Leave Policy
Leave is a privilege and not a right. It is earned and does not automatically become admissible as soon as one joins the service. No form of leave is generally considered admissible during the probation period which is 3 months for all newly recruited staffs. On Completion of the probation period employees are eligible for CL & SL as similar to the regular staffs. No leave shall be availed till it has been sanctioned formally or approval taken from the sanctioning authority.
Leave cannot be claimed as a matter of right. Accordingly, leave rules and norms have been categorized under various heads. Vacation and leave are governed by a set of rules and norms as laid down in the leave policy of AROH.
The following leave rules and norms give details about the different types of leave and how they can be availed of. Specific eligibility conditions for different types of leave are given with each leave details. Leave rules are applicable for regular field project staff/field staff when sufficient prior information has been given to HO.
This leave policy will be applicable to all regular employees at AROH Foundation from 1st of April 2013.
Ø All leave would be counted during the financial year from 1st April of the year to the 31st March of next year.
Ø Sundays/Saturdays/Holiday/s falling between any leave (Prefix or Suffix) shall be considered as Leave and deducted from the Leave Balance.
Ø Employee is required to apply for leave in the prescribed format (AROH-LAF) duly recommended by his/her reporting officer, to the HR Department as per procedure for the type of leave asked for. All the leaves shall be availed by an employee with the prior permission and approval of the immediate superior and department head.
Ø All unauthorized leave will constitute break in service besides salary being deducted for such days.
Ø In the event of an employee’s absence from work for more than five days without prior permission from his/her superiors, it would be assumed that the employee has voluntarily abandoned the services of the organization, and their services with the organization would stand automatically terminated.
Ø In case, any employee/field staff is found absent without prior information on any day, 2 days’ salary would be deducted in that month for each absent without information. This strict rule is made to keep discipline at the field level and employees should not take their job lightly since they are away from HO. Regular and surprise checks are made to monitor the field staff.
Important points to be noted:
Ø Provision of all type of leaves is only for the regular employees at AROH.
Ø Leave should always be applied for and got sanctioned before it is taken, except in cases of emergency and for satisfactory reasons.
Ø Absence from duty after expiry of leave entails disciplinary action.
Ø Absence without leave will constitute an interruption in service.
Ø A staff on leave should not take up any service or employment elsewhere without obtaining prior sanction of the competent authority.
AROH extends the following types of eaves for its employees.
Casual Leave (CL) – 8 days
Earned/Privilege Leave (EL) – 12 days
Sick Leave (SL) – 6
Maternity Leave (ML) – 12 weeks (84 days)
Leave without Pay (LWP) – To be granted on individual merit of the case, AROH holds the right to deny the leave.
Paternity Leave (PL ) – 1 Week – To be granted to those employees who have completed one year of service with AROH on becoming a parent for the first two born children
Compensatory Leave Allowances – This is also a part of Employee Policy. AROH does not encourage working on holidays but in exceptional cases, an employee may be required to be present on non-working days under the following circumstances:
1. If an employee’s work is pending or behind schedule.
2. If there’s an urgent requirement which may be not more than once in a month.
3. Regular requirement to be present on an off day for a specified activity.
No compensatory allowances or compensatory leave are allowed in case 1 & 2.
Some allowance may be recommended by the reporting officer depending upon the quantum of work and number of hours devoted, in case it exceeds by one extra day in a month.
If there’s a regular requirement of work on a holiday, then compensatory allowance may be fixed prior to assignment of the task and approval obtained for engaging any employee in such an activity. Their willingness to do such a work must also be obtained in writing. Alternatively, in case of a long term assignment of work on a non-working day, an alternate off day may be suggested for the employee.
Casual Leave (CL)
Ø All regular employees are entitled to avail CL. These leaves are granted for certain unforeseen situations or when an employee requires to take an off for one or two days. In case of casual leave normally AROH’s restrict to a maximum of 3 days in a month and total of 8 leave in the financial year.
Ø CL may be availed by an employee on making an application or giving sufficient notice to HR department.
Ø Every year beginning, 8 days of CL shall be credited into one’s leave account in advance.
Ø CL shall be availed for a minimum of half a day and a maximum of 3 days at a stretch.
Ø CL prefixed and suffixed to any holiday, such holiday shall be considered as CL and deducted from the Leave Balance.
Ø All unauthorized and uninformed leave will be treated as absent and salary will be deducted for such days.
Ø CL can be availed after a short notice (minimum half a day).
Ø The employee will not leave the station of work and will be reachable and in case of emergency can be called to office.
Ø CL should be availed in the same year and cannot be carried forward to the next year. CL cannot be converted/merged into any other type of leave.
Earned Leave/ Privilege leave (PL)
AROH allows 12 Earned Leaves in one year. These are the leaves, which are earned in the previous year and enjoyed in the following years. The employees would be able to start availing the benefit of these leaves after they complete one year of service, inclusive of their probationary period, whenever applicable.
At the beginning of each financial year, 12 days leave will be credited to the Earned leave account of the employee. If the employee has joined any time between the financial year, the leave would be calculated on the basis balance days in the year, on prorata basis, but he will be able to avail the leave only after completion of one year of service.
The unutilized EL may be accumulated by the employee and encashed by the employee at the end of a financial year.
Any employee leaving before the completion of one full year of regular service will not be entitled to claim the EL.
Earned leave should be well planned and availed with advance notice (minimum of 15 days) giving sufficient time to make alternate arrangement.
EL shall be availed with prior approval of the supervisor/reporting officer with special mention that in his/her absence the work shall be looked after by official named by applicant and agreed by the official who will remain present in the office during the period of leave requested.
The unutilized/accumulated leave may be carried forward up 54 days at any point of time. In any case if an employee’s Earned leave balance exceed 54 days he/she shall be advised to avail the leave, otherwise the excess leave over 54 days will get lapsed.
Earned leave shall be availed at the expense of minimum one day and to the maximum of 20 days at a stretch.
EL can be availed as sick leave if there is no sick leave balance available with the employee.
Earned Leave prefixed or suffixed to any holiday, such holiday shall be considered as EL and deducted from the Leave Balance.
EL, if not utilised, is encashable at the end of financial year or at the time of exit from the organization.
El can clubbed with other types of leaves.
Leave rules for Fields staffs appointed for a select project (Short Duration)
Employees hired at field level for short duration (1-2 years) for specific purpose and who shall not be transferred/ shifted to other project/ locations are eligible for CL & SL only and not EL leaves.
Sick Leave (SL)
All regular employees are eligible for 6 days of Sick Leave per year.
Sick leave shall be enjoyed by the employees who are not covered under the ESI.
At the beginning of each financial year, 6 days leave will be credited to the sick leave account of the employee. If the employee has joined any time between the financial year, the leave would be calculated on the basis balance days in the year, on prorata basis.
Sick leave may be accumulated and carried forward to a maximum 12 days after which it will lapse.
Sick leave can be claimed by producing the Medical Certificate. First three days of sick leave shall be allowed without Medical Certificate. Any further leave without a medical certificate will not be considered as SL and the days availed as leave will be treated as unauthorized absent and lead to loss of pay.
Leave for Employee’s covered under the ESI, rules applicable as per ESI from time to time would be followed.
Maternity Leave (ML):
It shall cover only Married Female Employees who have completed 180 days of continuous service on date of availing this leave.
Female Employees who are not covered under ESI can claim the full Salary for 84 days leave as maternity benefit by submitting the request letter about confirming the pregnancy.
This Leave can be availed for and restricted to two children.
Maternity Leave maximum admissible is 12 WEEKS (84 days) with full pay, six weeks before and six weeks after delivery or in any other proportions.
Maternity Leave can be combined with PL or SL, if having any balance to her credit.
The applicant for maternity leave shall give notice to the company of her confinement not less than 8 weeks in advance.
Employees covered under ESI are not eligible for the monetary benefits and ESI rules are applicable to them.
Paternity Leave
It shall cover only Married Male Employees who have completed 180 days of continuous service on date of availing this leave.
Male Employees who are not covered under ESI can claim the full Salary for 7 days leave as paternity benefit by submitting a request letter.
This Leave can be availed for and restricted to two children.
Overtime
Overtime concept is not encouraged in AROH to ensure the employees to organize themselves in managing time and effectively utilizing the working hours.
Extra late hours shall not be considered for monetary compensation. The Foundation does not encourage late hours working unless there is a specific requirement of the project. Prior permission should be obtained from the reporting officer to work in late hours beyond 7.30 PM.
Merit points are accrued for extra work taken up for a specific requirement by an employee which are considered during periodic appraisals.
If female employees work beyond 7.30 PM or late hours due to any specific emergency work then they would get dropped by the office vehicle. To avail this service, employees should inform the HR head before hand or latest by 2 PM of the day.
Working on Off days
Owing to work emergency or demand, an employee may be expected to work either on Sunday or a public holiday.
Leave rules for Supervisors/Educators/Instructors
Employees who work/join as Supervisors, Educators & Instructors at Project locations are entitled for 1 day leave per month only. The Leave can be accumulated and availed as per their need or at a stretch of 12 days at the maximum. Since they are engaged for a specific purpose they are not eligible to claim the benefits of regular employees.