs; it only applies to Paid Holidays.

I hope this explanation is clear. If you encounter any issues, please contact me.

Regards, Acinash Chougule
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Clarification on Weekly Off Entitlement

In my opinion, it is clear in the Factory Act that a person who works for six days a week is entitled to a weekly off in the case of monthly-rated employees. However, it may be prejudicial to assume that "six" means how many working days fall in a week. Due to National & Festival Holidays, working days may be less than six, meaning all the working days fall in the week.

It should be clarified that leave with pay or leave sanctioned without pay may be considered as a working day, but being absent in the week should never be treated as a working day. A person who remains absent without informing the employer should be punished with a deduction of the weekly off. Some small category of employers may suffer losses due to the absence of even one worker.

Regards

Dear Sir,

When I go to work on my weekly day off, will it be considered overtime or attendance?

Thank you.

Kindly clarify for me, as per the rules, after six days, one holiday will be given by the employer. Is this one holiday (weekly off) a paid holiday or unpaid?

If one weekly holiday is to be given by the employer as per the rule, then it must be a paid weekly off holiday. If it is not paid, then it is clear that the weekly off holiday is not given by the employer, which contradicts the act of, "a weekly holiday must be given by the employer."

Please suggest, is it paid or not.

Sir, the employee worked 3 days - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Is he eligible for a weekly day off?