Leave Policy Transition and Employee Feedback
We are a 10-year-old Bangalore-based organization with 30 employees. The leave calendar operates on a financial year basis, i.e., April to March.
Previous Leave Policy (Till June '16)
- Leave (Combined balance for CL & SL): 32
- Optional Holiday: 2
- Declared Holiday: 10
At the end of the financial year, the entire balance of leaves was carried forward (up to a maximum of 42, which is 32 Leaves + 2 OH) and accumulated year on year. As a result, some employees had an overall balance of leaves as large as 20 to 40.
Revised Leave Policy (From July '16)
- CL: 24 per annum
- SL: 8 per annum
- OH: 2 per annum
- Declared Leaves: 10 per annum
At the end of the financial year, only 12 CL can be carried forward each year (not accumulated year on year). For the transition of the leave policy, employees were informed in July '16 that by the end of March '17, the unconsumed leave balance would lapse, except for 12 CL. Their current leave balance was shared with them to plan their leaves for the coming 8 months. For this reason, management is reluctant to encash the leave balance until March '17 and plans to start afresh in April '17.
Employee Feedback
1. By lapsing the unconsumed SL, the company is penalizing employees for being healthy.
2. Employees suggest maintaining a common balance for CL & SL (32) and carrying forward 18 leaves per year.
As per my understanding of the Shops & Establishment Act, Karnataka, it is mandatory for an organization to provide an SL balance to its employees, and SL cannot be carried forward.
Queries
1. Request guidance on the right approach to this transition.
2. Please suggest how to decide on the number of leaves that can be carried forward.
3. What is a better option: yearly encashment of balance leaves or leave encashment upon leaving the organization?
4. Any suggestions regarding the leave policy are welcome.
Thanks
Regards, Krati
We are a 10-year-old Bangalore-based organization with 30 employees. The leave calendar operates on a financial year basis, i.e., April to March.
Previous Leave Policy (Till June '16)
- Leave (Combined balance for CL & SL): 32
- Optional Holiday: 2
- Declared Holiday: 10
At the end of the financial year, the entire balance of leaves was carried forward (up to a maximum of 42, which is 32 Leaves + 2 OH) and accumulated year on year. As a result, some employees had an overall balance of leaves as large as 20 to 40.
Revised Leave Policy (From July '16)
- CL: 24 per annum
- SL: 8 per annum
- OH: 2 per annum
- Declared Leaves: 10 per annum
At the end of the financial year, only 12 CL can be carried forward each year (not accumulated year on year). For the transition of the leave policy, employees were informed in July '16 that by the end of March '17, the unconsumed leave balance would lapse, except for 12 CL. Their current leave balance was shared with them to plan their leaves for the coming 8 months. For this reason, management is reluctant to encash the leave balance until March '17 and plans to start afresh in April '17.
Employee Feedback
1. By lapsing the unconsumed SL, the company is penalizing employees for being healthy.
2. Employees suggest maintaining a common balance for CL & SL (32) and carrying forward 18 leaves per year.
As per my understanding of the Shops & Establishment Act, Karnataka, it is mandatory for an organization to provide an SL balance to its employees, and SL cannot be carried forward.
Queries
1. Request guidance on the right approach to this transition.
2. Please suggest how to decide on the number of leaves that can be carried forward.
3. What is a better option: yearly encashment of balance leaves or leave encashment upon leaving the organization?
4. Any suggestions regarding the leave policy are welcome.
Thanks
Regards, Krati