Understanding Leave and Holiday Policies
This type of question regarding the combination of several kinds of leave at a stretch or clubbing the leave period with normal weekly-offs or declared holidays, which may fall just before, after, or in the middle of the leave period, seems to be oft-repeated in the forum.
In the realm of industrial employment, leave of absence from work necessitated by certain contingent circumstances is recognized conceptually not only as a welfare measure but also as an impetus to retain the efficiency of labor in the long run. That's why we find leave provisions invariably in all establishment-related labor legislations. There is no uniformity in the leave provisions because the nature of activity differs from establishment to establishment.
Similarly, the difference between leave and holiday should also always be borne in mind. Leave, depending generally upon its nature, requires the express permission/approval/sanction of the employer to be away from work, whereas a holiday implies a blanket permission unless there is a prior requisitioning by the employer to work, subject to alternative arrangements. In other words, leave and holidays cannot be permitted to be a deterrent affecting the workflow of an organization.
Therefore, the statutory exercise of fixation of leave and holidays allowed to employees has to stop with their types and minimum numbers only. All other things incidental are to be determined by the leave policy of the organization as well as the common-sense application of the leave-sanctioning authority.