Sandwich Leave Policy Dilemma: Does Sunday Count as Leave When Bookending a Holiday?

Hi Everyone, I have a concern: if anyone has taken leave on Saturday and Monday is a government holiday, is Sunday also calculated as leave, like in the Sandwich policy?

Understanding Sandwich Leave Policy

Normally, when both ends, i.e., Saturday and Tuesday, are on leave, the sandwiching of leaves would take place. This also depends upon the law in force. If it is a factory, then the Factories Act will be applicable. If the leave taken is earned leave, then you cannot consider the intervening holidays, i.e., Sunday and Monday, as leave days. This means sandwiching is not permitted under the Factories Act.

Shops Act and State Provisions

The Shops Act is a state Act, so you have to refer to its provisions. However, one thing is common: if the leaves are 'earned' by an employee by working for a certain number of days in the preceding year, like one day for every 20 days worked, the leave should not be sandwiched. At the same time, if the leave is not as per any law but is over and above what is mandated by any law, then the employer can do sandwiching because that leave is an employee benefit offered by the employer and not as per the law.

In short, sandwiching is permissible only if both ends are leaves. In this example, if the employee is on leave on Saturday, and Monday is a holiday, and he comes to the office on Tuesday, then there cannot be any sandwiching.

Hi Madhu T K,

Subject: Under which act is sandwich leave applicable?

Thank you for the explanation. I would like to know under which act sandwich leave is applicable.

Thank you.

There is no act that says holidays or weekly off days coming in between two leaves should also be considered as leaves. At the same time, the Factories Act and some of the states' Shops and Commercial Establishments Act clearly state that the holidays coming in between the leaves should not be treated as leaves.

For example, Explanation 2 to section 79 of the Factories Act states:

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.

Under most of the Shops Act, the leave is earned by working for a certain number of days in the previous year. The number of days physically present only is considered for deciding how many leaves one will get. The same applies to the subsequent year as well. Therefore, it is unfair to debit leave for holidays not worked.

At the same time, if you have Sick Leave allowed for sickness, and you take SL on Saturday and again if you are absent on Monday when you are expected to rejoin work, it shall be construed that Sunday also you are sick. Moreover, the Sick Leave and Casual Leave are not 'earned' based on the previous year's physical presence in the office, but it is a total number, 12 days a year. Therefore, ideally, earned leave being earned based on physical working days in the preceding year should not be subjected to sandwiching, whereas leaves which are purely employee benefits offered by the company and those in number like Casual Leave, Sick Leave, and maternity leave shall be sandwiched. A woman employee on maternity leave will be on leave on holidays and weekly off days as well. If the total maternity leave is 182 days, the same will include holidays also, and she cannot claim the weekly off days lost to be compensated.

If Sunday is an employee's rest day or weekly off, then Sunday will not be counted as leave.

That is what I am trying to say. However, it is not because Sunday is a rest day. A rest day need not be a paid day. The law only states that after every six days of work, there should be a holiday of rest for 24 hours.