Construction sites: plan the Diwali shutdown
A three-day shutdown around Diwali lets crews from nearby states go home, and those from far away can add earned leave to make the trip worthwhile. Decide it in August and announce it to the site, because train tickets for the Diwali week sell out early. The hard case is a commissioning date that falls in October or November. Then the site either stays open with a volunteer crew on holiday pay or comp-off, or the shutdown moves to the week after commissioning. Pick one and say so early; changing it in the final week breaks trust with the crew.
Operating plants: a festival duty roster
A plant does not stop on Holi. A typical festival roster keeps one SCADA operator per shift and two O&M technicians on call, while module cleaning pauses for the day. Suresh, an O&M technician on ₹24,600 gross, works an 8-hour Holi shift. Taking the month as 30 days, his day rate is ₹820 and his hourly rate ₹102.50, so at a holiday multiplier of 2 he earns 8 x ₹102.50 x 2 = ₹1,640 for the day. If the plant compensates with time off instead, HR credits him a comp-off.
- Festival duty names fixed a month ahead
- One operator per control room shift on every holiday
- Holiday rate of at least double, or a comp-off
- Festival duty shared so no one works every big festival
Lists by site state, choices for a mixed crew
Each site follows its own state's holidays. A Gujarat site closes for Uttarayan on 14 January, an Anantapur site in Andhra Pradesh closes for Sankranti, and the head office keeps its own list. In ZeniaHR a holiday entry can be limited to particular sites and teams, so each person's app shows only the days that apply where they work. Crews drawn from many states also want their own festivals, so add Chhath, Onam and Pana Sankranti as optional days and cap how many each person may choose in a year.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- In Holiday Calendars, build one list per site state, and limit each regional festival to the sites in that state.
- Add festivals such as Chhath, Onam and Pana Sankranti as optional days, with a cap on how many each person may choose.
- Enter the Diwali shutdown days as company holidays for construction sites only, leaving operating plants off that entry.
- Set the holiday rate in the overtime policy at double or more, or choose comp-off as the reward for festival duty at plants.
- Post each plant's festival duty roster on the Company Wall a month ahead, asking the named staff to acknowledge it.
Read more about holiday calendars in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
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Do solar plants operate on public holidays?
Yes. An operating plant generates whenever the sun is up, so it keeps a small crew on every holiday: usually a SCADA operator per shift and technicians on call for faults. Name the festival duty crew weeks ahead, rotate it across the year, and pay holiday duty at double rate or give a comp-off.
Should solar construction sites close for Diwali?
Many close for about three days so crews can travel home, and it helps retention. When commissioning falls in the same weeks, either keep a volunteer crew on holiday pay or comp-off, or move the shutdown to just after commissioning. Announce the decision by August.
Which state's holiday list applies to a solar site?
Generally the list of the state where the site is located, not the head office's. A Gujarat site follows Gujarat's holidays and an Andhra Pradesh site follows Andhra's. Add optional days for crew members from other states, so they can mark their own festivals within a yearly limit.