Is Emailing for Leave Valid When There's No HR Policy? Exploring Risks for Staff and Company

Leave Notification and Company Policy

If a staff member informs the department head/admin through email that they will be proceeding on leave to their hometown for 10 days, is this valid when the company has no HR/Leave Policy/Application Procedure? The staff member is availing leave due to office politics and frustration caused by the department head. They are also prepared to face the circumstances and are considering leaving the job.

Additionally, one month's salary is due to be paid to the staff as the company is not complying with labor laws or the Payment of Wages Act. The company typically pays the salary for the previous month between the 15th and 20th of the following month.

Risk Factors for Staff and Company

What will be the risk factors for both the staff member and the company?

Professional Approach to Leave Approval

The professional approach is getting the leave approved by the line manager and not just informing the line manager.

With regards to the risk factor of leaving the organization, please refer to the termination clause of your company.

Regards

Understanding Risk Factors When Leaving a Company

If you are ready to leave the company, then where is the risk factor? Informing the company without actually seeking approval or even giving advance notice is definitely going to sit badly. The departmental head is well within his rights to terminate the employee. Since they are not following labor laws, I doubt he will bother to conduct a departmental inquiry, etc.

Whether you can fight it depends on the appointment letter, standing orders, state rules, etc., which we are not aware of. However, the company having your one month's pay definitely puts them in a stronger position, as you will now struggle to obtain it from them.

Leave Request and Approval

Whether by email or leave form, a request for leave and its approval is a must for availing leaves. Otherwise, the same stands unauthorized.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew

Addressing Workplace Issues Without HR Policies

If in a company there is no standing order, no HR policy, and the department head treats staff as chattel at the authority's dispensation without the consent of the director or written authority, telling one of the staff to move to a site and take over, but the job is not as per the staff's profile, it creates a challenging situation. The staff refused to do the low-profile work. The departmental head verbally tells them, if not, then leave the job. The staff has been working in the company for the last four years. These issues arise due to the lack of management by the departmental head, who himself engages in office politics to take unwarranted personal benefits with the help of very junior staff who have to obey the departmental head.

So, how can these situations be addressed according to legal concerns?

Leave Application Through Email

Applying for leave through email is valid in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Wage Period and Payment Compliance

As per the act, the wage period will be from the 1st to the 30th, and they have to calculate and pay on or before the 7th or 10th of the subsequent month. The employer has to follow this regulation.

Regards