Understanding Sick Leave Eligibility in Tamil Nadu: Can It Cover Family Care?

Dear all, please excuse me for asking such a small and very basic question. In one of the interviews, I was asked this question: Who is eligible for sick leave? Can you please guide me on how to answer such a question?

Eligibility for Sick Leave

All employees, immediately after joining the company, are eligible for sick leave if they fall sick—1 day per month, totaling 12 days in a year. Is this answer correct? Can an employee apply for sick leave to take care of a family member who is sick, or should they apply for casual leave or EL? Please advise.

Dear friend,

'Leave' is a statutory benefit of employment conferred on employees to be occasionally away from work with the previous sanction of the employer with or without salary while their employment relationship is intact. However, 'Leave' has been classified into different kinds like Casual Leave, Sick Leave, Earned Leave, Maternity Leave, Study Leave, Quarantine Leave, and so on, depending on the purpose as well as the duration of such authorized absence. Apart from weekly off and other holidays, leave and its scale and kinds are the subject matters of the establishment-specific labor law applicable or the service regulations of the particular establishment concerned.

Strictly speaking, availing a particular type of leave is the choice of the employee depending on its purpose. CL is to be availed in unexpected and/or urgent situations requiring an absence of one or two days, SL is to be availed in the case of sudden temporary illness of the employee himself which requires immediate medical treatment coupled with some hours of rest, and EL has to be availed for certain preplanned purposes requiring a relatively longer duration of authorized absence. In the backdrop of the above explanation, if a sudden sickness of someone in the family of the employee requires his assistance, he can avail of his CL rather than SL, and if it is a case of longer duration of treatment, he can avail of his EL by applying in advance.

Your answer to the question seems correct to me, for the status of the employee, whether a probationer or confirmed, does not come in the way of availing leave if he has sufficient credit in his leave account. In the case of newly joined employees, pro-rata sanction of leave is a matter of discretion of the employer as per the Leave Policy of the organization.

Eligibility for Sick Leave

Any employee who is sick can apply for sick leave if the company has a sick leave policy. In the case of a factory not covered under Standing Orders, they only have one type of leave. Please also remember that most companies allow sick leave if you are sick for three or more days and need a doctor's certificate. It does not apply to someone who is not sick.

Also, as per the law, leave is credited after you finish working for a year.

Dear Colleague,

Thanks to our colleagues who have given a very clear response to the question on sick leave. In addition to this, kindly consider the following points:

Sick leave arises broadly from three sources

1) If the employee is covered under ESI, there is a provision for sickness benefit. In this case, sick leave is not considered leave of earning, but ESIC provides 70% of average daily wages in cash during medical leave, up to 91 days in two consecutive benefit periods. This sick leave can be availed if the ESI Medical Officer examines the insured person and extends the benefit with leave to such an employee.

2) Sick leave arising from statute
For example, in Tamil Nadu, under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, Section 25, under Holidays and Sick Leave: (1) Every person employed in any establishment shall be entitled, after twelve months of continuous service, to holidays with wages for a period of 12 days in the subsequent period of twelve months.

3) Sick leave arising from terms of employment
This can be through standing orders or appointment terms. If the policy or standing order or terms of employment typically allow 12 days of sick leave in a year in private organizations, it is generally permitted.

Hence, depending on the applicability, the view and stand have to be taken accordingly.