Employee Absent for 5 Days: Can They Apply for Leave Retroactively for Only Part of It?

If an employee is absent for 5 days, and he applies for leave for the last 3 days of his absence but does not apply for the starting days of his absence, is it permissible?

This appears to be an unscheduled leave. Were those two days a weekend? On what grounds were those days not counted?

Dear Vanu16475, the 5-day leave would be counted if those days fall along with Saturday and Sunday, amidst those 3 days of holiday (i.e., if supposedly the employee had taken Thursday, Friday, [Saturday, SUNDAY], and Monday), then the employee has to apply for a 5-day leave under duress.

Well, I suggest you clarify the absent days as it would eventually help us to be au fait with the response to your query.

It is the freedom of an employee to apply for leave as they want. It is the freedom of the employer to sanction, reject, or partially sanction the leave applied for. This decision of the employer has to be based on certain rules that should have been made known to employees in advance.

So, take into account the days, leave balance, holidays, etc., and decide. So simple. Why create complications?

Regards,
Vibhakar Ramtirthkar.

Dear Member, who is this employee? Do they fall into the category of "workman"? If yes, they would be governed by the leave rules mentioned in your standing orders, or if you have a separate policy.

Leave Policies for Executive Cadre

If they are in the executive cadre, you ought to have a leave policy for them too. Normally, for casual leave, the weekly off at the prefix or suffix of the leaves availed is not counted. For other types of leaves, e.g., sick leave and earned leaves, the weekly offs are to be counted when applying for leaves.

If they are not the offs and the employee prefers to let the two days remain as "absent," it is liable for deduction of salary and may also reflect in their performance review if such absenteeism is not justified.

Employment Contract and Leave Management

There should not prevail a laissez-faire regime—freedom to apply and freedom to sanction. Employment is a contract governed by agreed and accepted rules and policies binding to both parties.

Regards,
Shailesh Parikh
Vadodara, Gujarat
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

If he does not apply, it will be treated as absent. If you are very sure he was not present and not on duty elsewhere, then mark him absent or check with him as to why he has applied only for three days and not for five days. This normally happens with salespeople, senior executives, and people who are on frequent travel. This also happens with people who might have worked without any break and could have arrived at some understanding with their department head. It is also possible his first leave application might have been misplaced. This is more of an administrative question, so look for a solution internally.