How Should We Handle Employee Absences on Bandh Days in Hyderabad?

Some of our staff did not come to the office on Bandh Day, saying that there was no transportation. Maybe it is a genuine cause. But how should we treat this absence? Should we consider it as paid time off or mark it as leave and deduct from their leave balance or LOP? Please clarify because we are facing this problem very often. We are located in Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad, where we encounter such issues frequently due to the Telangana / Andhra bifurcation problem.

If you are concerned about employee safety, then I think you can change the weekly off to "Bandh Day" so that leave issues will not arise. I presume that the "Bandh Day" is declared beforehand in advance. LOP will demotivate the employees for sure.

Handling Employee Absence on Bandh Day

The absence of employees on a bandh day is not authorized. It depends on the policy and practice of the company to deal with such absences. However, considering that an employee may be absent due to circumstances beyond their control and it is not willful, it is advisable that employees are not subject to a loss of pay on that day. Any one of the following options can be considered:

1. If possible, they can be asked to work on a Sunday (weekly off) as Prashant suggested.
2. They can be granted special leave (leave with wages) on the bandh day without affecting their current leave balance.
3. They can be granted casual leave.
4. Wherever possible, employees can be asked to work from home.

Regards,
B. Saikumar