Are We Legally Required to Include State Holidays in Our Employee Handbook for Essential Services?

Please guide properly regarding the matter of showing the holidays as recommended by the state or center in the employee handbook.

If our organization is not willing to give such holidays to employees, being in essential services like hospitals, are we liable to be punished by the labor department in this regard? Please clarify.

Dear Shahjavid,

Yes, it is compulsory. If you are in the hospital sector, you are guided by Shops and Establishments.

Dear colleague,

You need to display on notice boards the list of holidays followed by your establishment. There is no mandatory requirement to include a gazette notification in the HR policy and Employee Handbook.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant

Not necessary to mention in the HR manual, but the list of holidays must be exhibited on the notice board as suggested above. The employees in essential services may be asked to work on such holidays and will be required to be paid an additional amount as per the prescribed law of the land.

R. R. Kapoor

Employee handbooks are not revised every year. Gazetted holidays change annually. The handbook is updated only in case of policy changes. It is mentioned in the handbook that the organization follows holidays declared by the government each year. As mentioned earlier, the annual gazetted holidays are displayed on notice boards and circulated via the internal mail system to all employees.

Best wishes.