Location-wise lists for warehouses, hubs and offices
A warehouse in Bhiwandi, a hub in Kolkata and the head office in Bengaluru follow different state holidays: Gudi Padwa and Maharashtra Day in one, Durga Puja in another, Kannada Rajyotsava in the third. Set up each site as a branch and attach regional holidays to the branches they belong to, while national holidays apply to everyone. Employees see only their own site's list in My Self-Service. Verify the state's holiday and Shops and Establishments rules whenever a new site opens, because hubs open faster than HR policies get updated.
Working on festival days during the sale
Some festival days fall inside the sale window, and the warehouse runs anyway. Decide in advance whether each such day stays a holiday for the floor, with a skeleton crew on holiday duty, or becomes a normal working day for that site with the holiday moved. People who work a holiday that applies to them get comp-off or holiday pay; if you pay, the overtime policy's holiday multiplier should be no lower than 2. Closing hubs on Diwali day itself, so the whole last-mile team gets the day, is a choice delivery associates tend to value highly.
Optional holidays for office teams, fixed lists for the floor
Corporate teams can handle optional holidays: each person picks two from a list with Eid, Christmas, Pongal, Onam and Guru Nanak Jayanti. On a warehouse floor, optional holidays are hard to cover within a shift. Apply the optional list only to office departments, and give warehouse and hub teams a fixed list set by site. Holidays in ZeniaHR can be applied to chosen departments, and the pick limit is set once a year.
Holidays and payroll after the peak
Holidays feed attendance and payroll, so a site that worked a holiday must show it correctly or people are underpaid. Before closing a festival month, check the attendance for sites that worked festival days, confirm that comp-off credits or holiday overtime were approved, and only then run payroll. After the peak, publish next year's calendar early, so hub teams can plan weddings and trips around sale weeks they already know about.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Create each warehouse, hub and office as a branch, so regional holidays reach only the sites in that state.
- Add national holidays for everyone and regional holidays per branch in Holiday Calendars, marking fixed dates as recurring.
- Apply optional holidays only to office departments and set the yearly pick limit.
- Decide which festival days inside the sale window stay holidays, and set comp-off or holiday pay for holiday duty.
- Before closing a festival month, check that holiday duty was recorded and approved for every site.
Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Do e-commerce warehouses work on Diwali?
Warehouses often keep running through the Diwali sale weeks, and some close on Diwali day itself. It depends on the company's dispatch plan and each site's holiday list. Staff who work a holiday on their own site's list should receive comp-off or holiday pay under company policy, with paid holiday work at no less than double the ordinary rate.
How do you manage holidays for warehouses in different states?
Set up each warehouse and hub as a branch, add national holidays for everyone, and attach each state's regional holidays to the branches in that state. Whenever a new site opens, read that state's holiday rules and its Shops and Establishments law first. In ZeniaHR, employees then see only their own site's list.
Should delivery associates get optional holidays?
Fixed site-wise holidays usually work better for delivery teams than optional picks, because a hub cannot run its routes with several associates missing on different days. If office staff get optional holidays, give hub and warehouse teams a fair fixed list instead, and consider closing hubs on a major festival so everyone gets the same day.