How Should HR Handle Employees Skirting Leave Policy Rules in a Software Firm?

Issue with Leave Policy in a Mid-Size Software Firm

I work for a mid-size software firm as an HR, and I have an issue with our existing leave policy. In our company policy, casual leave cannot be availed continuously for more than 2 days. Also, I would like to quote a few points from the policy:

- **Point No. 1:** Casual leave cannot be availed for more than 2 working days in a week. In case you need to avail leave for more than 2 days in a week, you need to apply for privilege leave. If you are not eligible for privilege leave, then it would be a loss of pay.

- **Point No. 2:** Casual leave cannot be applied for Friday and the following Monday. Privilege leave has to be applied if you want to avail leave on Friday and the following Monday (2 days).

However, I have an issue where employees go on leave from Thursday till Tuesday of the following week (which is a total of 4 days, excluding 2 weekly offs) and then they break the leaves and apply for 2 days of casual leave (Thursday and Friday) and 2 days of privilege leave (Monday and Tuesday).

The point of argument is, they state Point No. 1 and say they haven't applied for more than 2 days of CL in a week, and since there is a break in between in the form of Saturday and Sunday, their leave should not be considered continuous.

But definitely, anything above 2 days is considered as PL, and they have to adhere to it.

If such incidents are allowed, then surely it will set a wrong precedent for the future. Hence, please let me know how I should go about this?

Regards,
Divya

I understand the issue. Leave policies will vary from company to company, based on management decisions. However, there are certain points to be followed as per the law.

According to the rules, every employee should receive 10 CL per annum and 1 EL/PL for every 22 days worked. CL should not exceed more than 2 days in a row.

As per the Shops & Commercial Establishment Act, if a person takes leave for 2 days and there are any weekends or declared holidays, then that leave shall be considered as absent. For example, if a person takes leave on Friday and Monday, and Saturday and Sunday are holidays, then it can be treated as 4 days of leave, not 2 days. Once again, this depends on the management.

Cheers 

Yes, you are right. In our company, the intervening holidays in the form of national holidays or weekly offs are not considered for the leave calculation of an employee, which surely is employee-friendly. However, applying for 4 days of leave (and dividing it into 2 different leave types) and arguing that there is a break in these leaves in the form of weekly offs, and hence it should not be considered continuous, doesn't make sense to me.

I faced the same issue in an earlier company as well. It is for obvious reasons that an employee is hesitant to apply for PL. However, there are certain company rules and policies that need to be adhered to.

Please let me know how I can tackle this one particular individual who is not so willing to understand the policy. He also happens to be the key contributor to the company's success in the recent past.

I am not getting your queries. As far as EL is concerned, it shall not exceed 2 days in a row. If a person applies for leave for 4 days in a row, 2 days shall be treated as CL, and the remaining 2 days shall be considered as PL/EL. However, in some companies, the full leave, i.e., 4 days, is treated as EL/PL.

Clarification on Leave Policy

The company policy states that casual leave (CL) cannot be applied for more than 2 days in a week. Anything above 2 days will have to be applied as Privilege/Earned Leave (PL).

Now, my query is: if anybody applies for leave from Thursday of week 1 to Tuesday of week 2, won't that be treated as continuous leave? And doesn't that mean he/she has to definitely apply for PL in that case? I don't think there is a case for argument for an employee to state that since weekly offs come in between the above-stated days, leave should not be considered as continuous.

How is it possible that even though there is a break in between those days, he/she is not attending the office continuously? The best way you can convince him/her is by stating that, as per Government Regulation, even Saturday and Sunday should also be treated as leave. However, being employee-friendly, we are not treating it as leave. So, you should adhere to the company policies. 

Regards,

Yes, make the leave policy clear in discussion with management and clearly discuss it with everybody. Because in the future, nothing should go wrong. 

I just need an opinion on modifying our company's existing leave policy. Firstly, I would like to introduce a clause which states:

* No two different leave types can be combined and applied for/taken (irrespective of leaves taken over the weekend). For example, if leave is taken in week 1 and is extended to week 2, then only PL should be applied.

Please let me know if this can be framed better or if this is acceptable. I do not want a repetition of issues in the leave policy as discussed last week in this forum.

Our company follows an effective company policy. We work five days a week (Mon-Sat) and have established rules to prevent the crises you encountered:

1. For Privilege Leave, employees must submit a leave application (minimum 4 days) on the leave card to the supervisor at least seven (7) working days in advance.

2. Employees are limited to taking a maximum of 3 days of Casual Leave at once. If an employee uses up all their Casual Leave, any further taken will be deducted from their Privilege Leave balance at the year-end.

3. If an employee takes Casual Leave on a Friday and the following Monday, it will be counted as 4 days, not 2, regardless of the above clause 2. Additionally, during approved holidays (e.g., festivals, national holidays), leave will include holidays before/after the declared holiday list (under Prefix & Suffix rule).

These are just excerpts from the policy. Employees may opt for Privilege Leave to avoid losing two extra leaves.

The revised line you suggested seems more effective. This adjustment can be proposed to the management and carried out to prevent employee misuse.

Regards,
Srinath

Dear all,

Types of Leaves Not Provided by Companies

Can anyone tell me if any company is not providing the following types of leaves to employees: CL/EL/PL? If so, how should an HR professional implement this policy in their company?

Thank you.

Regards