Navigating Advance Leave Requests: Can We Legally Grant Extra Days for Bereavement?

One of my employees is on holiday because his mother has passed away, and he has exhausted all his leave days. However, he is requesting advance leave. Is there any provision in the law that allows us to grant him advance Earned Leave (EL)? If so, how should we deduct these advanced leaves from his future entitlement?

Thank you.

Advance Earned Leave Provision

No provision in law. However, in companies where the situation warrants, and in the absence of any other leaves, management can approve advance EL, which shall be debited to his PL account as soon as the PL is accrued by him after one year of service. In case the person leaves the company before completing the said term of one year of service, proportionate LOP may be effected in his final settlement, equivalent to the number of PL/EL advanced to him.

Dear colleague, Mr. Rkn has correctly advised you. I want to just add a point for discussion. Whatever is legally due, HR must comply. But there are many situations an employee has to face where going beyond legal entitlement is called for, such as advance leave in case of a mother's death.

Such situations call for a human touch, and HR should advocate for the employee by going beyond a limiting legalistic stance. Immediately, what can hold our decision is the concern of setting a precedent. In my view, we should not hesitate to create such a positive precedent if it is going to help strengthen good employer-employee relations.

What is your take on this?

Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR and Employee Relations Consultant

I agree with the advice as we also provide advanced leave to employees in case of emergencies with prior approval of their head of department. The same will be debited as and when the Paid Leave (PL) is credited to their accounts. If an employee leaves the employment before utilizing the said leave, it can be recovered from their legal dues.

Regards, Raj Bhagwat Dy. Manager - HR

Dear Seniors, while I am in total agreement with all that has been shared in this particular link, I would like to add something for academic knowledge.

Earned Leave

The term "Earned Leave" itself implies that it is accrued in proportion to the total number of days worked by an employee—leave is earned. This will be eligible to be encashed if not availed by the employee.

Privilege Leave

The term "Privilege Leave" is a little different in that it becomes a privilege offered to the staff. Unavailed PL generally cannot be encashed.

In this case, granting advance EL will deprive the staff of their eligibility to enjoy the full credit of EL for the subsequent year, which will dilute the effort of the consideration shown. If not too long, the management shall consider treating such leave to the benefit of the staff, as it is a genuine case of bereavement.

Advance Earned Leave (EL) Policy

Advance EL means a maximum of 12-14 days' salary, not more than that. However, the HR's duty is to facilitate communication between the employee and the employer. Therefore, it is the role of HR to check the past records and ensure that this out-of-course facility is not being misused.

Depending on the past relationships between the employee and employer, management can provide an equivalent advance of half a month's salary instead of advance EL. This amount would then be adjusted from the forthcoming salary.