Leave as a Statutory Service Benefit
"Leave" is a statutory service benefit available to all regular employees, whether confirmed or probationers. Since the different kinds of leave are fixed on an annual basis, only the extent of their availment is restricted depending on the employment status of the employee concerned. For example, a confirmed employee can be permitted by the Leave Sanction Authority to avail of a particular kind of leave at a stretch on an occasion subject to the latter's discretion, whereas a probationer can be permitted only on a pro-rata basis for the simple reason that his services can be terminated on the ground of his unsuitability or poor performance before his successful completion of probation.
However, it does not mean that he should not be allowed any leave at all during his probation. Everyone is susceptible to some kind of sickness or other in his life. How can an employer be indifferent to such a normal contingency of life in respect of a probationer and deny salary, treating it as leave on loss of pay? Would it not result in the extension of his period of probation? Apart from being illegal, such an act would amount to unethical HR practice too!