Exceeding Work-from-Home Quota: Can We Deduct Extra Days from Leave or Salary?

Hello Respected Members! Kindly advise me on the following situation in my organization.

As part of our policy, we allow 12 work-from-home days for our employees in one calendar year. In case someone exceeds those days and works from home even beyond the stipulated quota, can we deduct the excess work-from-home days from the available leave balance/salary (in case leaves have been exhausted)?

Waiting for your valuable suggestions.

Regards,
Barnali Sengupta
Chief People Officer
Shreyansh Innovations Pvt. Ltd.

Dear Bernali Sengupta,

Please note that "Work From Home" (WFH) and "Employee Leave" are two independent things. There is no need to establish a relationship between the two.

In a few companies, WFH is an employee welfare measure. In fact, in the post-pandemic era, WFH has become entrenched, and hybrid work has become a norm. Some companies prefer employees working from home as they believe it helps employees save time commuting to the workplace and spend more time with their families. WFH is a blessing in disguise to strike a work-life balance.

Under the provisions of the Factories Act or the Shops and Establishment Act, as applicable, the attendance of the employee determines eligibility. The method of working, whether work is done from the office or from home, does not affect eligibility for leave.

Productivity Study

Have you conducted a study to understand the productivity difference between WFH and Work From Office (WFO)? Do you have statistical data proving that productivity declines if employees work from home? Making decisions without sufficient data at hand could be counterproductive.

If you have data showing that the company incurs losses due to WFH exceeding 12 days, then I suggest conducting a town hall meeting and giving a presentation. Subsequently, ask employees for suggestions on how to address the losses. Perhaps a better or creative solution may emerge. When employees participate in the decision-making process, there is higher acceptance. A participative style motivates employees. Conversely, a decision based solely on one's perception and forced on employees could lead to backlash and demotivation. The choice between a directive or participative approach is a decision for your company's administration to make.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Hi, As per your company policy, employees are allowed to work from home for 12 days per calendar year. Now, your question is if someone exceeds beyond 12 days and continues to work from home, whether those days can be adjusted against leave or salary in case of no leave balance.

Claiming that employees had worked those days from home and considering those workdays as leave or deducting salary in case of no leave balance is not ethical. I'm not sure what type of business your organization is carrying out. I hope that as part of work from home, those employees will be carrying out their tasks from home by accessing the server through remote VPN or any other tool. Why not advise your IT team to disconnect server access, so those employees will not be able to connect. Additionally, you may advise employees to return to working from the office via email.

You can also issue a circular to all employees, stating that they must strictly adhere to the work from home policy of the company and should not exceed the entitled days.

In case of any repetition from employees, you may issue a warning letter to those who regularly exceed the work from home policy without prior authorization.