Are My Software Company's Leave Rules During Probation Legal in India?

Kindly let me know the meaning of the following:

Understanding Leave Entitlement

"You are entitled to one and a half paid leaves per month; however, you can utilize it after your probation period."

In my software company, no leave is granted during the 6-month probation period, and one and a half leave days lapse every month if not utilized.

Please inform me if the company's policy aligns with the laws in India.

Thanks.

Leave Policy During Probation

Not allowing leave during probation is a norm and is in line with the law. However, the lapsing of leave every month is not allowed as per the law.

Leaves will be credited to a person's account after the completion of one year of working, and thereafter, they will be available for use during the year. Some companies allow carry forward beyond the year, but it is not compulsory by law.

Most states have issued notifications exempting software companies from compliance with some parts of labor laws. However, I don't think something as basic as leave rules can be dispensed with.

I would suggest you get clarity on this from your HR. Have you spoken to them about this? I believe you have misunderstood what they are trying to imply through the statement. The statement, in simple language, says that you will be credited with 1.5 leaves in your account per month, but you are not allowed to avail them during the probation period. However, this doesn't mean that the accumulated leaves (9 leaves) will lapse. The 9 leaves will be available to you in full as soon as you complete your probation period with the company, and you will be able to avail them at that time.

This is my understanding of the statement as it is generally practiced in companies.

Thanks

There are many types of leaves in practice. Some types of leaves will lapse after the calendar year, some will be carried forward to the next year. Some leaves may be encashed as per the procedure. There is no hard and fast rule for not availing any leave during the probation period. The pattern of leaves changes from organization to organization.

Regards,

Dear Richa, I would suggest you get clarity on this from your HR. Have you spoken to them about this? I believe you may have misunderstood what they are trying to imply through the statement. The statement, in simple language, says that you will be credited with 1.5 leaves in your account per month, but you are not allowed to avail them during the probation period. However, it doesn't mean that the accumulated leaves (9 leaves) will lapse. The 9 leaves will altogether be available to you as soon as you complete your probation period with the company, and you will be able to avail them.

This is my understanding of the statement, as this is generally practiced in companies. Thanks.

Asthama,

Many small companies follow the practice of lapsing leaves every month or giving additional leave encashment every month. Both are bad practices and, I believe, illegal in India. You have to allow a year for them to be used. We do labor law compliance audits. I find many small companies (mostly contractors) do this, and we ask them to stop.

Probably, there must be some misunderstanding on your part. Though you are not allowed to avail of leave during probation, it will be credited to your account as Ashama said. So, get it clarified from your HR. If this is not the practice, they need to revise it to make it in tune with applicable law.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
Mumbai