You would be lying if you denied looking at the leaves calendar at the beginning of the year and mentally calculating the number of long weekends you could redeem. There’s absolutely no shame in admitting that we all want to plan our leaves in a way that we get maximum days off by applying for minimum leaves - we’ve all been there.
It is necessary to know the types of leaves in a company so that you reap benefits when needed, after all, without a proper break, burnout is prone to happen and no company would want that for their employees.
All work and no leave make Jack a dull employee, but you know what is even duller? The leave management and approval system in most organizations. The whole process of sending emails to multiple people, getting approvals, and informing colleagues take all the fun out of the process. If that is not already enough, the piled-up work that needs to be completed before you’re off - but, what if there was a way to outsource some of these tasks? Well, say hello to Sup Bot, team can directly request leaves from Slack and manager can either approve or reject which will notify the member.
Now, after the exciting news of making your life easier, let us deep dive into the different types of leaves you should take in different types of situations, according to your company’s leaves policy.
In the yearly quota of leaves that every employee is liable to, a certain number of leaves are dedicated to this category. Sick leave is taken by an employee when he falls sick and feels unfit for work on any particular day. In case you wake up with a blazing headache or a bad fever in the morning, this is the leave that you should apply for, and go back to bed to recover!
In situations where you are out of work due to unforeseen circumstances, like your parents’ appointment, or are traveling due to an emergency, you can take casual leave. There is usually a restriction on the number of casual leaves per month, so make sure to plan these in advance, because you never know when you end up needing them.
The way you have the right to freedom of speech, in a very similar way, you have full right to enjoy time off on public holidays and feel bad about them falling on weekends. (We’re all in the same boat. :/ ) As per the Employer Act, every employee is entitled to 11 paid public holidays a year, so plan your leaves accordingly.
Amongst the different types of leaves in a company, you might also find the category of optional leaves. Certain leaves only apply to a group of employees and shutting down the entire office is not a necessity, and this purpose is fulfilled by this type of leave. An employee can take this leave on behalf of certain festivals, minority celebrations, and other such occasions which do not apply to all employees alike.
As the name suggests, this kind of leave is earned by the employee for the number of days they have worked for the company. Depending on the leave policy of the organization, these can be granted to employees on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. If you’re lucky enough, certain organizations also provide encashment on these leaves while you’re leaving the company.
There are times in everybody’s life when work takes a lower priority than personal life, especially when you and your partner are welcoming a child. This category of leave can be taken by an employee who has entered or is about to enter parenthood. Usually, paternity leaves are far lesser than maternity leaves, which is understandably unfair, and we’re all waiting for a just treatment on this matter.
There will be times when you would have to sacrifice your holiday or a weekend for work, which is acceptable if you get a compensatory leave from your organization in return. Hustle is fine but only on weekdays, right? In situations where you’re working overtime, you can ask for a comp-off leave from your employer which can be taken on a working day, to make up for your extra hours.
There may be unforeseen circumstances where you might have to take leaves for more duration than what is the permissible duration. Here, you can take time off from work with your organization’s consent, but you would not be paid for it.
In a nutshell, these were the most common types of leave in a company that an employee can enjoy. A happy mind would result in a happier work life, so do not feel guilty while fully utilizing your leaves, no matter what social media tells you about hustle culture. Life is not meant to be on standby while you’re peaking in your career, so go catch that train, see that sunset and come back to work with a blast! Happy holidays to you!
