Unapproved Absence: Can HR Deduct Salary Despite Available Leave Balances?

If an employee is absent on a particular day without submitting a leave application, can HR deduct his one-day salary even if he has PL and CL balance?

No, this should not happen. But if there is a provision in the company's leave policy that employees should apply for CL before one day or immediately after joining duties, then one has to apply according to the policy. Usually, HR doesn't do this. But if you didn't apply for leave, it means you don't want paid leave on that day. In that case, it's an absence.

Purpose of Casual Leave (CL)

The purpose of CL is to enable an employee to remain absent in unforeseen circumstances where they could not either obtain prior sanction of leave or intimate the competent authority. Therefore, it is not prudent to deduct wages for a one-day absence if it happens once in a while and for genuine reasons.

If an employee is in the habit of doing so quite frequently, then counsel them first and then warn them. If they still continue with it, inform them that if they do so in the future, it will be treated as unauthorized absence. They will be liable to lose wages proportionately for such unauthorized absence.

Regards, B. Saikumar HR & Labour Law Advisor Navi Mumbai

HR is legally right. Unless you apply for leave, they can't treat your absence as leave. An employee whose leave is adjusted against absence may come forward and say that he had kept leave aside for the latter part of the year. Employee leave is their 'property'; only they can use it.