How Should HR Address Concerns About Eid Not Being on the Official Holiday List?

I am working as an HR professional in an organization where we announce the list of holidays for all employees every year. This list is approved by my boss and includes holidays such as Republic Day, Independence Day, Holi, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, etc.

Handling Holidays for Muslim Staff

However, we also have Muslim staff working with us, and every year we provide them with a paid leave (Note: Only for Muslim staff) during the festival of Eid, but we do not include this in the official list of holidays.

Addressing Staff Queries

Recently, I have received emails from a few Muslim staff members raising queries about this practice. I appreciate any guidance or suggestions on how to respond to these inquiries.

Your help and guidance will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Khushbu

I am working as an HR professional in an organization where we annually declare the list of holidays for all employees. This list is approved by my boss and includes holidays such as Republic Day, Independence Day, Holi, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, among others.

However, we also have Muslim staff members in our team. Every year, we provide them with paid leave specifically for the festival of Eid, but this leave is not officially listed as a holiday.

Recently, I have received emails from several Muslim staff members inquiring about this practice. I seek guidance on how best to respond to these queries.

Your assistance and advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Khushbu

This is in addition to what Prashant has said. The Shops and Establishment Acts or Factories Acts of most states mandate the declaration of 10 closed holidays. Of these, 3 closed holidays like Republic Day, Independence Day, and Gandhi Jayanti are mandatory. Some states like Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh make it mandatory to declare a closed holiday on 1st November as it is the state formation day.

Therefore, this gives you a margin of about 6-7 holidays. What is wrong with reserving one holiday for Eid if there are sufficient Muslim staff? Secondly, what is the nature of your industry? Is your company required to work all seven days (like a hotel or hospital)? In such cases, managing holidays becomes easier as Muslims can work on Hindu festivals or vice versa.

Regards,
Dinesh Divekar

In my previous comments, let me clarify a little bit. Under the provisions of The Karnataka Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Act, 1963, it is mandatory to give 10 closed holidays per calendar year. I do not remember whether such provisions are reiterated in the Factories Act or the Shops and Establishment Act.

Notwithstanding the technical/legal correction, the gist of my suggestion remains the same, i.e., of the six, reserving one holiday for one community.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you for your response, Mr. Prashant & Mr. Dinesh. I really appreciate the solution given by you all. Thanks a ton.

By the way, we are a trust running an educational institute. We work six days a week (Mon-Sat). The total strength of employees is approximately 45-55, with 5 Muslim staff members. Below is the list of holidays given to our employees:

1. New Year - 1st January, Wednesday, Full Day
2. Republic Day - 26th January 2014, Sunday, Full Day
3. Holi - 17th March 2014, Monday, Full Day
4. Ram Navmi - 8th April 2014, Tuesday, Half Day
5. Maharashtra Day - 1st May 2014, Thursday, Full Day
6. Independence Day - 15th August 2014, Friday, Full Day
7. Janmashtami - 18th August 2014, Monday, Half Day
8. Ganesh Chaturthi (First Day) - 29th August 2014, Friday, Full Day
9. Ganesh Visarjan (Last Day) - 8th September 2014, Monday, Half Day
10. Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti - 2nd October 2014, Thursday, Full Day
11. Dussehra - 3rd October 2014, Friday, Full Day
12. Diwali - 23rd October 2014, Thursday, Full Day
13. Govardhan Pooja - 24th October 2014, Friday, Full Day

I will ask the Muslim staff to work on any of the Hindu festival holidays as listed above and can take a comp off on Bakri Eid. Nice solution, Mr. Dinesh. :-)

Would like to thank you once again for the solution given.

Have a great day ahead.

Regards,
Khushbu Sharma