Can Employees Face LOP Despite Having Leave Balance Due to Missed Deadlines?

What is the rule book when an employee has leave balance? Can they still incur LOP if they are unable to apply or regularize it within the stipulated timelines of a specific payroll month?

For example, Mr. A has a positive leave balance and takes a day off, or the system shows him as absent for half or a full day due to some technical issues, and he forgets to apply or regularize it once he is back. Should he still receive an LOP, or can the deduction be made from his positive leave balance without his consent?

Dear Prashant, employees should submit an application for leave, get it approved by the approving authority, and then proceed on leave. In extreme cases where it is not possible to follow this procedure, many companies show flexibility and give the employee a chance to apply for regularization once they resume their duties. In the case you cited, neither of these steps is being done. Therefore, it is purely the employee's mistake, and the system could show Loss of Pay (LOP), making the employee liable to forfeit wages for that period.

You mentioned that the "system showed him absent for half or a full day due to some tech issues." If there was a technical error, it should have been fixed after some time. If not, the applicant could have sent an email to the HR department about the issue and kept them informed about their inability to update the system. Following up is again the responsibility of the applicant.

Lastly, there is no plural for the word "leave" when it is referred to as an absence from duties. The plural form of "leave" is used to refer to (a) a part of the plant/tree that is mostly green in color and (b) plastic sheets enclosed from three sides so that important documents can be inserted from the open end. Therefore, always use the phrase "number of days of leave." The correct heading of your post should be "LOP When Leave Balance is Positive."

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you, Dinesh, for your prompt reply. Really appreciated. However, I wanted to check if LOP is still applicable if the leave balance is positive. Thanks again.

Dear Prashant, I have replied to your query: SOP is still applicable if leave balance is positive. The onus of submitting leave applications always lies with the applicant. HR software does not have the facility of auto-debit. This facility of auto-debit is removed because if introduced, it would deprive seniors of their authority. If anyone can be absent without submitting a leave application and this absence becomes regularized, then where is the discipline and what is the authority of the managers?

Please note that the axiom, "leave is a privilege and not an entitlement," is the basis on which leave policies are framed. This axiom is explicitly mentioned in the leave policies of most companies.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar