When Should Employees Start Getting Paid Leaves: After Probation, Confirmation, or a Year?

Paid leaves should be given to employees after which period: probation, confirmation, or after 1 year. Our company policy is to give paid leaves after the completion of 1 year. One of the employees is arguing that she should be given paid leaves after confirmation. Please guide.

Employee Entitlement to Statutory Leave Benefits

When the hiree gets employed under the contract of employment, he becomes the employee of the hirer. Therefore, automatically, the employee becomes entitled to all the statutory and contractual benefits of employment, including different kinds of leave.

Probation and Confirmation Phases

Probation and confirmation are merely different phases of employment and do not stand in the way of the employee's entitlement to statutory leave benefits. Only lapsable leave like C.L may be granted on a pro-rata basis in respect of a probationer based on his actual length of service in the organization at the discretion of the employer. The sanction of non-lapsable leave like E.L alone is subject to the completion of the statutory accrual period by the employee. Therefore, confirmation or the lapse of any particular time period cannot be a criterion for the sanction of statutory leave to an employee.

Further to what the learned member has informed, please note that both CL and SL are applicable from the date of joining, whereas the EL/PL (paid leaves) are calculated at the end of the year and credited into the account of the employee. If the employee joins during the middle of the year, the calculation will be for the actual period worked. For example, if the leaves per year are 15 and the employee joins on 01 June, his/her leaves at the end of the year (Dec 31 of the joining year) will be 15/12 x 7 = 8.75. Subsequently, his/her records will be updated every year with 15 days leave on 01 Jan. Probation/Training period, etc., do not matter.

Thanks and Regards

Leave entitlements are clearly stipulated in the Factory Act and in the Shop and Establishment Act of the states. PL or EL are as per the act and not after a year.

Col. Suresh Rathi

The learned members have already replied to you regarding what is legally correct. I shall reply only from an HR point of view. Most companies follow the practice of granting paid leaves after confirmation, i.e., after 6 months, not after 1 year. This practice is correct, as employees should be able to address their emergency, domestic, family, or health needs, etc.

Having an employee-friendly approach will help retain your employees. In my previous company, we even allowed probationary employees to take sick leave (as anyone may fall ill during the first 6 months). Such leave was paid and was adjusted from their future leave balance.

Thank you.

Understanding Leave Entitlement and Eligibility

In matters of leaves, their entitlement, eligibility, and when an employee can avail them are distinctly different matters but are interconnected. Some Acts like the Factories Act, State Shops Act, and Maternity Benefit Act prescribe the entitlement of privilege leave, Maternity Leave following, and in the case of the Maharashtra Shops Act also Casual Leave. The year for the purposes of statutory PL is the calendar year.

In the case of a probationer, though leave is accrued to him/her, companies follow different practices. Some grant pro-rata leaves (PL, CL, and SL) on confirmation. Some grant PL only after completion of one year's service. The rate and quantum of leave are prescribed under the above laws, which are minimum, and the employer is free to improve it. But availing of leave is left to the policy except in the case of ML. For the rest of the other leaves, it is after confirmation or one year's service.

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant

Paid leave should be given to employees after the probation period.

There are no laid down rules on the subject. However, if we refer to the Factories Act, EL is entitled only after 240 days. Different organizations follow different rules. We treat them at par with other employees.

Col. Suresh Rathi