Festivals are trading days
Dhanteras, Diwali, Akshaya Tritiya and Pushya Nakshatra are days a showroom earns a large part of its year, so they are working days for sales, stock and cash staff. Keep them in the holiday list as paid holidays anyway, because that list is what marks a day as paid and what makes working it earn a comp-off. Many showrooms close for a day or two after Diwali, on Padwa or Bhai Dooj, and in Gujarat many businesses stay shut until Labh Pancham and reopen with a puja. Add those closures as company holidays for the branches that actually close.
The weekly closing day
Some showrooms close on one fixed weekday, often the day the local market shuts. If yours does, make it the weekly off in the shift's weekly off pattern rather than a holiday, so everyone shares the same rest day. Showrooms open seven days a week give each person a personal weekly off instead, never on a Saturday, a Sunday or a muhurat day. Your state's Shops and Establishments rules on weekly closing and opening hours should be read before you fix either pattern.
Regional lists for showrooms in several states
A jeweller with showrooms in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai follows four calendars. Gudi Padwa brings buyers in Mumbai, Ugadi in Hyderabad, and Aadi Perukku and Pongal in Chennai, while Ahmedabad keeps the long Diwali break. Map each regional holiday to its branches, so it is paid in the right state and the comp-off rule applies when staff work it. The holiday list also drives leave sandwich calculations and payroll, so one wrongly mapped festival shows up in somebody's pay.
Optional holidays and the workshop
Many workshops employ karigars from West Bengal, and Durga Puja is the week they want at home, just before the Dhanteras order rush. Offer optional holidays so each person can pick the festivals that matter to them within a yearly pick limit, and plan workshop capacity around the picks. The optional holiday picks report shows the gaps early enough to finish festival orders before the karigars travel.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- In Holiday Calendars, list the year's paid holidays by category, including the festivals the showroom trades on.
- Add post-Diwali closures, such as Padwa or the break until Labh Pancham, as company holidays for the branches that close.
- Make a fixed market closing day the weekly off in the shift pattern, or give personal weekly offs where the showroom opens daily.
- Map regional holidays to showrooms by branch, and mark optional holidays with a yearly pick limit.
- Grant comp-off after every festival worked, and check which karigars picked which optional holidays before you commit to festival order dates.
Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Are jewellery shops open on Diwali and Dhanteras?
Most are, since Dhanteras is a traditional day to buy gold and the days around Diwali bring many buyers. Staff work those days and receive comp-off or holiday pay under the showroom's policy. Many showrooms then close for a day or two after Diwali, and in Gujarat many businesses reopen only on Labh Pancham.
Should a jewellery showroom's weekly closing day be a holiday or a weekly off?
Make it a weekly off. A fixed closing day, such as the day the local market shuts, is the staff's weekly rest, not a paid holiday. Put it in the shift's weekly off pattern so everyone shares it, and keep the paid holiday list for festivals and national days.
How do jewellers handle karigars' festival leave?
Plan around it. Karigars from other states often want a week at home for their main festival, such as Durga Puja, which can fall just before the Dhanteras order rush. Offer optional holidays, ask for picks early, and schedule urgent orders so they are finished before the workshop thins out.