Employee Sick Leave Without Medical Certificate: Should We Deduct Salary for All Days?

Dear All Seniors,

I am working in an MNC company. One of our employees has been absent for 4 days, including a holiday or weekly off, and has applied for sick leave for 4 days without providing a medical certificate. Should we deduct the salary for 2 days or 4 days? Please suggest.

Thanks,
Sonu Kumar

Sonu, If you have a holiday or weekly off day, then how can an employee be considered "absent" on that day? Why did your employee apply for 4 days of Sick Leave? Does your organization have a policy to consider weekly holidays as "leave" if they are sandwiched between leave taken on working days?

I believe your organization would have a policy stating the requirement to produce or submit a medical certificate if one takes Sick Leave for a certain number of days, right?

Regards,
A.B.

Dear Sir,

If an employee is absent for 2 days on either Friday or Monday, with a holiday or weekly off in between, it will be considered as sick leave. In this case, the holiday or weekly off will also be counted, meaning the employee is providing 4 days' leave.

Thanks,
Sonu Kumar

The standard practice is to consider the entire period as absent, including the weekly off. However, you need to check your standing orders (if applicable) and accordingly take action.

If standing orders provide for the sandwich rule (absent both before and after a holiday) or if they are silent, or if you do not have standing orders, then you can go ahead and deduct the salary for all 4 days.

The sick leave, even if the holiday or week off is coming in between, has to be on the calendar days. As he is sick from one date till another date, you cannot be sick one day, then alright on the week off, and then sick again. So the entire 4 days will be sick leave or absent, even if the standing order is stating that it is on working days.

In case of other leaves, the standing order will come into play for working days or calendar days.