One list per warehouse, not one per company
Start with the national holidays every site closes for, then add each state's festivals only to the warehouses in that state. Gudi Padwa goes to the Bhiwandi site, Ugadi to Hoskote, Pongal to the Chennai hub near Sriperumbudur, Baisakhi to Ludhiana and Onam to Kochi. In ZeniaHR each holiday can apply to chosen branches and departments, and employees see only the holidays that apply to them in the app, so a picker in Chennai never finds Gudi Padwa on their list.
Optional holidays suit a workforce drawn from many states. Offer a small set, such as Chhath, Eid al-Adha, Christmas and Guru Nanak Jayanti, with a yearly pick limit of two. The pick report tells the shift in-charge in advance how many loaders will be away on Chhath, which is far better than learning it at the gate that morning.
Decide which holidays the dock will work
Client commitments often keep the dock open on days that are holidays on paper. Settle this in January, not the week before. A typical 3PL decision looks like this: fully closed on Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti and Diwali, a skeleton outbound team on Dussehra and Holi afternoon, and full operations on regional holidays when a client's sale is running.
- Closed days: listed and announced for the year
- Skeleton days: a named team rostered weeks ahead
- Holiday duty paid at the holiday overtime rate or given as comp-off
- No one rostered on consecutive festival days without their consent
How holidays reach attendance and pay
A holiday in the calendar is not just a date on a notice board. It changes how the day is graded: nobody is marked absent on it, a sandwich rule may treat it like a weekly off between two leave days, and payroll treats it as a paid holiday. When a loader works that holiday, the punches become holiday duty. If overtime is on, the hours are counted at the holiday multiplier, which you set at 2 or more; if the site gives comp-off, HR grants a credit instead. Pick one approach per site and write it down.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Create the year's holidays in Holiday Calendars, tagging each one as national, public, regional, religious, company or optional.
- Apply state festivals only to the warehouses in that state, and leave national holidays open to every branch.
- Mark a few festivals as optional holidays with a yearly pick limit, and read the pick report before peak rosters are drafted.
- Mark fixed-date holidays such as Republic Day and Independence Day as recurring, so next year's list starts ready.
- Set the overtime holiday multiplier at 2 or above, or choose comp-off as the payout for holiday duty.
Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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How many paid holidays do warehouse staff get in India?
It depends on your state's rules for shops and establishments or factories, plus your own policy. Most warehouses give the three national holidays and a set of state festivals, then add optional holidays that staff pick themselves. Check your state's notified list at the start of each year and apply it branch by branch.
Is holiday duty in a warehouse paid at double rate?
Holiday duty is usually paid at a holiday overtime rate or compensated with a comp-off, as your policy says. Where the work goes beyond the prescribed hours, the OSH Code rate of twice the ordinary wage applies. Keeping the holiday multiplier at 2 or above avoids underpaying either case.
Can different warehouses have different holiday lists?
Yes. Each holiday can apply to chosen branches and departments, so the Bhiwandi site gets Gudi Padwa and the Hoskote site gets Ugadi. Staff see only the holidays for their own branch and department in the mobile app, and attendance and payroll read the same list.