Navigating Leave Encashment and Formal Letter Writing in HR: Insights and Solutions

Hello,

I have been assigned on a mission outside my country for 8 months starting in August and ending in March. When I returned, my leave balance was canceled at the beginning of the calendar year. Is there a sample letter or recommendation on how I can formally write a letter to HR requesting confirmation of these days and either purchase them or transfer them to the next year? I am a very good engineer but struggle with writing formal letters.

Thank you.

Dear Sa2il,

What is the nature of your industry? In which month/year did you leave for abroad? What was the balance of your earned leave when you left? When did you come back to India? Did you avail of any earned leave during your overseas assignment? According to the leave policy of your company, how many days of leave are granted to an employee per annum?

Please clarify the above questions. We will think of the draft of the letter later.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Hello,

I am an expat working in an Arab country. We do media and broadcast, and I am a broadcast engineer. When I left, my balance was 48 days, with 18 carried over from 2013 and 30 added as of January 2014. According to our policy, only 10 days can be carried over; therefore, I lost 38 days. I did not take any leave while I was abroad. I hope that answers your question.

Dear Sa2il,

There is a contradiction in what you have written in your second post. You say that your leave balance was 48 days in 2014, of which 18 were carried from the previous year, i.e., 2013. Later, you have written that "as per our policy, only 10 days can be carried on." Please clarify.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

December 31, 2013: My leave balance was 18.

January 1, 2014: I received 30 days for 2014 + 18 (10 carried over as per policy + 8 exceptionally carried due to a project, as my office had to cancel my leave). The total is 48.

December 31, 2014: 48.

January 2015: 30 days + 10 carried over from 2014.

Does that make sense?

I lost 38 days from 2014, and I am still struggling with HR. Lately, they asked me to send an official formal letter to them, but I am not good at that type of writing. Can you help with such a letter?

Dear sa2il,

The draft of the letter could be as below:

Date: Subject: Encashment of Leave

Dear Sir/Madam,

This is to inform you that I had proceeded to an overseas assignment on ______ (date) to _____ (name of the country) for _____ (nature of the assignment). Following is the status of my leave:

As of December 31, 2013, my leave balance was 18. On January 1st, 2014, I received 30 days for 2014 plus 18 (10 carried over as per policy and 8 exceptionally carried due to the project as my office had to cancel my leave), totaling 48.

As of December 31st, 2014, the balance remained at 48 as I did not avail of any leave during the year. In January 2015, I received 30 days plus 10 carried over from 2014.

The above calculation shows that I had to forego 38 days of leave in the year 2014. In view of this, can you please initiate action to encash the leave?

Thanks,
___________ (your name)
Employee No: -

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

Your case deserves exemption from the cancellation of excess leave that has accumulated based on the rules. It would be advisable to meet with HR through your Head of Department to seek their support and submit your letter for encashment. Without diligent follow-up, there is a risk of missing out on this opportunity. Haven't you missed out on encashing in a timely manner despite being stationed abroad? In a worst-case scenario, if not encashment, they should at least permit you to carry forward the leave in full to 2015-16 without deductions.

Best of luck.