Understanding Leave Policies: Is Sunday a Day Off or Part of a Week-Long Leave?

Dear Experts,

According to the act/law, please let me know if any personnel is on leave for the whole week (Monday to Saturday), whether his/her 7th day (Sunday) should be considered as a weekly off or a continuation of leave.

Your reply will be highly appreciated.

Vkey

In our company, if a person is present one day in a week, Sunday is considered as the weekly off. However, if the employee remains absent for the whole week, then Sunday is considered as a continuation of leave. I think it depends on the policy of the company. Please correct me if I am wrong.

The applicant is applying for a specified number of days of leave. In the given case, if the applicant has applied for six days, then we cannot include the seventh day. If the weekly off is on Sunday and the person has applied for leave for six days from Monday to Saturday, then the preceding Sunday is considered the prefix, and the succeeding Sunday is considered the suffix. In your leave policy, it is important to clearly define the concepts of prefix and suffix.

Overstay

If a person has applied for leave from Monday to Saturday with one Sunday as the prefix and another Sunday as the suffix but fails to report for duty on Monday and instead reports on Tuesday, the person loses the suffix. The two days of overstay are considered "absence." If this absence is regularized, then the extra two days of leave will be deducted.

I hope you have understood the concept of prefix and suffix.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

If the person remains absent on the day before or after the week off (i.e., Saturday and Monday), then their weekly off is considered as leave. Otherwise, being present on any one day can designate Sunday as the weekly off.

Dear Members,

I have a different view based on a legal standpoint. A weekly off is granted to an individual if they have worked the previous six days. If they have not worked, they cannot be given the day off and will be marked as absent for that particular day off. Some companies have implemented a policy for Suffix/Prefix as suggested. However, in the case of continuous leave, extending to the 7th day, it will contradict the purpose of the policy and be counted as leave.

Thanks

Dear VKey,

Don't try to keep the members in a guessing position. In fact, your query is quite vague. Your query does not indicate whether you want to ask about daily wage workers or regular employees. Please be clear first in yourself. Thereafter, it would be better if you discuss the real problem rather than asking an academic query. Varied replies based on the guess of individual members can confuse you more than guide you.

Thank you.

To avoid conflicts, lay down a leave policy with a clear definition of weekly off and holidays. In your case, if the office is open on Sunday, then count leave; otherwise, it is a mandatory holiday, not a weekly off. Is it permitted to work on Sundays and take comp off on another day?

If weekly off comes in between the applied leave period, then the weekly off is considered as leave.

LOL (leave-off-leave) situation means all 3 days are considered as leave.

Dear Seniors,

I request your guidance on this. Based on the understandings above, it seems there is no specific law defined under the Shop and Establishment Act for the leave of affix and prefix. Hence, it is the sole responsibility and discretion of the company policy. Please correct me if my understanding is incorrect. If there is any law stated, then I request you all to please share the same if possible.

Thanks and regards.

Mr. Raj Dubey,

I think you are missing the point that paid leave is considered as work period. Therefore, after six days of sanctioned paid leave, the employee does get his/her weekly off.

Salary and Wage Calculation for Staff and Workmen

Normally, the salary will be paid for 30 days in a month for staff members. Wages will be paid to workmen, with the calculation based on 26 days of work performed in a month.

For staff members, the 7th day (Sunday) will also be treated as a leave day because they have not worked for 6 days in that week to earn a weekly day with pay.

For workmen, the days actually worked will be the criteria for wage calculation. In the normal course, they will not receive weekly wages as their wage will be calculated for 26 days of work.

Regards,
member

Standard Leave Policy Guidelines

Standard Leave Policy will follow the guidelines and provisions of different Acts and Statutes.

- Earned Leave / PL = (Governed by Factory Act / State Shops & Establishment Act)

Under the provisions of the Factory Act (Sections 52 and 79), on actual working of 20 days, one leave will be earned and credited to the employee's leave account.

The manner in which one can avail leave will be governed by the respective HR policy / Standing Orders provision. Generally, PL will be counted if the leaves are required for more than 3 days and need advance sanction from the department. If the leaves are continuous and any weekly off / holiday falls between two leave dates, the off will also be counted as leave unless the next day is considered a working day. (The organization may establish some separate Suffix / Prefix Policy in case of Earned Leave)

Casual Leaves are only governed by Standing Orders; there are no provisions in the Factory Act and Rules. Similarly, Sick Leaves are governed by certified Standing Orders of the Company.

(Generally, Casual Leaves are availed for casual or urgent requirements and should not exceed 3 days at a time)

I have gone through the views, opinions, observations, explanations, and interpretations given by various members. The particular question of "vkey1904" was, "According to the act/law, please let me know if any personnel is on leave for the whole week (Monday to Saturday), his/her 7th day (Sunday) should be considered as a weekly off or continuation of leave."

Weekly Off and Leave Continuation

In this context, I would like to draw your attention to the subject by referring to Chapter VI, Section 52 of the Factories Act 1948, which governs and regularizes the weekly holidays. The weekly holiday ordinarily falls on Sunday, but employers can substitute Sunday for any of the three days preceding or following under intimation to the inspector. Continuous working should not exceed 9 days.

Keeping in view the intention of Sections 51 and 52, in my opinion, a weekly off is admissible to a person who works 48 hours in a week. Therefore, if a person remains on leave from Monday to Saturday, they are not entitled to a paid weekly off on Sunday, and Sunday will be counted as part of their leave. Sunday will be considered as part of the leave regardless of whether the person has applied for leave from Monday to Saturday or Monday to Sunday.

Regards, P. K. Sharma

Understanding Leave Policies: A Comprehensive Guide

As a matter of practice, in line with standing orders, service rules, and the Factories Act of 1948, organizations allow three types of leaves: Casual Leave (CL), Sick Leave (SL), and Earned Leave or Privileged Leave (EL/PL). The first two types of leaves, CL and SL, are to be availed of and sanctioned in accordance with leave rules. They should be classified and well-defined in service rules or the company's standing orders, and Earned Leave (EL/PL) according to the Factories Act.

When it comes to writing leave rules in service rules, employers specifically hand over, along with the appointment letter, a ready-made copy of service manuals wherein, among various employment-related aspects, entitlement of leaves, approval procedures, etc., are fully explained and announced regarding how leaves will be permitted or refused. Service rules are framed with the basic aims and objectives of how employers will ensure and administer discipline, punctuality, attendance, etc.

The Fundamentals of Prefix and Suffix in Leave Policies

Service rules are signed by the employee acknowledging, at the time of joining, that they have read and understood. So it becomes a rule binding for them, of course, a bilaterally signed agreement. If prefix and suffix are included in service rules, they will be applicable as per the same.

I will explain, as a general practice, how Prefix and Suffix are broadly used in companies. Suppose X has applied for 2 CL for Monday and Tuesday, and Sunday is his weekly off; he is entitled and allowed 2 CL. In another scenario, if X applied for 2 CL for Friday and Saturday but did not report on Monday, reported on Tuesday, then his Sunday and Monday will be counted as absent days. Here, he needs to apply for two days' leave, not for one day.

In organizations where standing orders are applicable, or organizations have their own certified standing orders, leave provisions are already applicable with signatures of employers and employees before joining. A workman to whom the provisions of standing orders are made applicable also gives a similar acknowledgment when joining the company on day one. Standing orders, as we all know, contain clauses related to attendance, gate entry and exit, shift working, misconduct, absence, discipline, punishments, etc. In leave matters, as explained earlier, the management and employees have well-written certified standing orders displayed on the notice board at the factory gate. If standing orders are not made applicable, then service rules are in place. Normally, organizations of this age are observed to have provisions of 7 to 10 CL and 10-14 SL days depending on their age, capacity, and policies.

Earned Leave (EL/PL) and Its Sanction

Lastly, it comes to EL or PL. The entitlement of leave and its sanction is in accordance with the strict provisions of the Factories Act. The working day or leave days will be considered for payment. If you are absent on any working day, your leave application for absent days must be duly sanctioned in advance by the authority. It is earned leave, called so because employees are expected to earn and create a leave balance in credit before availing of EL/PL.

The above is a broad guideline in brief expected to be practiced by an employer. Though deviations and exceptions are there, which can be explained based on their nature and extent with specific issues.

Regards,

RDS Yadav Director, Navtarang HR Services and Director, Future Instt. Of Engg. and Management Technology

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Certainly, the 7th day will be counted as leave only. This is because he has not worked in that week to earn a weekly off with pay. One should work for 6 days in a week to get one day of weekly off with pay.

Based on the user's input, here is the corrected version:

"Well, this entirely depends on the prevailing leave policy of the company. As far as my knowledge goes, if an employee goes on leave from Monday to Saturday, then the succeeding Sunday (if it's their regular off day) will be considered as a day off. However, if the employee fails to report for duty on Monday, then Sunday will be calculated as a leave day or absence day, subject to the availability or approval of the Head of Department."

Please let me know if you need further assistance or clarification.