Leave Entitlement Under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act
Leaves applicable to shops and commercial establishments are governed by Section 15 of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. Accordingly, every employee is entitled to get one day of leave (with salary) for every 20 days worked. This is normally credited on the 1st of January based on the attendance of the preceding year.
Sick Leave Policy
In addition to the above, every employee (including new joiners) should be given a total of 12 days of leave per year as sick leave. For existing employees, this will also be credited on the 1st of January. For new employees (those who join in the current year), you can credit it proportionately. For example, 11 days for someone who joins in February, 10 days for someone who joins in March, and so on. The HR practice is to treat a fraction of a month of more than 15 days, i.e., joining between the 1st and 15th of the month, as a full month and to ignore it if the joining date is after the 15th of the month.
Leave Entitlement for Employees on Probation
The law has not made any separate treatment for employees on probation, and therefore, an employee on probation should also be entitled to the above leaves.
Leave Carry Forward and Encashment
The balance of leave or leave unavailed during a year shall be carried forward to the next year, subject to a maximum of 30 days. However, any leave refused by the employer due to business exigencies shall be allowed to be carried forward even if the total of such carry forward exceeds 30 days.
Regarding the encashment of leaves, the law stipulates that unavailed leave shall be encashed at the time of termination of employment. However, leave policies may provide for such encashment during service as well.