How Should HR Handle Leave Requests When a Holiday is Announced Afterward?

Hello, I am Devi, working as an HR and Administrative Manager in a pharma company. I need clarity on the following doubt.

If an employee applies for leave for one day and goes on leave, and then the company later announces a holiday for that day, should we consider that employee's leave as a holiday or leave only? Please, can anybody clarify this question?

If the company has a holiday on that day, the employee is not required to report to work. Therefore, deducting pay or accounting it as paid leave is incorrect.

Handling Leave and Holiday Overlaps

It may depend on the situation. If an employee had applied for earned leave and a holiday comes in between two earned leave days, it should be treated as continuous leave. On the other hand, if the employee had applied for a day's leave for a specific purpose, such as Milad-e-Sherif, and that day was declared a festival holiday for the entire establishment for the same reason, then the employee should be allowed the holiday and permitted to cancel the leave.

In a similar way, suppose due to heavy rain, the employee sends a message stating they would not be able to come to the office and requires a day's leave, and you approve it. If later it is decided that it would be fair to declare the day as a holiday due to inclement weather, then you should also treat the leave as a holiday.

If an employee applies for leave for one day and goes on leave, and the company later announces a holiday for that day, you should consider the day as a holiday for the employee, not as leave. This is because, according to the rules, every establishment declares or notifies the list of holidays (festivals and national holidays) at the beginning of the calendar year, and all employees are eligible for any incidental holidays declared later on.

Dear Colleagues,

This is a common doubt many will have in their day-to-day leave administration. In the instance quoted, a talent applies for leave for a particular day, and subsequently, that day is declared a holiday. In such a case, how should we handle the situation? Do we need to consider that day for deduction in leave or not?

Leave Definition

Leave, according to the Webster Dictionary, is defined as "Authorized, especially extended absence from duty or employment."

Holiday Definition

Holiday, according to the Webster Dictionary, is defined as "A day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event."

Situation A: One Day Leave and Holiday Declared

In general parlance, "leave" is applied for authorized absence from duty on a working day of the establishment for personal and other reasons. Hence, leave is taken on a working day of the organization. When the organization suspends its work or operation on a particular day and declares a "holiday," then there is no question of any leave on that particular day. The organization or establishment is not functioning, and hence, there can be no one on leave on that day. The leave applied is nullified for that particular day, and leave is not deducted from the leave balance. If deducted, one day leave has to be credited back.

Situation B: Continuous Leave and Holiday Declared

We will consider another situation where a talent is on long leave on some grounds, say for over a month or two. In such a case, the holiday arising in between the leave days is considered as leave only (except national and festival holidays) as per the leave rules approved and practiced in many organizations. In this case, the call has to be taken based on the applicable leave rules of the particular organization. In this situation, the talent will continue to be on leave for a further period despite the occurrence of a holiday in between. Here, the days are considered leave only.

Situation C: National and Festival Holiday Falling in Between Leave Days

In the case of national and festival holidays declared, and on that day, someone is on leave of any type - in such a case, that day has to be considered as a national or festival holiday only and not as leave.

Ensure your leave policy is clearly defined on this so that every talent will be on the same page, and there will be clarity for everyone.

Thanks and God Bless,

Dr. P. SIVAKUMAR
Dr. SIVAGLOBALHR
Tamil Nadu

National and Festival Holidays During Leave

Under which section of any state Act on national and festival holidays is it mentioned that such holidays intervening an employee's long leave will not be counted as leave but should only be treated as a national holiday or festival holiday, as the case may be?

Maternity Leave and Holidays

Will a woman employee on maternity leave get a separate count of leaves for the holidays which intervene in her 6 months maternity leave period? NO, never. Holidays, whether national holidays or festival holidays, which will intervene leave days shall be excluded provided the leave is annual leave with wages as prescribed under the Factories Act. However, the Shops Act is silent on how to treat the holidays/weekly off days which intervene leave days. A similar situation occurs with maternity leave.

Dear Colleagues, in addition to the valuable views given by other colleagues and my views provided in the earlier reply, the following points may be added to simplify the subject for the understanding of readers:

1. Understanding Leave

The term "Leave" is applicable when a person is supposed/expected to attend duty on a working day or operational day of the establishment/place of business and wants leave of absence for a particular working day/s. Here, the person or persons will be on leave for their own reasons. However, the majority of employees will work as the place of work and activities of the establishment function very well as it is a working day.

2. Understanding Holiday

The term "Holiday" is one where, on a particular day, the place of work or business is shut down, or activities are suspended temporarily for that day due to declared reasons. In such a case, the employee is not expected to report for duty on that day. Here, the place of work is temporarily shut down.

Leave is applied by the employee, whereas Holiday is declared by the Employer.

3. Leave and Holiday Overlap

If Leave like Annual Leave is applied and subsequently that day is declared as a Holiday, then the employee should be allowed to cancel the Annual Leave applied for that day (as per the question raised).

4. Special Leave Circumstances

Furthermore, when someone is not expected/supposed to attend duty on a particular day due to special reasons/circumstances/situations, for instance, ESI Sick leave already applied/ESI disability Leave due to an accident, Medical Leave due to an accident or sickness, Maternity Leave, etc., will not be affected by any holidays but will continue as usual and be treated as ESI Leave/Maternity Leave, etc.

5. Organizational Leave Rules

The Leave Rules of the Organization should anticipate all such situations, be documented for clarity, and communicated to all employees for understanding and compliance.

We will also gain more insight from the viewpoints of other colleagues on this subject matter, where many organizations follow different practices in reality, whereas the law is more or less the same and similar in almost all states regarding Annual Leaves under the Factories Act or any other Holidays, for that matter.

Thanks and God Bless,

Dr. P. Sivakumar
Dr. Siva Global HR
Tamil Nadu

Employee Leave and Holiday Declaration

Employee goes on a 1-day leave, and the company declares that day as a holiday. Possibilities are:

1. The employee has applied for and been granted a 1-day leave, but the day of leave has not arrived yet. The company will not declare a holiday afterward. The employee will come to know about the holiday and will cancel his leave before he proceeds on leave.

2. The company declares a day as a holiday subsequently, applying to all employees. Since other employees have already worked, the company will give them one day's salary. The same will apply to the leave. The employee will also receive one day's salary.

3. Due to situations like a Bandh, the company may declare a holiday in advance. Sometimes it may be declared early in the morning considering the situation. In that case, the company will request compensatory work. The same will apply to the leave employee.

In any case, I do not believe any company will declare holidays like this. Holidays are usually declared in January or the previous December for the entire year.

Regards, Vibhakar Ramtirthkar, Pune