Struggling with Sandwich Leave Policy in India: Is My Understanding Correct?

I've recently opted for a job in India with an IT service company, and it's at the starting stage. Apparently, I'm the head HR here and am really struggling with Indian Workplace Policy. Right now, my major concern is this sandwich leave policy that we have here. I was talking to the director of my company, and he mentioned sandwich leaves to me. I paused a little and asked him what exactly he meant by sandwich leave as I've heard of it but am not well aware of it. Anyway, I have a scenario here which my boss says is a sandwich leave but according to my understanding, it's not.

Understanding Sandwich Leave Policy

For example, if an employee takes Friday off (Sat/Sun being compulsory off), is that a sandwich leave, and will a 3-day salary be deducted? As far as I understand, if an employee takes Fri & Mon off, with Sat & Sun fixed off, then it's a sandwich leave.

Please, somebody get back to me on this ASAP as I'm in a fix and really need your help.

Many Thanks! Cheers x

In the example cited above, the concept of your boss isn't right. Like you believe, if the employee takes Friday and Monday off, then it must be considered as a sandwich leave.

I agree with Hiral Mehta. If an employee has their day off on Sunday and takes leave on both Saturday and Monday, then it will be considered a sandwich. In this scenario, three days' salary will be deducted if the employee has no leave balance.

Regards,
Vikas Sharma

Conceptually, you are correct. You just need to convince your boss and make him understand the basics of leave rules.

Regards,
Rakesh Pd Srivastav

Why not speak to your Director to get the basis/reason(s) for his understanding of the Sandwich Leave concept? Obviously, he must have seen it being practiced the way he understands it—howsoever wrongly. Or he may have read it somewhere and understood it the way he expresses it now.

Once you get to the root of his understanding, I am sure you will be able to find ways to make him understand the right way.

Regards,
TS

If an employee does not come to the office from Friday to Monday, and Saturday and Sunday are fixed days off, then it is considered a sandwich leave. In this case, you should deduct leave from Friday to Monday. If the employee has a remaining leave balance, you should mark the leave as with pay; otherwise, mark the leave as without pay.

Regards.

Regarding the concept of "sandwich leave," it is a common practice in India. However, it is also illegal according to the law. No salary deductions should be made for a holiday or a day off (Saturday or Sunday).

Thank you.

I hope you have received sufficient responses for your query. Please respond with your views.

To Recapitulate:

- There is no legal or official term by the name of "sandwich leave." It's just an HR jargon.
- Your concept about it is correct. It implies a period of leave where the prefix and suffix of the leave period are Working Days, and a Closed Holiday/Weekly Off falls in between.
- In general, Closed Holidays/Weekly Off are treated as Paid Holidays.
- Accordingly, if they fall in between the Leave Period applied for by an employee, they should be treated as Paid Holiday/Leave.
- This practice is followed in all Govt./PSU and in all good companies.
- However, some small companies/SMEs or companies with questionable HR practices tend to count these intervening holidays/weekly Off as Leave. Then either the employee's Leave balance is reduced to that extent or treated as Unpaid Leave.

I hope the above information helps.

Warm regards,

Understanding Sandwich Leave Policy

Why, if an employee takes leave on Saturday and Monday, with Sunday being his fixed weekly off, is Sunday considered a sandwich leave? Under which rule and Act do we apply this? According to you, a person worked for 5 days in a week from Monday to Friday and again the next week from Tuesday to Saturday (5 days). Thus, after working for 10 days, he will be given only one weekly off. I eagerly await a reply from our HR team members to debate this and find ways to tackle it. As far as my knowledge goes, a person becomes entitled to a weekly off after performing duties for three working days in a week.

Thanks and Regards,
Arun Kumar Singhal
Manager Administration

I totally agree with Mr. Raj Kumar. There is no mention of sandwich leave in any leave rules. It all depends on how many balanced leaves a person has.

Thanks,
NJ Bhat

As you understand, if an employee takes Friday and Monday off with Saturday and Sunday already fixed off, then it's considered a sandwich leave.

Regards,
Ajay Duragkar

Thank you to everyone who has responded to me. I truly appreciate your time and thank you once again for shedding light on this matter. It was becoming concerning for me as I did not know what to do, and because of this reason, I lost about half of my staff.

Questions About Indian Working Culture

I have many questions regarding Indian working culture. I desperately need someone's help.

Many thanks,
Anshika S

Dear Anshika, thank you for your acknowledgment. Feel free to post your new queries. Learn and benefit from the resources of CiteHR as you interact and network with HR professionals—that is the very purpose of CiteHR.com.

Warm regards.

Understanding Company Leave Policies

It all depends on company leave policies. In our organization, the term "sandwich leave" is invalid, and they don't deduct for the sandwiched weekly offs/holidays even if one is absent or taking leave on both the prefix and suffix days.

Regards,
Pon

I am with Raj Kumar. However, please post any new queries in a new thread to avoid confusion with the current topic of the leave policy.

Also, one thing caught my attention: your mention of "many questions in regards to Indian working culture." Could you please elaborate on this—aren't you from India?

Regards,
TS