Navigating Leave Policies: Should We Follow National Rules or State Regulations?

While writing a leave policy, should national rules and regulations be followed, or should the state in which the company plans to set up operations be considered, irrespective of their registered office being elsewhere? If yes, then should two different state offices have differences in their leave policies? For example, having operations in Bangalore (Karnataka) where maternity leave provides 12 weeks (80 days), while in the northern states it is 60 days.

Are you an establishment? If so, the statutory or minimum leave quantum will depend on the state's Shops Act. In the policy, you may regulate rules and regulations regarding applications, the number of occasions of leave in a period, and so forth.

The Maternity Benefit Act and the ESI Act are central acts. Regarding maternity leave under both acts, it is 26 weeks. You are misinformed on this count.

A company with offices Pan India will have to follow national rules on the subject and in states where there is a change, then it should take into account those modifications also.

Many Acts have specific State amendments as authorized, and they need to be taken into account. Some states may declare X festival as a holiday, and others may declare Y festival as a holiday. It is important to factor in such variations in the leave policy.

Dear Ashes,

Please note:

i) Leave policies are applicable as per the states where your office is located.

ii) Maternity leave is a centralized act and thus cannot be modified by states, as specified in your query. Maternity leave, which is applicable, is 182 days, i.e., 26 weeks.

It's not possible to implement a common holiday list and leave policy applicable all over India. Maternity leave is different as this is governed by a central act. However, there is no hard and fast rule for an employer to follow a common policy for their offices all over India, but it would be necessary to adhere to the leave package as prescribed in labor laws (Factory Act, Shops Act, Mines Act, ESI Act, Standing Orders, etc.) applicable and the list of holidays as published by the respective state governments applicable within their states. Therefore, both these two aspects have to be taken care of.