Is October 2nd Still a Holiday in India? How Are Employees Compensated for Working?

I am working in the customer service industry. I wanted to know, is 2nd Oct still a national holiday in India? Also, if we are working on national holidays, how is an employee compensated? Do companies have the option for compensation in terms of monetary or compensatory leave? If none of the compensations is given, what actions can an employee take against the company?

Dear Yasmin, here are your options:

Suppose you need to meet certain hours for working on a weekly or monthly basis. You can call for a working day on a weekly-off before 2nd Oct. That way, you can declare a holiday on 2nd October.

You may require running your firm without any option to keep it closed. In that case, zero down to the number of processes that may need to work and call for an off after 2nd for all those employees working in them.

There are a few firms that offer extra money to work on a national holiday, which may remain your last resort as it will push your cost of production up.

Wish you all the best!

Yes, it is still a national holiday. If you are working on that day, you need to pay people double their salary as overtime. Alternatively, you may offer a different day in that week as compensatory time off. You could also provide staggered time off by allowing employees to choose which days of the week they will take as a holiday in a way that does not disrupt work.

You must be aware that all states have their own set of regulations for the observance and treatment of National & Festival holidays. These holidays are regulated under their respective National and Festival and Casual and Sick Leave Acts. The Government of India has declared 26th January (Republic Day), 15th August (Independence Day), and 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti) as National Holidays. Employees working on national holidays are entitled to overtime wages at double the rates of wages, which is common in all states. However, some states also insist on an additional holiday as compensatory off. An employer is liable to fines and imprisonment for failing to observe these rules.

Regards,
BS Kalsi
Member since Aug 2011

I want to know whether this double wage is applicable for all industries and their permanent on-roll executives or only for workers?

Regards,
Sandeep

Dear Yasmin, we all know that the provisions of labor laws have been framed to protect the interests of the working class, who are more vulnerable to exploitation, rather than for executives who are in a much better position to negotiate the terms and conditions of their service. These provisions of the Act/Rules are applicable to all industrial establishments.

Definition of a Worker

For instance, the Punjab Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays and Casual and Sick Leave) Act defines a worker as:

(i) Any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industrial establishment to perform skilled or unskilled, manual, supervisory, technical, or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment are expressed or implied, or

(ii) Any person employed in any industrial establishment whom the Government may, by notification, declare to be a worker for the purpose of this act.

In case of any doubts, it is advisable to check the applicability of the act and the definition of worker or workman as given in the Act, which may vary from one Act to another and the rules applicable in the respective states.

Regards,
BS Kalsi

Member since Aug 2011

Attribution: https://www.citehr.com/455026-workin...#ixzz2Od1mPcwT

Please go through the National Festival Holidays Act of Tamil Nadu, which is applicable to you.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

National Holidays and Compensation Policies

26th January, 15th August, and 2nd October are national holidays. In my organization, these days are always holidays. Those departments that have a fixed 5-day working week and are off on weekends receive a substitute holiday on another festival day if any of these three national holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday.

The other departments, which operate all 365/6 days of the year on a round-the-clock basis, provide a compensatory day off to those in the clerical cadre who have their weekly off on these three days or to those officers who perform duty on these days. For those in the clerical cadre who have normal duty on these holidays, they receive holiday overtime for the entire day's work.

Regards