Annual leave with wages

In short

• A worker who has worked one hundred and eighty days or more in a calendar year is entitled to annual leave with wages s. 32(1)(i).
• Leave is earned at one day for every twenty days of work, or one day for every fifteen days for adolescent workers and workers below ground in mines s. 32(1)(ii).
• Unused leave of up to thirty days carries forward to the next year s. 32(1)(vii).
• A worker may ask to encash leave at the end of the calendar year s. 32(1)(viii).

Does this apply to you?

• The entitlement covers every worker employed in an establishment under the OSH Code s. 32(1).
• The appropriate Government may extend it by notification to other establishments, but not to railway establishments s. 32(2).
• Working journalists and sales promotion employees have their own earned leave and medical leave entitlements s. 25(3).
• It does not cover a person employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity, or a supervisor drawing wages above ₹18,000 a month, because neither is a worker s. 2(1)(zzl).

What the law requires

Qualifying and earning leave

• Periods of lay-off, maternity leave and annual leave taken in the year count towards the one hundred and eighty days, but no leave is earned for those periods s. 32(1)(iii).
• Holidays that fall within a period of leave are not counted as leave taken s. 32(1)(iv).
• A worker who joins after the first day of January earns leave at the same rate if they work one-fourth of the remaining days of the year s. 32(1)(v).

Carry-forward and encashment

• Unused leave is added to the next year’s leave, up to thirty days s. 32(1)(vii)(a).
• Leave that the worker applied for but was refused carries forward without any limit s. 32(1)(vii)(b).
• A worker whose leave balance exceeds thirty days may encash the excess s. 32(1)(ix).

When employment ends

• If a worker is discharged, dismissed, quits, superannuates or dies during the year, pay wages in lieu of the leave due, even if they had not yet worked the qualifying period s. 32(1)(vi).
• Pay it before the end of the second working day after discharge, dismissal or quitting, and within two months after superannuation or death s. 32(1)(vi)(a)–(b).

Better terms

• In mines, an award, agreement or contract giving longer annual leave prevails on the amount of leave s. 32(3).

Numbers at a glance

What	Figure	Where
Days worked to qualify	one hundred and eighty in the calendar year	s. 32(1)(i)
Leave earned	one day per twenty days of work	s. 32(1)(ii)
Adolescents and below-ground mine workers	one day per fifteen days of work	s. 32(1)(ii)
Carry-forward	up to thirty days	s. 32(1)(vii)
Payment on quitting or dismissal	before the end of the second working day	s. 32(1)(vi)
Payment on superannuation or death	within two months	s. 32(1)(vi)

Records and deadlines

• Keep a record of leave with wages for every employee in Form XX, and share an employee’s record with them once a calendar year on request rule 76(1).
• Preserve the register for five years after the last entry rule 76(2).

Not covered here

• How wages during leave are calculated, and State rules where the State is the appropriate Government.

In short

• If you work one hundred and eighty days or more in a calendar year, you get paid annual leave s. 32(1)(i).
• You earn one day of leave for every twenty days you work s. 32(1)(ii).
• You can carry up to thirty unused days into the next year s. 32(1)(vii).
• At the end of the year you can ask to be paid for your leave instead of taking it s. 32(1)(viii).

Does this apply to you?

• Yes, if you are a worker in an establishment covered by the OSH Code s. 32(1).
• If you are an adolescent worker or work below ground in a mine, you earn one day for every fifteen days of work s. 32(1)(ii).
• Working journalists and sales promotion employees have separate earned and medical leave rules s. 25(3).
• It does not cover you if you are employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity, or if you are a supervisor drawing wages above ₹18,000 a month, because the Code does not count you as a worker s. 2(1)(zzl).

What the law requires

Counting your days

• Time on lay-off, maternity leave or annual leave counts towards your one hundred and eighty days, though you do not earn leave for that time s. 32(1)(iii).
• Holidays that fall during your leave do not count as leave used s. 32(1)(iv).
• If you started work after the first day of January, you earn leave at the same rate once you have worked one-fourth of the remaining days of the year s. 32(1)(v).

Leave you did not take

• Up to thirty days of unused leave carry forward s. 32(1)(vii)(a).
• If you asked for leave and were refused, that leave carries forward with no limit s. 32(1)(vii)(b).
• If your balance goes above thirty days, you can be paid for the extra days s. 32(1)(ix).

When your job ends

• If you leave, are dismissed, retire or die during the year, you or your heir or nominee must be paid for the leave due s. 32(1)(vi).
• That payment is due before the end of the second working day after you leave or are dismissed, and within two months of retirement or death s. 32(1)(vi)(a)–(b).

Numbers at a glance

What	Figure	Where
Days you must work in the year	one hundred and eighty	s. 32(1)(i)
Leave you earn	one day for every twenty days worked	s. 32(1)(ii)
Unused leave you can carry forward	thirty days	s. 32(1)(vii)

What to do if it isn’t followed

• Ask your employer for your leave record: they must keep it in Form XX and share it with you once a calendar year if you ask rule 76(1).
• If leave wages you are owed are not paid, you, a registered trade union you belong to, or an Inspector-cum-Facilitator can file a claim under the Code on Wages within three years CW s. 45(4), (6).

Not covered here

• How your wages during leave are worked out, and State rules where your State Government is the appropriate Government.