How Do Leave Rules Work for Branches Across Different States in India?

If a company's registered office is in Delhi and it has branches all over India, what will be the leave rules? Will the leave rules of the registered office apply, or will the leave rules be as per the states where the branches are located? For example, if the registered office is in Mumbai and branches are in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad, will the leave rules of the Mumbai state apply to all branches, or will each branch have its own leave rules based on the state's regulations?

Types of Leave

Regarding leave rules, there are various types of leave such as casual leave, restricted holidays, national holidays, local leave/holidays, and general holidays (during calamities, outbreaks like tsunamis/heavy rain, heavy floods, etc.).

Aligning Leave Days

It is advisable to align leave days with where the company headquarters are situated (where the registered office is located). For restricted holidays, let the employee decide when to avail of the leave. National holidays are common to all, regardless of the company headquarters and other locations.

Casual and Local Leave

Casual leave is granted based on employee needs, while local leave varies from location to location. For example, in Kolkata, Kali Puja is observed; in Karnataka, Dasehra is celebrated; in Tamil Nadu, Pongal is significant; and in Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi or other festivals are observed. These festivals usually last for 2 to 4 days.

By adhering to the location of the company headquarters, healthy functioning can be maintained, while other types of leaves can be managed with a skeleton staff at the respective locations.

Best of luck...

Understanding Leave Rules Across Different States

The basic thing to note is that these offices, whether headquarters or branches, come under the respective State's Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. Different Shops Acts have different leave rules and provisions for holidays.

For example, the employees in an office in Karnataka have to be given 5 days of National Holidays and five days of festival holidays in a year. They are to be given 12 days of sick leave and earned leave at the rate of one leave for every 20 days worked in the preceding calendar year.

In Tamil Nadu, the holidays are 9 days, and leaves are like CL of 12 days, SL of 12 days, and PL of 12 days a year. In Kerala, the number of holidays is 13, and the number of CL, SL, and PL are 12, 12, and 12 respectively.

Since the offices are expected to be registered under the state Act, they are expected to follow the rules of the respective state. However, nothing in these state Acts prevents the employees from getting more beneficial leaves or holidays. Therefore, if the holidays being followed in the headquarters are more than the holidays to be declared under the State Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Act, you can have the same holidays in the branch offices situated in other states as well.

The only thing to ensure is to declare such holidays which are to be declared as National holidays, which are mandatory under each state Act. For example, in Karnataka, November 1st is a mandatory holiday being State formation day. This may not be a holiday in the headquarters in Delhi or another place. Similarly, in some states, May 1st may not be a national holiday, but in many other states, May 1st is a mandatory holiday.

Regarding leaves, the same thing should apply, and therefore, you have to consider the minimum number of each type of leave to be given under each State Shops and Commercial Establishments Act before implementing a centralized leave system.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Leave must be as per the respective state acts only. We faced this problem with the inspector who refused to accept the Registered Office leave policy concept.

Dear Mr. MADHU.T.K,

My compliments for your reply. Will you kindly let me know the number of holidays applicable in Delhi?

Regards,
Col. Rathi

National and Festival Holidays in Delhi

I understand that there is a provision for three national holidays (January 26, August 15, and October 2) and four festival holidays under the Punjab Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays & Casual and Sick Leaves) Act, which covers the NCT of Delhi. There is a provision for seven days of casual leave. Sick leaves are 14 days, but this is not applicable to employees covered by ESI. These are applicable to factories only.

For establishments covered by the Delhi Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, three national holidays are available. The Act also provides for a weekly off after every six days of work for every employee. These weekly offs are considered as holidays. The Act provides for 12 days of casual leave and 15 days of privileged leave after 12 months of service.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K