Navigating Leave Policies: How to Handle Holidays with Prefixed and Suffixed Leave?

I am facing a problem. Due to high production volume, one Sunday our plant was working. Now, we are providing a substitute for 16.08.2014 (Saturday) as 15th August will be a holiday and 17th August will be Sunday, resulting in a total of three days of leave.

Now, if any employee takes leave prefixing and suffixing these three days, how will 15th, 16th, and 17th be treated? Will all days be considered holidays, or will all days be treated as Leave Without Pay (LWP)?

Please provide an answer.

Regards,
Brijlal Arora

Understanding Leave Policy Scenarios

First, what is your company's leave policy? Are the leaves calculated on calendar days or working days?

Let me provide you with some scenarios:
- If a person takes leave on the 14th and returns on the 18th, only the 14th will be considered as leave, with the remaining days marked as holidays and compensatory offs.
- If a person is present on the 14th but takes leave on the 18th, only the 18th will be counted as leave, with the other days treated as holidays and compensatory offs.
- If a person takes leaves on both the 14th and 18th, how the company calculates leaves becomes crucial. If leaves are based on calendar days, then both days will be considered as leaves. However, if leaves are calculated based on working days, then the 14th and 18th will be leaves, while the other days will be holidays, compensatory offs, or weekends.

I hope this clarifies your queries.

Regards,
Ashutosh Thakre

Policy Compliance and Leave Management

A company may frame any policy, but they must adhere to the law. Prefixing and suffixing leave is not only unlawful but also inhumane. If you are providing compensatory leave on a Saturday, then regardless of that, Sunday and Monday would also be holidays, i.e., leave with pay. Therefore, all these three days will be considered leave with pay. Remember, you need to act as a democratic organization.

I second the thought of Mr. Govind; there is no compromise for an organization's ethical practices. However, there is also a possibility of increased absenteeism among irregular staff (who tend to take too many leaves), which in turn reduces labor utilization, more importantly creating a wrong work culture for the long term.

Suggestion for Leave Policy

My suggestion: You can actually state that "Any holidays can either be prefixed or suffixed (with leaves such as CL, SCL, CPL, SL), but if both prefixed and suffixed leave should NOT be a loss of pay." Failing such criteria, you can consider all the leaves to be a loss of pay! Hope that helps.

Kind Regards,
Daniel

The earned leave is based on the calendar year and statutory requirements, typically one day for every 20 working days. If the company has any agreements with workers or separate standing orders regarding leave, those need to be considered.

Prefixing and Suffixing Holidays

In the case of earned leave, prefixing and suffixing holidays of three days is permissible. If an employee applies for a period of 5 days, you need to debit their leave account for only 2 days. Their absence on the 15th, 16th, and 17th will be treated as holidays, not leave. This applies only to Earned Leave and not to Casual Leave (CL) and Sick Leave (SL). If an employee applies for CL with prefixing and suffixing holidays, the holidays are included in the leave period.

Always, CL and SL can either be prefixed or suffixed to the holidays, but not both.

Regards,
Adoni Suguresh
Sr. Executive (Pers, Admin & Ind. Rels)
Retired Labour Laws Consultant

Be brave. It's not a problem at all. In the very beginning, the 15th, 16th, and 17th of this month are company-declared holidays, as per the schedule. First, think all employees are on duty, and they are allowed the above holidays. Though on the 16th of August 2014, an alternate holiday is observed. Is it clear? All the above three holidays are allowed holidays.

Now, let's address if any employee asks for leave. Treat it as leave as per his eligibility, like casual leave. Whatever you say, don't mix that leave with eligible declared holidays. His leave is only for that day. His leave account can be deducted for that day alone. This never includes declared holidays either as a prefix or suffix. This principle applies only to those who apply for general casual leaves, not for government servants who are on medical earned leave.

I hope this clarifies the leave policy. Let me know if you need further information.

Treatment of Leave and Holidays in August

Similar queries have already arisen on this platform. For your ready reference, if an employee takes leave on 14th August and also on 18th August and reports for duty on the 19th, in such a case, the 16th and 17th should be treated as leave (if the employee has leave days in their credit) or LOP (Leave Without Pay) if they do not have leave days in their credit. However, 15th August, being a National Holiday, should be treated as a holiday and not as leave.

Thanks,

R. K. Nair

If your organization's policy states that leave includes any prefixing or suffixing holiday, then it is your decision. The practice of including prefixing or suffixing holidays as part of leave days is gradually fading since organizations have realized that such practices can lead to disappointment among employees.

But consider this: if employees are encouraged to take leave and enjoy a short trip, it will boost their enthusiasm and enhance their commitment to their job, which would, in turn, increase their productivity. In fact, you can also consider declaring the remaining days of the week as common leave and deducting four days from employees' leave balance. Alternatively, organize a family get-together for all employees. This way, you can also reduce production, administrative, and operational costs drastically.

Regards,
Murali

As you are giving compensatory time off for the extra work on Sunday, i.e., 16th August 2014, the dates 15th, 16th, and 17th shall not be considered as leave. Only the 14th and 18th should be considered as leave.

Regards,
Manoj Kamble

Please find your answer here:

If an employee takes prefix leave and joins on the suffix, it will be treated as only a 1-day leave. However, if the employee does not join on the suffix, it will be counted as 5 days of leave.

Regards,