Earned Leave Dilemma: Can You Take 45 Days Off with Only 40 Days Available?

If an employee has 40 EL, can he take 45 days of leave? What does the rule say?

Hi, it is company-specific. For genuine reasons, some companies sanction long leave based on the service history of the employee. In such cases, 40 leaves can be adjusted against the balance of earned leave (EL) at credit, and the remaining leave can be taken without pay in case of no available leave.

Advanced Leave

There is a practice known as 'Advanced Leave' which means when an employee has used all the leave credited to them and still needs a few more days, some organizations, as a welfare measure, may grant additional EL. This credit is generally for six months of service and at a maximum for one year of service, to help the employee manage the crisis. During this period, the employee receives a salary for the advance credit period, and once the employee resumes duty, the EL earned is adjusted against the excess leave credited.

Dear Member,

In general, earned leaves are granted to employees/workers under the Factories Act, 1948 or the applicable S&E Act. If you are from Gurgaon, you will be governed by the Punjab Shops & Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 as applicable to the state of Haryana. According to both Acts, an employee is not allowed to accumulate more than 30 earned leaves (EL) as the limit of accumulation of EL is 30 in both scenarios. If your establishment has any agreement or leave policy allowing the accumulation of leaves up to 40, then the employee can take all forty EL. As previously mentioned, you may grant an additional five advanced EL, totaling 45 days of leave.

Submitted, please.

R N KHOLA

In most cases, an employee cannot take more leave days than the balance available in their leave account. If an employee has 40 earned leave (EL) days, they typically cannot take 45 days of leave. However, there might be some exceptions or specific circumstances depending on your organization's policies, employment laws, and the terms of the employment contract.

To provide accurate information, I would recommend referring to your organization's official leave policy, employment contract, or consulting with your HR department. In many cases, leave policies outline the maximum consecutive days an employee can take off and any special conditions or approvals required for extended leave periods.