Understanding Leave Policies: Do Regional Holidays Count in Paid Leave Requests?

Greetings All, My query is regarding the leave rules of a private company (we are involved in manufacturing and trading activities). Every year, my company gives 14 paid holidays to employees. Apart from these leaves, we have regional holidays which employees can avail of in accordance with their faith.

Query on Leave Policy

My question is, if an employee wants to take PL for a week and in that week, one regional holiday (RH) falls, can the RH be counted in his PL or not? For example, please consider the month of March 2016:

- 21/3 - Mon
- 22/3 - Tues
- 23/3 - Wed
- 24/3 - Thurs (Holy Second day - Holiday)
- 25/3 - Fri (Good Friday - Regional Holiday)
- 26/03 - Sat (W/ Off)
- 27/03 - Sun (W/ Off)

If an employee applies for PL from 21-03 to 25-03, does the day of 25-3 RH have to be counted in PL or not? Would the same be possible in the case of CL?

I hope this clarifies the scenario. Thank you.

Most offices follow the sandwich rule. So, if a public holiday or weekly off falls in the middle of the applied leave, it is counted as leave, and one leave day is lost for the employee. The sandwich rule applies if there is an application for leave on both preceding and subsequent dates, not if it is only one of them.

Understanding Leave Policies: Prefix and Suffix Rules

Refer to your company's leave policies. Some companies apply prefix and suffix rules. For example, on the 23rd of March, which is Holi and falls on a Wednesday, Mr. XYZ took leave from the 21st of March to the 25th of March. In this case, the 23rd will be considered a leave day, and the total count would be 5 leaves.

Taking into account the number of leave days and holidays provided by your company, only 3 days of leave would apply since you have a holiday and a weekly off. However, if you decide to take leave on Monday, the 28th of March, then the leave count would increase to 8 leaves, following the prefix and suffix rules.

Okay. It depends on the company whether to implement the Sandwich rule, prefix-suffix rule, or not. It means there is no legal regulation or compulsion to have the above-mentioned rules.

Some of the regulations have specified that the sandwich rule applies. However, a decision by the company not to follow it means that the company is offering terms better than those required by the rules, which is definitely allowed.

Please check the model standing orders that apply to your company (or certified standing orders if you have them). There may be more details lurking in them.

Dear All,

My query is regarding the leave rules of a private company (involved in manufacturing and trading activities). Can sick leave (SL) or casual leave (CL) be combined with a regional holiday?

For example:
- 15-Aug: Independence Day
- 16-Aug: CL
- 17-Aug: CL
- 18-Aug: Regional Holiday (Raksha Bandhan)
- 19-Aug: will resume duty.

Please guide.

Thank you.