When a Festival Falls on a Sunday: Should Employers Offer an Extra Day Off?

Hello Seniors, I am working as an HR cum Personnel Professional in Faridabad, Haryana. I want to know if there is a company policy stating that we provide 8 festival leaves in a year. We declared Diwali as a festival leave in 2013. However, Diwali fell on a Sunday, which is the weekly off day.

Clarification on Leave Adjustment

I would like to understand if there are any criteria or laws regarding the adjustment of this leave. My employer mentioned that it is not mandatory to provide another leave when Diwali falls on a Sunday. Therefore, I seek clarification on whether it is necessary for us to provide 2 leaves (one for the weekly off and the second for Diwali falling on a Sunday).

Thank you.

Dear Vikas Khatter,

Your simple query is if a festival holiday falls on a weekly off day, then whether an additional holiday is granted or not. One gets confused by your use of the word "leave".

Festival Holidays Falling on Weekly Off Days

Generally, when any festival holiday falls on a weekly-off day, no substitute holiday or any compensatory holiday is granted. I have found this policy in many companies. However, these are policies and not rules of law. You can have a considerate view and decide on a policy where a certain number of holidays falling on a weekly-off day will be either paid extra or compensated as an extra holiday, etc. You may have to find out what policy neighboring industries are following. Accordingly, you can decide.

Regards,
Adv. K. H. Kulkarni

In the future, when finalizing, give 8 holidays without counting holidays falling on Sunday. Now, you can give another holiday to substitute it.

There is no law that forces employers to provide a substitute day off if an employee falls sick on a Sunday or their designated day off. However, if employees work on a holiday such as Republic Day or Independence Day, it is customary to grant them a compensatory day off.

Typically, organizations adhere to a holiday list issued by banks or government agencies, which usually consists of 12 to 16 days off. If your organization opts for only 8 holidays, you can exclude festivals that coincide with weekends from the holiday list.

Ultimately, the decision to grant an additional day off is at your discretion.

Thank you.

Holiday Declaration and Compensation Guidelines

Your company has decided to declare 8 holidays in a year. Year after year, you will find that some holidays fall on Saturdays or Sundays. Hence, my recommendation is while you finalize the holiday list for the succeeding year in November/December of the calendar year, please ensure that you declare 8 holidays (including the mandatory national holidays) that fall between Monday to Friday if your establishment is following a 5-day week. By doing this, you will ensure that employees are assured of at least 8 holidays in a year.

Some companies substitute holidays falling on the weekly off by giving an alternate festival holiday.

If employees work on a weekly off, they must be given a compensatory off either 3 days prior or 3 days after the day on which they are required to work.

If the establishment follows a 5-day week pattern, if they work either on Saturday or Sunday, they will have to be paid double wages on the day they are required to work. If they are required to work on Diwali day that falls on a Saturday or Sunday, they will be entitled to get double wages for working on that day while others who do not work will get a single wage by default.

Trust the matter is clear.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

Hello all, I would dearly appreciate it if anyone could share their company's holiday policy. I am not looking for a list of holidays, but I am looking for a concrete policy with framed sentences so that it will be helpful for reference purposes.

Thank you