Dear Murthy,
Can you please share the amendment? I understand that there was a proposal to amend the Act inorder to make workers who have worked for 90 days eligible to leave with wages.
Supposing that there has no such amendment, I would like to clarify that an employee who has not worked for 240 in the preceding year will not be eligible for any annual leave with wages. Since this is the only leave admissible as per Factories Act, any leave that you grant to employees will be addition to this leave and that will continue to be available to the employee even if he has not worked for 240 days.
Now, I would also like to say that 240 days is inclusive of all weekly off days, paid leave days, maternity leave (in the case of women employees) days, lay off days and holidays. An employee who is eligible to get annual leave with wages will get one day for every 20 days physically present in the preceding year. For this the actual days physically present only will be taken into account. For example, an employee has worked for 153 days in 2016 (12 months from January to December) . He has taken some 20 days of PL. He was on leave due to employment injury for 5 days. There were 52 paid weekly off days and 10 holidays during 2016. Then he will be eligible to leave with wages in 2017 since the total days (paid days) he has worked is 240 days. He is said to have continuous service as per all labour laws also. However, his leave for the year 2017 will be restricted to one day for every 20 days physically present or 7 days only.
As already said this is the way in which the continuous service is decided under Payment of Gratuity Act or Industrial Disputes Act. Therefore, if the sum total of days physically present, holidays, weekly off days etc comes short of 240 days he is said to have interrupted service and that year will not be counted for gratuity and retrenchment compensations.
There is no option for granting leave in advance. Therefore, if already granted the same cannot be recovered from the employee.
There is only one kind of leave under Factories Act and any leave that you give will be additional only.
A serious concern: If the Factories Act is amended with a provision that leave is to be granted to workers who have worked for 90 days (or 180 days) most of the workers including casual labours will get leave because there are at least 52 weekly off days, 10 holidays (in Kerala it is not less than 13 holidays as per Kerala Industrial Establishments National and Festival Holidays Act) and obviously a few number of leave which are paid leaves!!
Madhu.T.K