Crafting a Fair Leave Policy for a Small Software Company: Should Probation and Maternity Leaves Be Included?

Formulating a Leave Policy for a Small Software Company

I am forming a leave policy for my organization. This is a software company, and we have an employee strength of around 20. Please tell me if I should allow employees to take leaves during the probation period. Even my boss is not ready to include maternity leaves in the leave policy. What should I do? Please help.

Regards,
Swapnalee

Please convey the information to him accurately. Employees can take leave during the probation period. However, they will receive fewer leaves compared to permanent employees. For instance, if a permanent employee is entitled to 1.5 earned leaves (EL) each month, a probationer may only receive 1 leave per month. It is important to note that every company has its own policies regarding leaves and other benefits.

Regards

Hi Madhuri, Thanks for your message. Is there any standard rule or policy for leaves during the probation period? What about maternity leaves? Should they be granted or not? If granted, should they be paid or unpaid? I look forward to your guidance on these matters. Thank you.

In some organizations, leave during probation is unpaid; hence, no leaves are allowed. However, certain organizations do allow people to take sick leaves. You could discuss this with your senior to decide whether to implement it or not.

Maternity Benefits

Regarding maternity benefits, I believe the employee needs to complete 90 days of continuous service to be eligible. The employer does not have the choice of not implementing it.

Regards,

Leave Policy During Probation Period

Regarding the leaves during the probation period, what Nivedita mentioned is right—it varies from company to company. Another way of looking at this issue depends on the notice period your company has—if it's long (2-3 months), then some amount of leaves during the notice period would be realistic. The grounds/reasons for this again depend on the company. Many companies usually allow only medical/sick leaves.

Maternity Leave Policy

Coming to the maternity leave policy, Madhuri has suggested rightly—just underline the relevant lines in the act about the consequences of what would happen if it's not practiced in any company. If your boss is ready to face the questioning/consequences from the government/judicial arms of such a situation, then just forget it. My feeling is he may not like to face the consequences if someone filed a case in any court later.

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Whatever has been mentioned about maternity leave so far is absolutely correct.

Leave Policy During Probation Period

For leaves during the probation period, some companies do provide leaves, either Casual Leave (CL) or Sick Leave (SL), and adjust them after the completion of the probation period. This again depends on the company's policy as mentioned earlier by respective members.

Regards,
Sandesh Chavan
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Thank you so much for the help. But my boss is not ready to give any kind of leave during the probation period. Talking about maternity leave, I have already informed him about the Maternity Act, but he is least bothered. Now, what should I mention in the leave policy? Should I mention maternity leave or not? And if I don't mention it, what should be the consequences?

Regards, Swapnalee

Leave during probation will be unpaid if your boss does not allow it. It will entirely depend upon his will as it is his company. You can just suggest, whereas maternity benefits are a statutory obligation on the employer (if the conditions are satisfied).

Suggestion for Communication

My suggestion to you would be to communicate all this to him through mail once again. This way, if anyone (outsider) asks the HR department about maternity benefits, you can show them that you had informed the boss well in advance. Enforcing this was out of your authority.

Regards

Thank you so much for this information. I'll surely convey this to my boss. Hopefully, he'll understand.

Regards,
Swapnalee

Types of Leave Available

You may avail of three types of leave, namely casual leave, earned leave, and maternity leave. The duration of leave may be decided as per the requirements of your company, except for maternity leave, which will be governed by the Maternity Benefit Rules/Act of the Government.

Casual leave may be sanctioned even during the probation period, whereas earned leave may be calculated at one day for every twenty days of work and be admissible on completion of one year of continuous service.

Regards,
S.K. Johri

Please inform your boss that although your company is currently small, once it grows, it will need these basic policies in place. It is advisable to prepare for this in advance rather than handling it later.

I recommend keeping the latest edition of bare-act books with you for better guidance.

Regards,
Sandesh
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Kindly go through the below documents of the Payment of Wages Act & Maternity Act and show these acts to your boss. It is compulsory to provide maternity leave for working women in any company. If the employee is in a probation period, the employer needs to provide certain amenities for that employee. Please refer to the below acts for your reference. If the employer does not provide maternity benefits, he is liable for other consequences.

Regards,
Suresh VVN

Maternity Leave Compliance

As per the Maternity Act, all confirmed employees should be eligible for maternity leave. Additionally, you may not hire pregnant staff. Please ensure compliance with the regulations regarding maternity benefits and provisions for pregnant employees.

Dear all, thank you so much for your help. I have already conveyed all the facts regarding maternity leave to my boss, but he is not ready. He told me to find a solution or option for maternity leave. He doesn't want to provide maternity leave to any of the employees. Please tell me how I should proceed with policy formation. What will be the consequences of implementing such a policy without maternity leave?

Regards, Swapnalee

Leave Accrual During Probation Period

Permitting leave—CL (Casual Leave) or PL (Paid Leave)—during the probation period depends on the policy of the organization. I would like to know whether leave accrues to the employee during the probation period.

Regards,
Dinesh

In most organizations, leaves of any type are not allowed during the probation period. Even though the new joiner is eligible for leave from the day of their joining, they can avail themselves of the leaves only after confirmation. However, the situation in which an employee avails leave during probation also needs to be taken into consideration. In cases of leave availed on account of the death of an immediate family member of the employee, management should not deduct leave even if he/she is on probation. Such leaves granted are normally not documented.

Regards,
Sumit

Thanks for the information. However, the main issue in my organization is about maternity leave. My boss is not ready to include maternity leave in the leave policy. What will be the consequences of forming such a leave policy against any act?

Regards,
Swapnalee

Maternity Leaves in Leave Policy

Maternity leaves are mandatory as per the law. If your boss is not willing to include it in the leave policy, make sure you have it documented in black and white so that later on no one can question you for following such practices.

Leaves During Notice Period

Regarding leaves during the notice period, it varies from company to company, and there are no specific laws governing this. If your notice period is 2-3 months, you can suggest offering a maximum of 15 days of leave during the notice period, but not more than 5 days at a time.

You are absolutely right, but he said I am supposed to give a solution for this maternity leave, and it's not his responsibility. I am very confused; if I form such a policy, then employees will go against me.

Are you sure that if I formulate such a policy, then my employer and I won't be in trouble?

Perhaps you are barking up the wrong tree.

1. How long is your probation period? In most companies, it's 3 months. Then maternity leave is not a problem. The employee needs to have worked more than 3 months to qualify.

2. If probation is more than 3 months, then just specify that no leave is allowed during probation. Don't specifically mention Maternity Leave.

3. Nothing in the law can take you to court for having a policy. At worst, an employee can go to court for not getting the leave she deserves as per the law. The person responsible at that time is the owner, not you. You have already informed him, so he cannot hold you responsible. (Keep a copy of the mail in your personal records.)

4. Regarding other leave, our company also does not allow any leave during probation. If anyone takes leave, it counts against them during the finalization of their employment. Of course, we allow leave without pay for genuine emergencies. But that is a deviation that the partners/owners/directors will approve and is never documented.

Probation is the time to see how serious the employee is. So, leave is rarely granted in probation.

Regards, Saswata

Saswata is also correct while preparing the policy. During the probation period, leaves can't be provided. You can make a note and take a signature on the policy to keep in your file.