Leave laws in India

•  Factories Act of 1948

The Factories Act of 1948 has the welfare of factory workers at heart and strives to safeguard their interests when it comes to working conditions. Section 79 of the act mandates that organizations provide earned leaves to employees who've worked for at least 240 days in the previous calendar year. According to this section, adult employees must earn leave for every 20 days of work, and juvenile employees must earn leave for every 15 days of work. The earned leave days that employees are entitled to are not influenced by public holidays.

•  Industrial Establishments (National And Festival Holidays) Act

Under the National and Festival Holidays Act, every organization in India has to provide leave on January 26 for Republic Day, August 15 for Independence Day, and October 2 for Gandhi Jayanthi. For other festivals, the state can decide if employees should work or not. For instance, Delhi follows the Punjab Industrial Establishment (National And Festival Holidays) Act. As per the act, every employee is entitled to three national holidays and a minimum of four holidays for other festivals. Similarly, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishment (National And Festival Holidays) Act requires organizations to provide four national holidays and five festival holidays. Organizations must decide on national and festival holidays based on local laws.

•  Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017

The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act of 2017 brought about progressive changes to the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 in order to empower working mothers. It entitles every mother to 26 weeks of paid leave, during which time they can recover from childbirth and take care of their newborns without having to quit their job. For the first two children, they receive 26 weeks of paid leave, and beyond that, they receive 12 weeks of paid leave. In the case of adoption, working women are entitled to 12 weeks of paid leave if the child is less than three months old. To use this benefit, the employee must have worked for at least 80 days.

•  Shops and Establishments Act

The Shops and Establishments Act applies to every state in India; however, the regulations mentioned in the act differ from state to state. For instance, the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act allows employees to take 24 hours of rest a week. Organizations shall provide a maximum of 15 days of earned leave if an employee has been employed continuously for a year. Similarly, every employee is entitled to a minimum of 12 sick leaves per year.