How Do You Set Holiday Rules for a Team Split Between Dubai and India? Seeking Advice!

I need your advice. I am working for a Dubai-based shipping company whose back office is in India. We are a new start-up.

Holiday Criteria for a Multinational Workforce

My concern is regarding the holidays. Since my staff is working in Dubai as well as India, what are the criteria that I should apply before finalizing the holidays? Or is there any prescribed rule on this? I request all of your kind support and guidance in this matter.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

When a company has its operations across the globe, its branches and their operations would be covered by the laws of the country where they are situated. Therefore, working conditions such as working hours, holidays, leave, etc., for the employees of such branches shall only be as per the applicable law of the land.

Applying this principle, the employees of the Dubai-based shipping company's back-office in India should be allowed the national, festival, and other holidays as per the applicable State Shops & Establishments Act only. As presumably your back office might be at Trivandrum, please refer to the Kerala Industrial Establishments (National & Festival Holidays) Act, 1958, and the Kerala Shops and Establishments Act, 1960.

Dear Meera, India has a federal structure of government, and the labor laws in India are governed by the state or the union government as applicable. The state in which the back office of your company is located will have rules for the closed holiday that become applicable.

A few states, like Karnataka, have passed exclusive acts like "The Karnataka Industrial Establishments (National And Festival Holidays) Act, 1963". Please ensure that the state in which the back office of your company is located has a similar act. Otherwise, check the provisions of the shops and establishment act.

Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar

As our seniors have said, you need to provide the holidays that are required under Indian regulations. For that purpose, you need to check the local laws that provide the holiday requirements in your state. If there is no specific provision, then there are 3 national holidays that are required by law, and all other holidays are optional. So those 3 days (26th Jan, 15th Aug, 2nd Oct) are mandatory. Therefore, another day may be given in accordance with the Dubai laws.

The reason you need to give those days as holidays is that the country does not work on those days, and therefore, you probably have no work for the back-office team in India. On the other hand, you may need your teams to work on 26th Jan, 15th Aug, and in those cases, you need to pay double-rate overtime to the employees who are required to work. Please also note that Dubai has Friday as the weekly off, and you would need to follow the same too.