Court Attendance Dilemma: Can My Employee Take Leave for a Legal Matter?

There is a case involving my employee. He has to attend court to determine whether he is entitled to take leave or not.

Dear Dilip,

Your employee is eligible to apply for leave. What is the court case all about? Are there any charges against him that he is testifying about? Even if there are, he is not guilty unless proven!

Hence, please treat him as an equal. He is eligible for the number of leave balances he may have. Beyond that, he might have to apply for Leave Without Pay.

Hope this answers your question.

Dear friend,

Attending a court is for reasons related to personal or organizational matters. If it is personal, then the individual is responsible for making arrangements. If it is on behalf of the organization, it falls under the purview of duty on that day. Kindly take necessary steps accordingly.

Best regards.

Further, if the organization, under the circumstances of inquiry after finalization, takes the individual into work and files a case for damages, his court attendance for the case should be part of his duty. Additionally, if the individual files a case against the organization where he/she is employed for work exploitation, that should be covered under normal pay and allowances. However, if he/she files a suit against the organization for compensation for things like rent, it will become a civil case, and the individual is responsible for making their own arrangements.

Thus, the reason combined with the case is essential for making further decisions.

Why did he attend court? Is it related to the duties assigned to him?

It is reasonable to grant him leave, either from PL/EL or CL, to be accounted from his own leave account. However, if there is no leave balance, one day of paid special casual leave can be granted, and the employee should produce an attendance sheet issued by the court or court summons as proof.