Navigating Casual Leave Policies: How to Convince Management to Offer CLs?

Hi, my company falls under the Bombay Shops and Establishment Act. We have 18 Earned Leaves (EL) in my company, but we do not have Casual Leave (CL). When I approached my company's director and suggested that we should provide 8 CLs to employees, he mentioned that we already offer Saturday and Sunday as holidays, unlike some other companies, and questioned why we should be obligated to give CLs.

Seeking Advice on Casual Leave Policy

I seek your advice on how to address this situation. I believe that CL is a right of employees and should be granted to them. However, due to the resistance from higher authority, I am finding it challenging to implement this change.

Your guidance on how to handle this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Statutory Standards of Employment Conditions

The statutory standards of conditions of service for employees are always considered the minimum, taking into account the totality of employment practices prevailing. As such, no employer can deny a particular statutory condition to their employees just because they are liberal in respect of certain other conditions of employment.

Work System and Business Activities

To be frank, the work system of a 5-day week or 6-day week is adopted by certain employers not because of the interest of their employees but only because of the nature of business activities carried on by the establishments. Therefore, it cannot be a justification for the denial of some other statutory benefit. If any complaint is made to the Commissioner of Labor by the employees and in case of prosecution by the enforcement agency, the Court will not accept such a defense.

The poster can appraise the CEO of this legal position.