Confused About Sick Leave Policy: Can Ex-Employees Use All 6 Days at Once?

Hello, I am working in an IT company, and we provide 12 casual leaves and 6 sick leaves in a year. However, I have a confusion. Suppose my ex-employee is unwell and will be on leave for 8 days, would those 8 days be counted as sick leave? In other words, would we be providing him with 6 sick leaves continuously or not? Please suggest. Thanks.

Understanding Sick Leave Policies

Sick leave is meant to compensate for the loss of pay due to sickness, and we cannot dictate that you should not fall sick continuously. It is not given to an employee to enjoy a vacation, for which they have privileged leave (PL), or to meet any casual event or emergency for which a single day (casual leave) would be sufficient. It is obvious that if you fix, say, 6 days of sick leave per annum, and someone who plans to leave your organization in a month or two takes the entire 6 days of leave in the first month itself, producing a medical certificate which is readily available (in the market!), then you would be at a loss. To avoid this, companies generally sanction SL on a prorated basis. However, this is not correct with regard to sick leave. Certainly, if an employee who has availed the entire sick leave leaves, you can deduct the leaves in addition to what is arrived at by calculating it on a prorated basis from the amount payable to the employee.

Leave Policies in IT Companies

Another important aspect of leave is that employees of IT companies are covered by service conditions as per the State Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. Though it is a state act and due to which the provisions will change from state to state, I don’t think that any state has a provision for 12 days of CL and 6 days of SL. To my knowledge, almost all Shops Acts have provided for 12 days of CL, 12 days of SL, and 12 days of PL.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

When you have broken up your leaves into categories, the employee is required to select the appropriate category in their leave application. So if he is sick for 8 days, he will use up his sick leave days (6), and then the balance of 2 days will be without pay. If he has CL available, he can apply for CL. Check your state standing orders to see if any other restrictions apply.

Hello, I am working in an IT company, and we are providing 12 casual leaves and 6 sick leaves in a year. But I have a confusion; suppose my ex-employee is not well, and he will be on leave for 8 days. So, will those 8 days be counted as sick leave continuously or not? Please suggest me! Thanks.

He may have the following options:

1. He will take all CLs continuously.
2. 6 SLs and 2 CLs (if your organization allows).
3. Usually, SLs will be credited annually and won't lapse until he either retires or resigns, subject to a maximum limit. He may avail 8 SLs if he has sufficient leave credit.

Dear All,

In the case of organizations falling within the purview of the Shops and Establishments Act, states have stipulated minimum EL, CL, and SL to be given to employees. Details have already been tabulated by members.

Delhi state does not lay down SL separately and states entitlement per year as 12 CL/SL. Organizations are at liberty to frame rules, but leaves should not be less than stipulated in the Act. What Mr. Madhu has stated is, otherwise, absolutely correct.

Regards,

Col. Suresh Rathi