Can We Approve Employee's Leave Requests for Three Consecutive Months? Seeking Advice

Dear All, Please help me in this matter. An employee has applied for leaves (all are LWP) as follows:

1. 7 days in April '12, reason - marriage of his nephew
2. 6 days in May '12, reason - marriage of a relative in In-Laws
3. 5 days in June '12, reason - mother's death anniversary ritual

Note: The employee has to travel from Mumbai to Kerala (by train) during all the above leaves.

We have sanctioned the June leave. Please let me know whether we can allow his April and May leave. Does any company allow such leaves for continuous 3 months?

Thanks for reading and helping me. Hope I get my query solved.

Regards, Deepti

Thanks, Mr. Amit, for replying. Following are the employee details:

Designation: PA

Job Profile: Reporting to MD, he is supposed to reply and communicate on the company's ID and also reply on MD's behalf.

Date of Joining (DOJ): 6/11/2008

Leaves: He takes 1-2 days of leave only if sick or for his personal work/to attend pooja. When he is on leave, the job is handed over to me (I don't mind working, but I have to answer MD whether to allow such continuous leave).

In that case, Deepti, you must inform your MD because he is directly responsible for his work. The MD could have lots of work and issues to discuss with him directly. Your duty is to inform your MD about his absence, or maybe he has already informed him and taken the approval accordingly, but you don't have information about it.

Overall, you must inform your MD first and later your HR Department.

I hope you have the leave application format. As an employee, he might have filled out the same and had it approved for that leave. It seems that you are experiencing some issues regarding his approval. The approval process should be handled by the Director (HR) since he works as the PA to the MD. Once the HR Director has approved his leave, having obtained consent from the MD, he may have proceeded on leave. In this case, where did you have doubts about the approval of his leave?

The journey from Mumbai to Kerala by train will only take 2 days for both trips. He has been serving in your organization since 2008. Given his direct interaction with the MD for approximately 4 years, he should have a good rapport. Therefore, you can relay this information to the MD as an update and not a complaint, as it could potentially reflect negatively on you.

Please handle the situation diplomatically.

Wishing you all the best.

MD is aware of the matter, and he has asked me to find out whether we can grant him such leaves. His question is, how can a PA ask for such leaves?

Okay, then just check the balance of leave on his account and inform your MD about the status. Also, note that this excessive amount of leave cannot be approved. Since your MD has inquired himself about it and expressed concern, your duty is to acquaint him with all the details, the situation, as well as the employment terms, rules, and regulations.

I can't help but wonder how he can make a request for leave like this when he is aware of his current job and responsibilities towards an MD, which are significant. Deepti, please inform your MD about all of this tactfully.

Thank you for the reply. Let me inform you first that I am a relative of the MD & PA, and PA's performance is average. PA has applied for leave, which I submitted to the MD for approval. PA is ready for Leave Without Pay (LWP) as he does not have any remaining balance of leave days.

MD's question is, being a PA, how can he go on leave continuously for 3 months?

I have verified that PA's reasons are true, but considering his profile, is he allowed or is it considered professional to do so?

Thank you.

If the situation warrants it, then regardless of who it may be, they must proceed on leave, whether with or without pay. Therefore, we need to focus on the situation at hand rather than the individual's position or title they hold.

Thank you.

Regards

Steps to Address Leave Requests

The issue can be dealt with in the following way:

1. Find out whether your leave policy prohibits an employee from proceeding on leave in three consecutive months because the law does not prohibit it.

2. If the answer to point number 1 is 'NO,' ascertain whether he has adequate leave credited in his leave account.

3. If the answer to point number 2 is yes, ascertain whether the reason for which he applied for leave is justified or if you have an adequate reason to refuse his leave. Though leave is not a matter of right, it is advisable that the employee should not gain the impression that the sanction of leave is a matter of whim of the management.

4. If you are satisfied with the above circumstances, you can recommend his leave to CMD.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Thank you, Mr. Amit and Mr. Saikumar, I believe allowing him this leave and giving a warning that no leaves will be allowed for the next 3 months is a solution. Mr. Saikumar, we do not have a specific leave policy apart from 21 PL and 4 CL for a year after confirmation. PA does not have a leave balance, which is a justified reason. After reading the review, I feel that giving a warning would be better. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Firstly, it is important to consider your leave rules, i.e., whether you provide EL, SL, CL. If you have the same, the employee (whosoever he might be) is eligible to take leave if he has a balance of leave in his account. Also, you need to check his old leave records. If he is a case of habitual absenteeism, then you can give him a warning letter for habitual absenteeism, and you can reject his leave application.

Anyways, the work never stops whether the employee is there or not. If he is on leave, another person does his work. Work never stops. If the person is a PA, it does not mean he does not have a social life and cannot avail leave. If there is some very important work/audit, etc., then the leaves shall not be approved.

Thanks & Regards,
Snigdha

First of all, you need to check the leave policy. If the employee has enough leave balance and the leaves are approved in advance, nothing can be done. Furthermore, we may warn him orally and ask/educate him to reduce the leave from 7 days to 4 or 3 days, or something similar.

It all depends on the company's leave policy and procedures, especially for permanent employees.

Regards,
Pradeepan

As you mentioned that all leaves are LWP, what is the meaning of LWP—whether it is leave with pay or leave without pay? If it is leave with pay, then identify her past leave record. If it is satisfactory enough and the reason for leave is justified, then you can just tell her to improve her leave record in the future. If it is leave without pay, then it means that she is a habitual leave-taker and must be dealt with disciplinary action as applicable in your company.

Regards,
raj_1234

As Amit rightly mentioned, the employee should first obtain approval for their leave from the directors before any benefits can be granted. As an HR professional, you should then approach the reporting authority of the employee to seek approval and then proceed accordingly.

Thanks & Regards,

Sumit Kumar Saxena
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear Deepti, The employee has given advance intimation for leave required with reasons. There is no bar that leave should not be given in 3 consecutive months. If the employee's past leave records do not show such incidents, you can approve all the leaves and make him happy. Forget the "warning letters" for such small issues; it is not good HR practice according to me. Perhaps an oral caution would suffice.

Advance intimation facilitates you to take suitable alternate arrangements for the smooth working of the organization. After all, what would YOU do when you have similar social/domestic commitments...?? Apply for leave, right!

Regards,
Raj

Don't you think it is rather late in the day to ponder over whether leave applied for by an employee in the months of April and May should be allowed or not, and leave applied for by the same employee is sanctioned for the month of June? Please let us know how the period of absence of the concerned employee has been treated in the muster roll for the months of April and May. Also, examine the reasons mentioned by the employee for which he took leave. If you are satisfied that the request for leave is on genuine grounds, then please go ahead and grant him leave as requested by him and in accordance with the Company's leave policy/rules. As a proactive measure, you may like to counsel him to be regular and maintain a healthy attendance record.

Best Wishes,
Vasant Nair

I think a company needs to balance work-life and personal life. As you mentioned, he has worked for 4 years now and has taken 0.5 days of leave per month due to sickness or other reasons. This shows that he is a responsible person; he even worked for half a day when he was sick.

Now that he needs to leave for a crucial situation happening at home, we should support him. These are the situations when a company can build a long-term relationship with an employee. Knowing that he is handling a very responsible role in the company, but apart from that, he is also a family man.

My Experience with Supportive Leave Policies

I will share my experience from my last company. I was an HR Manager, and after a year, I had to take maternity leave for 3 months, with an extension of 2 more months. Upon rejoining, I requested to work half days for a month, and later I was given adjustable working hours. Instead of reporting to the office at 9 am, I was allowed to report at 11 am and leave once I completed my responsibilities for the day. I also managed calls from home.

I am truly grateful to have worked with a company that was so supportive. This is how I spread the message about a company's goodwill to everyone.

I believe you should assist him and request valid documents for the leave. If you are satisfied with the documents provided, discuss with your MD and proceed with granting the leave. He will be grateful to the company.

Regards,
Sanjukta

Please refer to his previous record to check his leave status. If he has been regularly taking leave for the past 6 months, action should be taken. If not, you can approve the leave if there is no urgent work or need for him.

Thank you.