Understanding Leave Entitlements for Contract Staff: How Many Days Off Are Fair?

Hello everyone, my name is Vijay. I am working with a hospital as an HR manager. I wanted to know about leave applicability for staff members who are with us as professional contract holders. Basically, in my organization, staff members are not on payroll but on professional contracts which are yearly renewable.

Leave Applicability for Professional Contract Holders

So, my main question is, "How many leaves can be given to staff members for a year?" and "Are professional contract holders eligible for benefits?"

I have been told that the contractor can avail a total of 30 paid holidays for the 12-month contract period. This leave can be availed proportionately for the completed contract period. As per the law, we are supposed to give only 16 PL and 8 casual holidays, along with 4 National Holidays and 4 Festival Holidays.

Please guide.

Thank you

If you are treating the professionals as contractors, then there is no need to make provisions for leaves. However, if you provide leaves to so-called contractors, then prima facie, they will be treated as directly employed employees of your establishment.

Regards, S. K. Mittal
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Dear Vijay,

I am not able to understand the terms "staff members" and "professional contract" in relation to your establishment being a hospital.

Understanding Staff Members and Professional Contracts

Normally, the term "members of staff" would collectively refer to the employees performing the staff functions like general administration, clerical work, watch and ward, housekeeping, etc., in an establishment whose main functions involve the employment of technical/professional people.

Engaging Professionals on a Contract Basis

In such a situation, you can hire the services of professionals like doctors on an assignment basis or on a periodical basis under a contract for service so that their services are not required on a full-time basis. The right example in the case of a hospital is the engagement of super specialist physicians or surgeons on a contract basis on certain days only in a week. This, I presume, is what you called a professional contract. Inasmuch as the arrangement is only a contract for service and not a contract of service, such persons would not be the "employees" of the establishment to claim leave benefits. Therefore, there is no necessity for leave provisions for such people who work under a contract for service.

Engaging Staff on Individual Contract Basis

How can you engage the services of the so-called staff on an individual contract basis? It can be through a third-party contract or by entering into a fixed-term contract with the individuals. In either case, the service conditions including leave applicable to the regular employees of the establishment would be equally applicable to such contract employees also.

Legal Exemptions and Leave Provisions

That apart, hospitals/nursing homes are exempted from the State Shops and Establishments Acts, if I remember correctly. So far as I know, there's no separate law governing such establishments except the Minimum Wages Act 1948, which has no leave provisions other than a weekly day of rest.

Moreover, my personal view is that any professional expert like super-specialty physicians, surgeons, etc., will not come under the purview of the ID Act 1947 or any other labor law applicable to workmen except the PG Act, 1972, as their capacity of employment does not fall within the inclusive part of the term 'workman' u/s 2(s) of the ID Act, 1947. Hence, if their individual contracts, whether they be contracts for service or contracts of employment, include leave provisions, no one can question it.

Therefore, you can continue with the existing leave benefits.

Leave Entitlement for Contractor Workmen

The contractor workman can avail leave at the rate of one day per twenty working days, in addition to the weekly holidays, 3 National Holidays, and 4 Festival Holidays (please check the state rules for festival holidays).