A leave structure floor staff understand
Keep three paid types and loss of pay. Casual leave of 1 day a month, earned leave of 1.5 days a month and sick leave of half a day a month are ZeniaHR's default types, and they suit most warehouses once you edit the numbers to your policy. Pickers ask two questions: how many days do I have, and will this request cut my pay. The app answers both before they submit, with a preview of the days charged and the balance left.
Check your earned leave against the legal floor. Under the OSH Code leave rules, a worker who completes 180 days of work in a calendar year earns one paid day for every 20 days worked. A loader who works 260 days earns at least 13 days (260 / 20), so a policy of 1.5 days a month is above the minimum. Carry forward is capped at 30 days, and the worker may ask for encashment of unused leave at year end.
Planning around the festive peak
Most warehouses write a rule that planned leave is not approved from the start of Navratri until a week after Diwali, with exceptions for sickness, bereavement and a worker's own wedding. Announce the window in July on the Company Wall as an announcement that needs acknowledgement, so no picker can say they did not know. Then push the other way: encourage earned leave in August and again in January, when volumes are low and the dock can spare people.
During the peak, the shift in-charge approves or rejects leave with the team leave calendar open. It shows approved and pending leave for everyone in the department, so it is easy to see that three outbound packers already have leave on the same Saturday.
- Publish the peak window by July
- Allow emergency and sick leave throughout
- Encourage earned leave in August and January
- Review the leave calendar before every approval
Sandwich rules when weekly offs rotate
Warehouse weekly offs rarely fall on Sunday for everyone. A packer whose weekly off is Wednesday may apply for Tuesday and Thursday. Under a sandwich rule the Wednesday in between is charged as leave, and without one it stays a paid weekly off. Choose the mode deliberately and apply it to casual leave at least, because an extended break in the middle of the week hurts shift strength more than a long weekend. Decide too whether holidays count like weekly offs, and test both on a real request in the live preview before publishing the policy.
Comp-off for sale weekends
When a picker works a rostered weekly off during a sale, HR grants a comp-off credit, a full day for a full shift. Credits carry an expiry, so staff take the day in the lean weeks after Diwali instead of piling up credits nobody can release. If your policy pays overtime for a worked weekly off instead, say so in writing and apply it the same way to every team.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Edit the default CL, EL and SL leave types to your quotas, and keep LWP for absence beyond the balance.
- Set notice days and back-dating limits per leave type, so planned earned leave needs a week's notice while sick leave can be applied after the day.
- Choose a sandwich mode and whether holidays count like weekly offs, then test it on a sample request with the live preview.
- Switch on comp-off from worked weekly offs and holidays with an expiry, and have HR grant credits after each sale week.
- Give shift in-charges approval rights and the team leave calendar, with HR as the second approver.
- Post the festive leave window on the Company Wall as an announcement that requires acknowledgement.
Read more about leave management in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Can a warehouse refuse leave during peak season?
Many warehouses write a rule that planned leave is not approved during notified peak weeks, with exceptions for sickness and emergencies. Put it in the leave policy, announce the dates early and apply it to everyone. Staff should still be able to use their earned leave during the year, so encourage it before and after the peak, and check your standing orders.
How many days of earned leave does a warehouse worker get?
Under the OSH Code, a worker who completes 180 days of work in a calendar year earns one paid day for every 20 days worked, so 260 days of work earns 13 days. Many companies give more, such as 1.5 days a month. Carry forward is capped at 30 days, and unused leave can be encashed on the worker's request at year end.
How does comp-off work for pickers who work on a weekly off?
HR grants a comp-off credit for the worked weekly off, usually a full day for a full shift. The credit has an expiry, so it must be used within the set period, ideally in lean weeks. The picker applies for it like any other leave, and the shift in-charge approves it against the roster.