Employee Leave from Monday to Saturday: Should They Still Get a Weekly Day Off?

If an employee takes leave from Monday to Saturday, is he entitled to a weekly off? Does the employer have to provide weekly leave?

Leave entitlement is different from a weekly off. While leave taken from Monday to Saturday will be adjusted against the accumulated leave balance (subject to availability), Sunday will be considered as the routine weekly off. However, if the employee extends the leave to include Monday as well, then Sunday will not be considered a weekly off and will be adjusted against the leave balance (sandwich leave).

The principle is that a week should start with a weekly off. A paid weekly off should be allowed at the beginning of the week, and the 5/6 working days follow thereafter. A weekly off should be included in the leave days when it is sandwiched between two days of leave.

If the leave concerned is as per the Factories Act, then the weekly off intervening two leave days, i.e., Saturday and Monday, should not be treated as leave. The logic behind this principle is that in the next year, an employee becomes eligible for annual leave with wages based on their paydays, and the number of leaves they earn is determined by the number of days the employee has physically worked. Wherever the leaves under the Shops and Commercial Establishments are based on this principle, such as for 240 days worked in the previous year and one leave for every 20 days worked, the leave should not be combined with the weekly off. The Factories Act has provided an explanation regarding this in section 72.

Madhu-ji, Section 72 is about the working period of children. I do not see the explanation you are referring to. Can you please clarify?

Also, I believe '1 day for every 20 days worked' does not mean days physically worked but the number of days he was employed in the firm, so it should include weekly offs and holidays. In fact, it should include paid leave also.

Can you help me understand where in the act (or by implication) it says that we need to take only physically present days? I am having this dispute in a client's office as well.

Actually, the Factory Act states that a person is entitled to a weekly day off for every 6 days of continuous work. So, if the person has not worked for the entire week, logically, he does not get paid time off for that week either. The question arises as to whether the days he is on approved paid leave are included in the count of 'Days Worked,' or if only the days he is physically present are considered. Your answer will vary based on this distinction.

I have inquired with Mr. Madhu for clarification, and I will await his response.

Sorry, it is section 79. Please read the explanation 2 to section 79 as follows:

Explanation 2: The leave admissible under this sub-section shall be exclusive of all holidays whether occurring during or at either end of the period of leave.

Now regarding the one day for every 20 days, I would like to state that it is for eligibility that we take 240 service days. That will include all weekly holidays, holidays, and leave with pay days. It shall also include layoff days and days on which the employee was absent due to employment injury. However, for these weekly off days, holidays, etc., the employee will not earn leaves. This means, for counting the number of days' leave one has earned, only the days he is physically present will be taken into account. Please see the explanation 1 to section 79 as follows:

Explanation 1: For the purpose of this sub-section— (a) any days of layoff, by agreement or contract or as permissible under the standing orders; (b) in the case of a female worker, maternity leave for any number of days not exceeding twelve weeks; and (c) the leave earned in the year prior to that in which the leave is enjoyed shall be deemed to be days on which the worker has worked in a factory for the purpose of computation of the period of 240 days or more, but he shall not earn leave for these days.

Please see the last words, "but he shall not earn leave for these days."

Hope it clarifies your doubt.