Understanding Mandatory Leave Policies for Small 24/7 Clinics: What Are Your Obligations?

Hello All, I am Padmaja, heading the HR department of a clinic where the number of employees is less than 10, which operates 365 days, 24/7. I would like to know what are the mandatory leaves that need to be provided, apart from the one weekly off in a week, and how many mandatory casual leaves should be provided to my staff. Please assist me with applicable laws and leave policies. Thank you for your help.

Dear Padmaja,

Your company is covered under the Karnataka Shops and Establishment Rules, 1963. Under the provisions of these rules, the employee becomes eligible to avail of a day's leave for every 20 working days. This is on top of the weekly off, and both need to be considered separately. When you deduct 52 weekly offs and 10 mandatory closed holidays, roughly every employee becomes eligible to avail of 15 days leave per annum.

You also need to follow the provisions of The Karnataka Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Act, 1963.

Under the provisions of this act, every business establishment must declare 10 closed holidays every year. Please note that the closed holidays are additional to employee leave and the weekly off. Of the 10, the national holidays are 26th Jan, 1st May, 15th Aug, 2nd Oct, and 1st Nov. The remaining five are the festival holidays, and these are at the employer's discretion. For working on festival holidays or national holidays, the employee is eligible to receive double or triple salary. Please click on the hyperlink to check the provisions of this act.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar