Public Holidays: Are Private Companies Required to Give Employees the Day Off?

Is it mandatory for private companies to give holidays to employees on declared public holidays?

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Please refer to the national festivals and holidays act of your state. You need to follow the provisions of this act.

Roughly speaking, if the employees work on the holiday declared by the company, then they are required to be paid double wages. If they work on the 26th of Jan, 15th of Aug, or 2nd of Oct, then they need to be paid triple wages. These are the general rules. However, as stated earlier, please refer to the act applicable to your state.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

In general, public holidays are declared by the government to be observed in their respective public offices. In your case, your company must be covered under either of the Acts, i.e., either the state S&E Act or the Factories Act. Now, after finalizing the applicability of the Act under which you are covered, proceed to review the applicable provisions relating to the grant of national and festival holidays in that particular Act.

Regards, R N KHOLA

Mandatory Holidays in Telangana

It is mandatory to give holidays as per the Act in Telangana state. However, there are rules regarding working on a holiday and the payment terms for such work. Please go through the provisions of your state and act accordingly.

Dear CiteHR Member, Ms. Rashmi Kukade,

It is not clear from your question whether your company falls under ESMA 1981. You have also not indicated the name of the State in which your company is located.

However, the position has been amply clarified by the senior experts. There are three types of holidays: National Holidays, Public Holidays, and holidays declared by a company through its own management. Public Holidays are declared by the concerned State, and it is mandatory to allow such holidays. However, if employees are directed to work, compensatory remuneration, as mentioned above, must be paid, i.e., double or triple the average daily pay/wages. A company can declare additional holidays as decided by its management for any particular occasion.

I hope this further clarifies and answers your query.

Kindly validate the comments given by Expert Contributing Members if you find them useful, as we all devote time to adding to your knowledge.

Regards,

Chandra Mani Lal Srivastava
Master Consultant
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]
New Delhi
08.02.2022
4:32 pm

It is not mandatory for private companies to declare all public holidays as announced by the state government or central government.

Details Needed for Clarification

As rightly pointed out by our learned member, the poster has not indicated any details such as which state her company belongs to and whether it is a factory, head office, or branch office, etc. Please furnish all details.