Leave Policy for Startups: How Many Days Off Should We Offer Our Team?

We are a startup company and need information about the leave policy for the calendar year. Could you please provide details on the number of Casual Leave, Sick Leave, and Earned Leave that an employee can avail of in a calendar year?

Since we work 5 days a week, a brief explanation of this information would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks.

As per the statutory requirements, you should follow the leave policy as below:

Leave Policy Overview

- Earned Leave: 1 EL for every 20 days worked
- Sick Leave: 10 SL per year
- Maternity Leave: 12 Weeks (6 Weeks Pre-maternity & 6 Weeks Post-Maternity)

Any remaining leaves can be discussed with management, and a policy shall be drafted accordingly.

Thank you.

Leave Rules Overview

The leave rules may be framed as follows:

• **Casual Leave:** One day for each calendar month, with a maximum of 12 days in a year. This leave may be combined with Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays.

• **Compensatory Leave:** For working on holidays, one day of compensatory leave may be allowed, subject to a maximum of 20 days in a year. This should be availed within 3 months of the holiday on which the work was done.

• **Earned Leave:** 15 days for every six months of work, starting from January to June and from July to December, subject to a maximum of 30 days in a year.

Regards

Leave Policy Details

Year, which may be combined to be availed with holidays prefixing and suffixing, subject to the condition that intervening holidays within the leave period will be deducted from Earned Leave.

Sick Leave or Unearned Leave on Medical Grounds

A maximum of 15 days in a year may be allowed, subject to a maximum of 90 days for every five years of service. Production of a Medical Certificate from the date of availing till the date of leave expiry and production of a medical fitness certificate at the time of joining back to duty is a must. Leave salary shall be paid only after rejoining duty.

Maternity Leave for Married Women

For each confinement and delivery, 45 days pre-maternity after confinement and 45 days for delivery and post-care subject to a ceiling of a total of 90 days for the first and second child only. A Doctor's Certificate is a must to be produced in advance for taking this leave, and the leave salary will be paid only after rejoining duty. In the case of persons covered under ESI, such benefits will be given by the ESI.

Regards,
R P Ramanathan, Advocate and HR Consultant, Coimbatore

Your query is not clear. What type of company is it? Does it fall under the Factory Act or the Shops and Establishments Act? The procedure for all statutory leaves will be the same. To be eligible for leave, an employee should complete 240 working days in the preceding year. If an employee joins in the middle of the year, they should complete two-thirds of the attendance against working days. One day for every 20 days is calculated as per statutory requirements.

Additionally, the employer has the discretion to allow employees to take Casual leave and Sick leave, as these are not bound by any specific law or restrictions. If your company has certified standing orders, you may need to frame leave rules as mentioned in the orders. It is important to understand how to structure these leave rules. The labor laws extensively explain the Acts and Rules, and your expectations with a brief explanation are not clear to us.

The enforcement of procedures is based on applicable enactments and not assumptions. Therefore, feel free to ask any questions, but ensure they are genuine and presented with patience, rather than assumptions.

Regards,
Adoni Suguresh

Sr. Executive (Personnel, Administration & Industrial Relations) Retired
Labour Laws Consultant

I'm working in an international school and I want to establish leave rules for both teaching and non-teaching employees. Please provide guidance on all leave details and calculations, including CL, EL/PL, comp. leave, maternity leave, vacation, etc.

Thank you in anticipation.

Apart from the views of the above forum members, I would recommend you refer to the Shops & Establishment Act of your state or the Factory Act, as the case may be. The Act states the minimum leaves you must provide, and you can offer more if your management wishes to, but you have to adhere to the minimum. You can find many leave policies on this site for your reference and amend them according to your needs.