Employee Birthday Dilemma: Should We Celebrate the Real Date or the Official Record?

Hi Everyone,

Should employee birthdays be celebrated according to their certificate records or their actual dates? So far, we have been following the records; however, employees are not happy as it's not their actual birthday. Can anyone suggest how I can proceed?

Hi,

There is no hard and fast rule on this. If employees are comfortable with the actual date, then please plan for the birthday celebration on the actual date. However, in that case, you need to maintain two DOB columns in the Employee Masters. One is as per the certificate, and the other is the actual date. At the time of joining, you can collect these details and have them signed by the employee; otherwise, they may complain that their actual DOB is different.

Hey, thanks Lakshminarayan for providing these inputs.

Is there any particular corporate rule on how employee birthdays should be celebrated according to their certificates?

-Jyothi Konda

Hi,

Birthday celebrations come under welfare and company-specific policies, not statutory rules.

Thank you, Lakshminarayan, for your inputs. I have a plan to maintain a database with two dates of birth (DOB) of employees so that I can celebrate their actual birthday. However, one of my managers mentioned that there is a corporate rule where the employee's birthday will be celebrated as per their certificates.

On the company's records, only a single authentic date of birth supported by a valid document such as a birth certificate from the authority, Aadhar/PAN card, or educational certificate, etc., has to be admitted for all purposes, including the date of retirement and computing the length of service of an employee. This is a vital step and HR responsibility during onboarding formalities. If two dates of birth are on records, it is a potential cause for a legal dispute later.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR Consultant