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Be it for a medical emergency, to observe a festival or just Netflix & chill, everyone needs a break.
Your employees do too. Moreover, leaves are a corporate compulsion.
These are vital to help employees refresh their minds, tend to their priorities, and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Though there are a set of mandatory national holidays, most employers offer additional categories of leaves to their employees.
Leave policies may be different for different companies based on their geographies.
In India, organizations follow the Factory Act of 1948 and the Shops & Commercial Establishments Act.
Are you planning to revise or jot your company’s leave policy from scratch?
Check with your state laws as they vary in every region. A considerate leave policy can also help attract talent and improve brand image.
Certain day-offs can also have perks. If employees don’t utilize them by the end of the year, they can be encashed or carried forward.
List of different types of leave In India
Did you know that there are over 13 types of leaves in the business world?
Whether you are an employer or an employee, the below list will help you understand them all and make use of the ones offered at your workplace.
Sick leave/Casual leave
An employee can call in sick and take the day off by applying for this type of leave.
Prior intimation for the same differs in organizations due to their HR policies.
Also called casual leave by certain companies, it can also be availed for other personal reasons without furnishing any medical certificate.
However, employees may have to add a note reasoning their leave request.
The number of days granted in this category varies from state to state.
Privilege leave
Employees commonly become eligible for privilege leaves after they complete certain number of days of continuous service or post their probation period. T
his timeframe differs as per the company policies.
It is generally around 12-15 days in a calendar year. Unconsumed leaves can either be encashed or carried forward at the end of a year.
Medical leave
Approved on the submission of a valid medical certificate, this type of leave does not mandate employees to inform the manager beforehand.
They are granted when a worker gets injured in an accident or due to other medical reasons.
Around 3-8 days are usually provided.
Maternity leave
Female employees who have been working with the company for a specific number of days are eligible for a paid maternity leave.
This extends for nearly 3-4 months depending on the HR policies.
Paternity leave
Granted to the male employees who are soon to become fathers, paternity leaves aren’t provided at every company.
Organizations that do, need the employees to apply for the same before or immediately after the child is born. The duration differs at each company.
Bereavement/Compassionate leave
It often takes time to recover from the death of a family member.
As such, this type of leave is granted for employees to mourn the tragedy.
Some companies replace the term ‘bereavement’ with ‘compassionate’ and offer leaves to accommodate ill health/urgent care/medical emergency of the employee’s immediate family members.
Compensatory leave
It isn’t uncommon for employees to work on non-working days to complete their work or do extra work.
Compensatory leaves or comp-offs are provided to such workers with additional leaves to appreciate their work.
Floater leave
Certain religious festivals & occasions are not marked as leaves for employees.
However, workers can choose to take the day off by applying for a floater leave, usually granted 2 in a year.
Though most companies offer this type of leave, employees can select their preferred day only from a list of festivals and cultural events curated by organizations.
National holidays
Otherwise called public holidays, national holidays are the type of leaves mandated by the government of a country.
In India, Independence Day, Republic Day, some religious festivals and birth/death days of certain famous personalities are declared holidays for every citizen.
Marriage leave
Employees can take about 5-10 days of leave, as per the company’s policies, only on the occasion of their wedding.
It is given to the employees upon submission of their wedding invitation cards and typically for one marriage only during his tenure.
Sabbatical leave
A long term (generally for months) unpaid leave, a sabbatical can be taken for multiple reasons.
Be it for a career break, family crisis, education or to simply relax, this type of leave needs prior intimation and approval from the concerned superiors.
During this time, the person still remains a part of the company without the risk of termination.
It helps employees upskill and recommit to their work to contribute better to the organization.
Unpaid leave
This refers to the leave taken after consumption of all available leaves.
Employees can usually apply for any number of day-offs but with loss of pay.
The money amounting to the number of leaves is deducted from the salary at the month-end.
Other special leaves
Some progressing companies also offer additional leaves for special occasions like an employee’s birthday, joining day, marriage anniversary, graduation or others.
This is to allow workers to celebrate their important events without worrying about loss of pay.
Final Thoughts!
It is difficult for HRs to manually maintain attendance sheets, update leave balances, and respond to employees’ leave requests.
These mundane tasks rob HRs of the time they could spend enhancing employee experience, becoming a strategic partner and much more.
This is where an attendance and leave management system comes into play. Bid adieu to traditional, tedious, and error-prone employee leave tracking ways with Keka.
