Write down the rules you already follow
Begin by listing what the business already does: how many festival days, whether sick days are paid, what happens when someone takes a week off for a wedding. Then turn it into quotas. A workable starting point is casual leave of 1 day a month, earned leave of 1.5 days a month and sick leave of half a day a month, with leave without pay beyond the balance. Put it on one page, read it out to staff, and apply it from the first day of a month.
The annual leave the law gives workers
Under the OSH Code, a worker who puts in at least 180 days of work within a calendar year earns a day of paid leave for each 20 days worked. A helper who works 240 days in the year therefore earns 240 / 20 = 12 days. Unused leave carries forward up to a cap of 30 days, and at the end of the year the worker may ask to encash what is left unused. Your earned leave quota should meet or exceed this floor for every worker.
Long leave for the trip home
Workers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand or Odisha go home for Chhath, Holi or Diwali and want two to three weeks. Plan it: ask in advance who is going when, stagger departures so the factory or godown keeps enough hands, and allow earned leave plus leave without pay for the balance. A worker who knows his leave is approved, with a return date written down, is more likely to come back on the day he promised.
Leave for relatives on the payroll
A family member who takes a month off for a foreign trip while drawing full salary is noticed by every employee. Apply the same leave types to relatives, record their leave, and let the balance speak. If the family decides to pay a relative through a long absence, record that as a decision rather than as silent attendance, so the records still tell the truth when someone looks at them later.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Keep the four default leave types, casual, earned, sick and leave without pay, and set rules on each, such as notice, half days and a document for longer sick leave.
- Load each person's opening leave balance from your old register or Excel sheet through Data Import.
- Set a longer notice rule for EL, so festival trips home are requested weeks in advance.
- Before the leave year closes, preview the carry forward, keep balances within your cap, and let staff see their new balances in self-service.
- Where the owner or a family member wants to approve leave, make them the reporting manager, since approvals go to the reporting manager and then HR.
Read more about leave management in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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How much leave should a small business give employees?
A workable starting point is casual leave of 1 day a month, earned leave of 1.5 days a month and sick leave of half a day a month. Whatever you choose should at least match the legal floor for workers: a paid day for each 20 days worked, once the worker has done 180 days of work in the calendar year.
Can workers carry forward unused leave?
Yes. The OSH Code lets a worker carry forward unused annual leave up to 30 days, and at year-end the worker may ask for the unused leave to be encashed. Keep a leave ledger so that balances, carry forward and encashment are clear to both sides.
How should a business handle migrant workers' long leave for Chhath or Holi?
Plan it in advance: ask who is going when, stagger departures so work continues, and approve earned leave plus leave without pay for the rest. Written approval with a return date makes it more likely that people come back on time.