Can I Get Compensated for Working Sundays Due to Business Travel?

I need to understand the leave rule for the following.

I usually undertake an air travel on a Sunday from Bangalore to Vadodara and back for official reasons. This is mainly due to cheap fares, by which my company benefits while reimbursing, and secondly because I am available for work from Monday to Saturday. Can those Sundays be compensated?

Who has advised you to book on Sundays? If it is your voluntary act, then how can you claim compensation for the day? If advised by the company, the company needs to compensate for the weekly off day.

First of all, thanks for the response. Well, I just needed to know the standard rule. It's quite obvious that any employee will not opt to spend a holiday working if not required. Moreover, it's always a fact that we, as employees, need to work in the company's interest.

Being in the designation of senior management, no one advises. We need to make our own decisions in the interest of the company.

If your role (not mere designation) is managerial in nature, you can't claim anything.

Hi Shantanu,

Going on with the current concepts and scenarios, not with legislation, yes, you are entitled to be benefited with a compensatory off. You are working for the company's interest, and in return, it is not a big deal to get time off for working on Sunday. You can raise this request to HR, and I am sure they will consider it, evaluating your deliverables and commitment.

Dear Shantanu, irrespective of his employment status in the organization, any employee can be permitted to travel by air both ways, even on a holiday, depending on the importance and urgency of the work to be done. If it is as per the instruction of your immediate superior, you are entitled to compensatory time off. The way you have phrased the query, the frequency of such travel, and its justification mentioned therein are not only indicative of your sense of responsibility and frugality but also the discretionary powers vested in you. If you are still a bit indecisive, it would be better to obtain blanket permission from the CEO.

Taking some time off during the next working day after such arduous travel, usually undertaken on holidays in the interest of the organization by a responsible manager, is a trivial matter in the day-to-day activities of the establishment. As such, these things will not matter much in an ideally managed organization. At the same time, it would be quite unbecoming on the part of a manager to claim it as a matter of right like an employee in the lower rung.

Dear Shantanu,

Compensatory Leave is provided when one has to work on a weekly off, NH, or FH at the call of the management. From no angle does your case seem to fall under the Compensatory Leave option. You are simply using Sunday for your vested interest.

Dear Shantanu, I recommend you travel on weekdays rather than on Sunday. This will settle the matter when asking for compensatory off (comp off). As such, you mentioned that asking for comp off does not look good for your level.

Anyway, some travel will always be during and beyond working hours. Now, imagine that you travel to Baroda on Monday and on Saturday. Upon completing work, you take a flight around 1900 or 2000 hours. The flight from Baroda to Bangalore takes about two hours, and then it could take 1-1.5 hours to reach home, resulting in your arrival by midnight.

My question pertains to the extra working hours you put in due to travel, from 1800 to 2400 hours. How will you account for that?

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Mr. Ghosh,

Greetings for the day.

If you have a holiday on Sunday and you are on an official tour, regardless of the mode of travel, it should be treated as a working day. In such cases, you will be compensated with 'Compensatory-Off', which should be separate from leave entitlements, and the compensation should be at your regular salary rate.

Thanks & Regards,

Sumit Kumar Saxena

Dear Shantanu, it depends on the company's leave policy. As per the designation, employees can avail compensatory time off. I agree with Dinesh, as you can travel on a workday. Additionally, I suggest that in your travel allowance rules, it will be considered that when you apply for travel allowance, your Sunday will be considered a workday. On this basis, you can take your day off on the following day after completing your travel by informing your HR department. They are aware of the situation as it is typically HR's role to book your tickets and arrange for your days off.

Therefore, do not worry, you can avail of it. Normally, executives from various companies take the day off on the next day after traveling if they have spent Sunday on duty for travel or for a conference/meeting.

Thank you.

Dear Shantanu,

If Sunday is a holiday and you were instructed by your immediate superior or higher management to complete a certain task on the same day, and there is no policy regarding "working on a holiday," then the type of reimbursement is at the discretion of the company. They may choose to reimburse your salary for the day or provide you with a compensatory day off.

Compensatory Leave for Business Travel on Sundays

Traveling on business on Sunday and availing compensatory leave on a weekday is not healthy and definitely not welcome. Your presence is more crucial on weekdays. There is no industry-wide practice to support this arrangement, and it also impacts office decorum. Both your body and your subordinates require rest. The personnel in Vadodara are compelled to work on Sundays without proper compensation, which is insufficient to compensate for their time and effort. While occasional Sunday travel may be necessary, making it a regular practice and encouraging such tendencies is not advisable.

If you are going to Baroda for work at the instance of management, then it is appropriate for you to claim a compensatory off if so provided in the company's rules.

If you are going to Baroda on Sunday on your own decision, then it may not be a prudent practice. The costs you are saving for the company by cheap airfare are neutralized by the loss of man-hours for a day on account of compensatory off on a working day.

B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Navi Mumbai