How Should We Handle Leave Deductions for a Senior Employee Facing Personal Loss?

I am working with a good school in Kolkata as an HR manager, and I would like to have a fair opinion from all of you, my friends. The situation is that our school headmistress is a retired person who has received an extension for two years. She is entitled to a total of 14 days of leave in a year. Unfortunately, due to a recent family bereavement, she was absent for 18 consecutive days. The question at hand is whether we can deduct these additional days from her salary or if we should still pay her for this period.

Do you follow exceptions in your corporate policy, or are you hesitant to deduct salary from her pay? Please always adhere to the blanket policy to avoid discrepancies.

I completely agree with Mahesh. Rules are rules. It would be unjust to other staff if you make such an exception.

Dear Somnath,

There must be rules in your leave policy for handling exigencies such as death, marriage, etc. In case you do not have such rules, you can adjust her 14 days of leave against 18 days of absence (purely at the discretion of management) and deduct 4 days of salary. If she takes any other leave in the remaining months, you can deduct her salary because she would have exhausted all her quota of leave in this case. This will give her a temporary cushion, and you must have a policy to deal with such exigencies.

Regards

Considering such exigencies, you can provide advance credit for leave and later deduct the four days' leave from the next entitlement of leave. However, if such a decision is taken, it should be standardized as policy and be applicable to all.

Regards,
KK

I am a firm believer that a company's policy should be Management By Objectives and not Management By Exception if I want to keep the wheels of the train moving. While saying so, I do have empathy and sympathy for those with whom we are engaged. The relationship is akin to the "Lotus leaf and droplets of water on it. Visibly together, but in reality individual - not connected. Connected - disconnected - Connected."

On the other side, being one with high self-esteem, I would not want favors from anyone while working.

I believe the company engages me for a certain skill, to play a specific role, and we get remunerated for that. From both sides, we should honor the spirit of the engagement in thought, word, and deed, that's it. Whether your job may demand more or you stretch yourself to go that extra mile is up to you. Do it if you want to without expecting any gains or returns; enjoy the journey. Being this way, I think you will earn the respect of your employers, colleagues, and everyone around you.

In conclusion, I should say that if I were in the place of the Principal (person) you've referred to, I would reject being paid for the days I didn't work. If they sympathize with me during a moment of personal loss due to a demise, it would be nice. Otherwise, it doesn't matter.

Regards