Leave management (LOP calculation) - every employee can avail a week off if worked for 45 hours a week

Hi all, I hope all are doing well. Can you please help me come to a conclusion for the scenario below?

I worked in a start-up company where there is no specific leave policy. One employee took leave from May 24, 2021, to May 28, 2021, and returned to work on May 31, 2021. He also worked on May 21, 2021. We consider the number of working days for 30 days, and our organization operates 5 days a week. Generally, according to the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947, every employee can take a week off if they have worked for 45 hours a week.

Could you please inform me how many days of Loss of Pay (LOP) the employee would incur in the above scenario?

Thank you.

It appears that the leave policy may be governed by the Shops and Establishments Act if it is not a factory. The 22nd and 23rd were normal days off for a 5-day week. Leave is taken from the 24th to the 28th, and then again on the 29th and 30th as normal days off. The employee rejoined on the 31st. There will be no loss of pay (LOP) if the employee has a leave balance in credit.

You have a five-day workweek, so the employee is on leave from May 24th to May 28th, with the 22nd & 23rd as the prefix and the 29th and 30th as the suffix. Therefore, the leave period only includes working days. LOP refers to loss of pay. I presume in that case the prefixed and suffixed holidays will not result in LOP.

I would suggest that you do not look at this matter from a narrow and short-term view. If the employee gets paid for a weekly off, you do not lose a significant amount, but it enhances the employee's goodwill towards the company.

In terms of the requirement of the law, under the Shop & Establishment Act (assuming the startup is not a factory), you have a fixed weekly off. If the worker is absent on that day, you still need to pay him, provided he worked either the day before or after the weekly off.

In case you have staggered weekly off, the same rule will apply, though you can change his weekly off considering his rejoining day as the first working day of the week. But such manipulation is generally a bad idea.

In your case, since you have 2 weekly offs, and he has worked on the last working day and the next working day, you can deduct salary (or apply a paid leave day) only for the period from Monday to Friday when he took leave.

I am assuming you are not a factory, have less than 50 employees, and your weekly off is Saturday and Sunday.