Leave management for textile and garment units

Earned leave and long trips home

Workers earn one day of paid leave for every 20 days worked, once they complete 180 days of work in a calendar year. Migrant workers usually save it for one long trip home around Diwali, Chhath or Pongal. Ask for applications at least a month ahead for trips over a week, and agree the return date in writing. Carry forward stops at 30 days, and at year end a worker can ask to encash what is left.

Maternity leave on a women's floor

A woman who has worked 80 days in the preceding 12 months is entitled to up to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, or 12 weeks if she has two or more surviving children. Track eligibility from attendance, plan cover on the line early, and keep her job open. A sewing floor with many young women is likely to have maternity cases every year, so make the process routine rather than an exception handled in a hurry. See the maternity benefit rules.

Export peaks and leave windows

Ship dates are fixed by buyers, and the last three weeks before a big shipment are the worst time for leave. Share the order calendar with workers, mark the peak weeks, and ask that planned leave fall outside them. Keep sick leave and emergencies open. After shipment, encourage leave so workers do not carry months of fatigue into the next order.

Sandwich rules around weekly offs

Casual leave on the Saturday and the Monday either side of a Sunday off tends to rise after pay day. A surround-type sandwich rule counts the Sunday as leave when both sides are leave, which discourages the pattern. Apply it to casual leave only, not to sick leave backed by a certificate, and explain it in the language workers speak, whether Hindi, Tamil or Odia, before switching it on.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Set up CL, SL and EL in the Leave Ledger, with EL accruing to match one day per 20 days worked and a 30-day carry forward cap.
2. Under Leave Applications, earned leave gets notice days and a spell limit, and sick leave beyond 2 days needs a document.
3. Create a maternity leave type restricted by gender, with the document requirement your policy sets.
4. In Leave rules, use the surround sandwich mode for casual leave only.
5. Post the order calendar and peak weeks on the Company Wall so workers plan festival leave early.
6. Before approving, supervisors look at the Leave Calendar for their department; HR approves once the supervisor has.

Read more about leave management in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions