Are Employees Who Missed a Month of Work Still Eligible for Holiday Benefits? Seeking Advice

I have been working in the textile industry as an HR asset. Now, I have some doubts about that. In August 2014, more than 10 employees in my company did not come to work for the whole month. Should I provide national/festival holiday benefits to those employees as well? If any senior can provide a conclusion to my doubt, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I think it depends on your offer letter or contract letter that you have given to your employees. Generally, if anybody takes more than their eligible leaves, those days are considered as loss of pay only. However, holidays will be applicable for the entire organization.

Thanks & Regards,
Surya.

Even though an employee is on unauthorized absence for a longer period during which a national holiday falls, the employee can be paid wages for the said national holiday, as per our Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishment (National & Festival Holidays) Act, 1958. Therefore, you may please check with your state Acts and go by it.

Thanks & Regards,

You mentioned that more than 10 employees of your organization were absent for the whole month of August. In this case, I suggest you check the Shops and Commercial Establishment Act applicable and the provisions contained in it to address the situation. The 15th of August is one of the three National Holidays declared as a paid holiday for every category of employees in the country, and the same should be provided to them.

Thanks and regards,

S.K. Johri

I do not agree with the submissions of both Mr. Surya and Shridharan. Any gazetted holiday or national festival that falls within a period of 15 days from either end of leave is always payable as a paid holiday and can be deducted if the period is beyond 15 days.

Regards,
P. K. Sharma

I agree with Mr. P.K. Sharma, but for further clarity, you can refer to the National & Festival Holidays Act, 1958 of your respective state.

Thanks

You mentioned that more than 10 employees remained absent and did not come to work for the entire month. Is this unauthorized absence, absence without leave, or authorized absence granted to them? How is a mass leave granted? If it is unauthorized and a mass absence, they are liable for disciplinary action. When an employee is absent for the whole month of August, how can they be eligible to receive wages for National Holidays and the weekly day of rest? Your query is not clear. Please provide genuine facts for us to form an opinion.

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

Generally, NFH wages are payable if the worker has worked for a minimum of 30 days in the 3-month period prior to the NH. However, as per a previous court judgment, the worker should be available for work on the NFH day. This means that if the worker is on strike even one day before the NFH, they are not eligible for NFH wages. If 10 or more persons act together in mass absenteeism, it also falls under this situation.

In your case, if you have already issued show cause notices to employees for their absenteeism and they still have not returned to work, FH wages do not need to be paid.

Best regards,
M. Venkatraghavan

Almost more than 10 people remained absent or took leave for the month of August 14. Firstly, it is not clear whether they applied for leave or not. Secondly, if the employees applied for leave, has the head of the institution, in this case, the appropriate authority, sanctioned the leave with prefix and suffix holidays? Thirdly, in cases where the leave has not been sanctioned and the employees joined at a later date, what was the reason for taking leave at their own interest without the appropriate authorities' approval?

In case you would like to sanction leave without pay, the reason may contradict the genuine leave taken by the employee, and the employer may not be interested in considering the leave taken as appropriate. Furthermore, this is a case of regularization with valid reasons. Also, please establish whether all the employees are relatives and have taken leave for a particular or specific reason, such as a family function or village event. This requires consideration within the leave rules, and only then can the question of action be addressed.

However, from your words, it seems the authorities are genuinely interested in regularizing the leave with salary, as you have only inquired about festival/government holidays. Thus, without any suffix or prefix in between, you should regularize accordingly.

National Holiday Applicability to Factories

Does the National Holiday apply to factories registered under the Factories Act? Kindly share your views on the same, as I am puzzled by the lack of clarity in the Factories Act.

Warm Regards,
Azim

We need not make a payment for 15th Aug as we do not know whether this employee will return to work or not. To keep it simpler, let's establish a rule that any unauthorized leave for more than 10 days will be considered as the employee leaving the services. Although we cannot remove them from the roster, we can still enforce discipline among such employees.

If you are still unclear, please feel free to reach out.

Regards

As you have mentioned that more than 10 employees have been absent for the entire month of August continuously without any sanctioned leave, according to general consensus, they are not entitled or eligible for Festival Leave, whether it is a National Festival or otherwise. You may refer to the state rules for clarification.

Regards,
M.K. Chaubey

Dear Sir/Madam, I have been working in the textile industry as an HR asset. Now, I have some doubts about my situation. In August 2014, more than 10 employees in my company did not come to work for the whole month. My question is, should I give national/festival holiday benefits to those employees as well? Could any senior provide a conclusion to my doubt?

Maybe the company has already decided on all terms and conditions, including holiday benefits, at the time of the interview. The company HR head or the company rules and offer letter usually mention details such as salary, yearly holidays, and national festivals. Since you mentioned that you joined as an HR asset, you should also be eligible for all holidays after your probation period.

Thank you.

National and Festival Holidays for Shops and Establishments

First of all, I'm informing you that National Holidays such as 23rd Jan, 26th Jan, 1st May, 15th Aug, and 2nd Oct are applicable for all Shops and Establishments. Therefore, you are obligated to provide holidays to your workers or employees. Festival holidays depend on your company's policies.

Regards

Dear Sir,

I have been working in the service industry as an HR professional. Now, I have some doubts about the following situation: in January 2018, my company had one or more employees who were on a 15-day leave. Should I provide national/festival holiday benefits to those employees as well? I would greatly appreciate it if any senior could provide a conclusion to my doubt.

Thank you.

Dear P.K. Sharma, Apex Management Consultant,

Dear Azim,

Yes, National and Festival holidays are applicable in factories registered under the Factories Act, or even in those that are unregistered. Could you please provide more details about your confusion?

PK Sharma.

We are registered under the Factories Act Maharashtra Rules; however, the rules do not stipulate anything about the National and Festival Holidays Act, 1958.

Kindly share your views.

Thank you.

Dear Vasant,

Your employees have been given authorized leave and hence they are eligible for NFH wages in January 2018.

Dear Azim,

It does not matter whether the establishment is registered or unregistered. The question is whether the provisions are applicable or not. If the answer is affirmative, NFL is payable in accordance with the provisions laid down.

P. K. Sharma