A simple set of leave types
A studio of 15 to 60 people needs only a few leave types: casual leave for short needs, sick leave, earned leave for holidays, and loss of pay. ZeniaHR ships with monthly accruals of one casual day, one and a half earned days and half a sick day, pro rata for joiners, which suits most studios and works out to 12, 18 and 6 days in a full year. Allow half days, which designers use for personal errands. Give interns their own leave type, limited to their employment type, usually a few days for the internship period.
Planning leave around submissions and handovers
Every project has dates that cannot move: a municipal submission, a client presentation, the handover of a fitted-out office before the client moves in. Share these dates with the team at the start of each project and ask designers to plan earned leave around them. Set a notice period on earned leave, such as 15 days, so the project architect sees requests before committing a date to the client. The team leave calendar then shows who is away in any week, half days included.
Comp-off after crunch weeks
When a team works late nights or a weekend before a competition deadline, the fairest return is time off soon after. HR grants comp-off credits for weekly offs and holidays worked, and late-night hours on working days can convert to comp-off through the overtime policy, at 4 hours for half a day and 8 hours for a full day. Set an expiry of 30 to 60 days so the rest actually happens, and encourage the project architect to schedule it for the week after submission, when the studio is quieter.
Sandwich rules and festival bridges
Designers often ask for a Friday and a Monday around a weekend, or the working days between Diwali and the following weekend. Decide how the studio treats these requests. Some studios pick none as the sandwich mode and charge only working days; others use surround, so a weekend between two leave days is charged too. Whichever you choose, apply it the same way to senior associates and the newest draughtsperson, and say whether holidays count like weekends.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Use the ready CL, EL and SL leave types, accrued monthly and pro rata for joiners, and switch on half days for each.
- Create an intern leave type restricted to the intern employment type, with a small allowance for the internship period.
- Set notice days on earned leave so project architects see requests before committing dates to clients.
- Choose the sandwich rule mode and whether holidays count like weekends, and explain the rule to the studio in writing.
- Grant comp-off for worked weekly offs and holidays, and set the overtime payout to comp-off for crunch hours, with a 30 to 60 day expiry.
- Before approving any request near a submission or handover, project architects should look at who else is away on the team leave calendar.
Read more about leave management in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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How much leave do architects get in India?
It depends on the firm's policy, which must meet the statutory minimum. ZeniaHR's default accruals of CL 1, EL 1.5 and SL 0.5 a month add up to 12, 18 and 6 days a year, a common starting point. Check the OSH Code leave rules and your state's Shops and Establishments rules as well.
Can a design firm refuse leave before a project deadline?
A firm can ask staff to plan leave around fixed deadlines and can refuse planned leave that clashes with a submission, if the policy says so and the dates are known in advance. Emergencies and sick leave should still be allowed. Planning leave at the start of each project avoids most clashes.
How does comp-off work after late nights in a studio?
When staff work a weekly off or a holiday, HR grants a comp-off credit. Late-night hours on working days can also convert to comp-off under an overtime policy, for example 4 hours for half a day and 8 hours for a full day. Set an expiry so the time off is taken soon after the deadline.
Do interns get leave in architecture firms?
It depends on the internship terms. Many firms give a few leave days for the internship period, and allow time for college requirements such as juries or exams. Set this up as a separate leave type for interns, so it never mixes with the staff leave policy.