Maternity Leave Dilemma: Can You Use Casual Leave Balance During This Time?

Eligibility for Casual Leave During Maternity Leave

Is an employee on maternity leave eligible for casual leave (CL) as well if she already has a CL balance before the maternity leave? Please confirm.

Casual Leave Policy for Maternity Leave

Casual leave already credited is for the whole year, from January till December. CL is availed for personal emergencies and not for maternity purposes. If the intention is to exhaust all the leaves before proceeding for maternity leave, it should not be allowed. However, a single day or two can be availed for medical check-ups, etc. If the maternity leave is set to begin in May, she can take the unavailed CL after rejoining work as well.

Thanks for sharing the valuable information. Will the CL be carried forward after maternity leave?

No, the unavailed CL will lapse on 31st December. If the maternity leave ends before that, she can avail the CL remaining when she proceeds for maternity leave after her joining back.

If CL balance is available, she can avail it after returning from ML. No issue, provided it's not elapsed as per their leave policy. CL is meant to be availed in emergency situations, unplanned travel, sickness, etc. Normally, a maximum of 2 or 3 days is permitted at a time, and that too not prefixed or suffixed with EL/PL or ML.

Understanding CL Policies

CL is a kind of leave not followed uniformly by all employers in different sectors. What's familiar is one type followed in government and quasi-government sectors. Some private firms/companies, micro, small, medium, may not have this facility at all. However, maternity benefits are different and stipulated by appropriate legal frameworks.

Carry-Forward of CL

Many establishments that follow CL normally don't allow the carry-forward of unutilized CL at the end of the calendar year. At the same time, where the delegation of power is vested in top officials/HODs, it's usual to have a few days of CL left by the EOY, which could not be availed due to pressing exigencies. In such a situation, the remaining CL balance may be permitted to be added to the OB of EL as a special case.