Medical Leave and the Sandwich Rule: Should It Apply When Illness Forces Time Off?

I just want to confirm I took a leave because I had some rare infectious diseases, and my doctor and HR both suggested me to take leave. In that case, I have provided all medical documents.

Does the sandwich rule apply in this case as well, considering my leave was not intentionally taken? Now that HR has informed me the sandwich rule will be applicable.

Sandwiching is applicable for medical leave. If you are sick on Saturday and Monday, you are deemed to be sick on Sunday also. How can you argue that on Sunday you were fit to work? Actually, sandwiching is applicable to long leaves and medical leaves. Your HR is right.

I was on leave from Thursday to Friday, but I got sick on Sunday. I informed my HR and sent the prescription. It took one week to recover, so I was not able to join that week. I joined the following week, and my HR told me that my leave would be considered as a sandwich. I had chickenpox, and it is well-known that one cannot return to the office within a week. When I provided all the medical proof of my illness, how could anyone consider this as a sandwich leave? A sandwich leave is typically used to prevent misuse of long weekends, but in my case, it was clear that I did not take that leave intentionally.

And I was thinking, suppose someone met with an accident on Wednesday, and all the office team members know about it. They go to meet that employee. In this case, if that employee is unable to join the office on the following Monday, would the sandwich rule still be applicable? Because everyone is aware that the employee is unable to come.

Understanding Company Leave Policies and the Sandwich Rule

All these are just defenses. You can produce any number of medical prescriptions saying that from Monday morning only you got sick and therefore you were fit on Saturday and Sunday, i.e., the weekly off days. But if that is allowed, nobody will fall sick on Saturdays and Sundays. The best thing is to obey what the company policy says, and if you are not comfortable with that, leave the company and find another because these are not supported by law. The labor law is meant for workers. If you follow the Factories Act, there is only one kind of leave, earned leave. Since EL is calculated based on your physical attendance in the preceding calendar year, the holidays intervening two ELs will NOT be counted as EL, meaning there is no sandwiching. However, when it comes to sick leave, which is not a right of an employee under the Factories Act, the company can make its own rules, which may include the sandwiching rule. If yours is an establishment under the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, then the SL is a lump sum figure and is not based on any attendance, but it shall be 12 days a year or 15 days a year. If so, sandwiching can be made applicable unless otherwise provided in the Act.

Just remember that when you are unemployed, you are okay with any rule of the company. When you are a probationer, you are almost okay with the HR and the company, but when you are a confirmed employee, you are against the HR. Think that defending is good, but it should be for genuine reasons. If the HR relaxes the rules for one person for a genuine reason, it will be misused by another person. I am sure that if your HR permits you to avail the weekly holiday as it is, nobody will come on Monday, and everyone will be sick!

Sandwiching has been a highly debatable topic in the HR world. It is very simple and straightforward. If any weekly off or declared holiday is both prefixed and suffixed by leave (CL or SL), it is considered sandwiching. Cases such as chicken pox, accidents, etc., will naturally fall under this category.

Dear Members,

Every company works according to either Standing Order/State Standing Order (in case of no SO) or certain policies. Even though most companies follow the prefix or suffix method, weekends are treated as a sandwich if leave is contentious.

Regards,
Dhananjoy Kumar