Types of Leaves in India

Types Of Leaves in India

There are multiple types of leaves in India, listed below are some of the major ones mostly assigned in India-

1. Privilege Leave (PL) or Earned Leave (EL)
2. Casual Leave (CL)
3. Sick Leave (SL)
4. Marriage Leave
5. Maternity Leave (ML)
6. Paternity Leave
7. Bereavement Leave
8. Compensatory Off (Comp-off)
9. Loss of Pay (LOP) / Leave Without Pay (LWP) 
10. Sabbitical Leave
    

Privilege Leaves (PL)/ Earned Leave (EL)/ Annual Leave (AL)

Privilege leaves are also known as earned or annual leave that is assigned to an employee basis for the number of days they have worked in a year. It is mostly curated and utilized for planned breaks like vacations, personal time, or just for rest. These leaves are assigned on a monthly or annual basis and carried forward to the upcoming month if left unutilized. Privilege leaves can also be encashed at the end of the year or can be claimed on the exit from the organization. These leaves are governed by labor laws like factories act or state-specific shops and establishment acts.

Casual Leaves (CL)

Casual leave is generally provided for a period of time for unforeseen personal requirements like any family emergencies, personal work or just a simple day of rest. In an ideal situation, casual leaves are taken for not more than two days with prior information given to the reporting manager. It is carried forward month on month but usually lapses on utilization by the end of the year. It is a fully paid leave, and employees receive full salary for the days they have utilized their casual leaves.

Sick Leave (SL)

These leaves are provided to the employees on being unwell or in the process of recovering from a disease/injury/surgery. Its intention is to let them recover, rest, or just have a day to settle down without worrying about the salary deduction. In an ideal scenario the number of fixed leaves offered by an organization are fixed and on a yearly basis. However, if more than 2 leaves are utilized consecutively, a medical certificate is required. Though, the leave policies might differ basis organization and geography, some of them can be carried forward but have to be used within the tenure of one year.

Marriage Leaves

These leaves are provided to both male and female employees to avail time off for their wedding festivities. However, these leaves aren’t mandated by the Indian labor laws, and many organizations provide them as per their individual policies. Usually, the leave duration ranges from three to seven days and is granted only once during employee tenure of working in the organization. To avail the same employee, require obtaining proper documents including a wedding card.

Maternity Leave (ML)

Maternity leave is a statutory leave provided to a female employee, categorized under the maternity benefit act, 1961. It ensures that women can avail time off for their childbirth and will be receiving complete monthly salary for the period. Here, women can take up to 26 weeks of paid leaves for their first two children. However, in case of adoption, surrogacy or subsequent children, a leave of 12 weeks is provided. Though the benefits may vary from organization to organization, some companies might offer work-from-home options; a few might provide maternity facilities such as creche to benefit both mother-child and the organization.

Paternity Leave

This leave allows male employees to take a limited time off to support their spouses during the time of childbirth. As far as Indian private sector is concerned, organizations aren’t mandated to provide these leaves, the ones who do can decide their specified limited tenure generally ranging from a week to maximum a month. However, the organization’s individual policies might differ, and the duration can be adjusted thereafter. The intent of providing paternity leaves is to stay strong and support during a crucial phase of a mother and child’s life.

Bereavement Leaves

These leaves are provided to the employees who are suffering from a death of an immediate family member, this allows them adequate time to grieve and attend their last rites or any related duties in the interim. This leave is provided as a paid benefit for a limited or specified tenure, mostly under three to seven days. However, these leaves aren’t mandated by the government but are widely adopted by organizations.  

Compensatory Off (Comp Off)

Popularly known as comp off is a paid leave provided to the employees who work on organization’s granted holidays or official holidays, weekends or maybe weekly offs due to urgent requirements. Instead of providing an overtime payment, employees are provided with an extra off that can be availed during the weekdays. However, most companies set a time limit to utilize the holidays, ensuring that employees are able to strike a smart work life balance.

Loss of Pay (LOP) or Leave Without Pay (LWP)

LOP or LWD are applied when employees take leaves after exhausting their rest of the leaves, such as PL, CL, and SL. These are unpaid leaves and employee salaries are deducted according to the number of leaves being taken. In case the employees take LWPs without prior intimation, statutory actions can be taken against them. LOP needs formal approval and is generally utilized for urgency and unavoidable personal requirements.

Sabbatical Leave

This type of leave is a long-term break from the regular employment which is granted to the employees after completing a certain period of service with the organization. In most cases, sabbatical is taken for personal development, better education, research possibilities, major health recovery, or unavoidable life transitions. These are unpaid leaves or sometimes partially paid which depends on the organization’s policy and are approved on the basis of case severity or manager’s discretion.

Conclusion

Understanding the various types of leaves in India is imperative for both employees and employers to understand business clarity, maintaining compliance and looking forward for a healthy work-life balance. A structured leave policy significantly helps organizations to adhere to legal requirements and builds trust amongst the employees, which in turn helps in increasing employee satisfaction and workplace productivity.  

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