City-wise lists for every office
State holidays differ, so one national list does not suit a company with offices in several cities. Bengaluru closes for Kannada Rajyotsava on 1 November, Pune for Maharashtra Day on 1 May, Hyderabad for Telangana Formation Day on 2 June and Chennai for Pongal in January. In ZeniaHR each holiday can apply to chosen branches and departments, so an engineer in Pune sees only the Pune list in My Self-Service. Republic Day and Independence Day are set once as recurring holidays. Check the Shops and Establishments and festival holiday rules for each state before you publish the list.
Client holidays and project teams
When a client in the US or UK closes, the project team has little to deliver, yet the Indian office is open. Some firms add the client's key holidays, such as Christmas Day, as a company holiday for that account's department only. Others keep the office calendar and let engineers use earned leave or an optional holiday. The reverse also happens, with a team working through an Indian festival because the client is open. Decide the approach per account and write it into the project induction note, so a new engineer knows which calendar applies from the first week.
Optional holidays for a team from every state
Engineers come from every corner of the country, so optional holidays carry real weight. Put festivals such as Onam, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Bakrid, Karva Chauth, Chhath Puja and Good Friday on the optional list and set a yearly pick limit, for example two. Employees pick in My Self-Service or the mobile app. Delivery managers can check the report of who picked which optional holiday before a release and plan cover early, instead of learning about it the week before.
Holiday duty for production support
Client systems do not stop for Diwali. Put the support rotation for festival weeks on the roster at least a month ahead, rotate it from year to year so the same engineers are not always on duty, and give those who work a holiday either comp-off or holiday pay under the overtime policy. Holiday pay uses its own multiplier, which you set at twice the ordinary rate or higher. Holidays also feed payroll and leave sandwich rules, so enter them before the year starts, not the week before.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Add each office as a branch so holidays can be applied to Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad or Chennai separately.
- Enter the year's holidays in Holiday Calendars under the right category, such as national, regional or company, and mark recurring ones.
- Add optional holidays, set the yearly pick limit and announce the list on the Company Wall.
- For accounts that follow a client's shutdown, add those days as company holidays applied only to that department.
- Before festival weeks, check the optional holiday picks report and roster support engineers for holiday duty.
Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Do IT companies give state holidays to employees?
Usually yes, because holiday rules are set state by state, so a Bengaluru office and a Pune office of the same company can have different lists. Check the Shops and Establishments and festival holiday rules for each state where you have an office. In ZeniaHR each holiday is applied to the branches it covers, so employees only see their own office's list.
How do IT companies handle client holidays like Thanksgiving?
It is decided per account. Some firms make the client's key holidays a company holiday for that project's department only, while others keep the Indian calendar and let engineers take earned leave or an optional holiday. Either way, write the rule into the project induction note so engineers know in advance which days they are expected to work.
What is an optional holiday in an IT company?
An optional or restricted holiday is a day each employee chooses from a list, up to a yearly limit, instead of the whole office closing. It lets a team from different states observe different festivals. In ZeniaHR, employees pick optional holidays in My Self-Service or the app, and HR can see who picked which day to plan cover.