Our Leave Policy | One Future Collective

This policy draft is adapted from the internal policy infrastructure applicable at One Future Collective and is made publicly accessible in the interest of our mission to build safe, just, and inclusive workplaces for all. If you are an organisation curious to know more about how to build socially just workplaces, we invite you to use and adapt these policies to make them relevant to your context. If you have used any of our policies, we request you to please credit us. 

You can know more about us, our journey, how we work, and our commitment to Nurturing Radical Kindness through our internal organisational Manifesto: Sunflowers.  We would also love to hear from you – if you have any feedback, questions, or comments, please feel free to use this form. 

Some guidance on using this policy:

We understand that each organisation is distinctly placed, works in different contexts, and within diverse realities and organisational policies have to be resilient and responsive to these contexts. In this background, we would like to share the following guidance for your reference:

1. All the segments marked in yellow and/or left blank are spaces for you to update with details which are relevant to your organisational contexts. 
2. The entire policy may not be applicable as it is – please treat this as an invitation to adapt parts of it to better suit your demands. 
3. The policies are developed in the context of the legal obligations, politics, and resources available to One Future Collective. Whenever you are developing your organisational policies, please ensure that you are conducting your own due diligence in relation to compliance and other obligations that you may have to adhere to. 
4. Some key identifying information and details about processes unique to our organisation are anonymised from the drafts below for reasons of privacy and confidentiality. 

In case you would like to reach out to us to get to know more about a policy or are feeling a bit stuck, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@onefuturecollective.org.

Our Leave Policy

Date of adoption	_____________________
Date of review	_____________________
Policy Holder	_____________________
Queries	_____________________

1) Purpose

This policy is to provide all employees with information about leaves and holidays followed at <Name of Organisation>. Employees need adequate time for rest, leisure and a life outside of work, this policy is in support of that. The leave policy is in compliance with the <Update with relevant applicable laws>. 

This policy is to be read in conjunction with all other policies to regulate the conduct expected to be followed when leaves are being availed. 

2) Applicability  

This policy covers all permanent employees. It does not apply to interns or project based consultants who have specific employment related conditions. 

3) Leave Calendar and Calculation 

1. Leaves will be calculated on the basis of a financial year i.e. 1st April to 31st March. 
2. New joiners leave eligibility will be prorated till 31st March from their date of joining. 
3. Leaves will not be carried forward into the next year or be encashed. 

4)  How to communicate about your leave 

1. For leaves less than 3 consecutive days, you need to raise it through <insert leave process>.
2. For leaves of 3 consecutive working days or more, raise a request for leaves at least 2 weeks in advance of the days on which you require the leave. 
3. In the event that your leave is combined with a weekend and/or organisational leave and does not fall over 3 consecutive working days, then the leave request should be raised at least 1 week in advance. 
4. In case you are taking a leave of more than 7 consecutive days, approval should be received from your reporting manager a month in advance. 
5. Once you have received approval, please update the team through <add relevant communication channels>.
6. If you take an emergency leave (falling within casual or earned leaves), without any prior communication, ensure that you inform your reporting manager of the same within 24 hours of the emergency arising, failing which disciplinary action may be initiated against you. 
7. Once you have received approval, please update team through <add relevant communication channels>.
8. If you have any questions about how to communicate about your leave, please write to your reporting manager. 

Note: Advance notice is required in all cases where your leave is for a duration of 3 or more days. Where the leave is for 3 or more consecutive working days, a 2-week notice is required. Where the leave is clubbed with an organisational leave (for example, with 15th August) or with a weekend, and does not cross 3 consecutive working days, then a 1-week notice is sufficient. 

5) Redacted because it relates to an internal platform for leave registration specific to One Future Collective alone. 

6) Approval or Denial of Request for Leave

1. Please note that all approvals and denials of leave requests have to be made on <add details of platform through which leave requests are to be made>.
2. All leave requests are subject to approval by the reporting manager and can be denied on the following grounds:
   1. The person requesting such leave is not yet eligible for the leaves being claimed and has exhausted all borrowed leaves. 
   2. The person requesting such leave has not followed the guidelines within this policy while requesting the leave; 
   3. The person requesting such leave has exhausted all leaves (paid and unpaid) available to them within this policy;
   4. Several team members are on leave at the same time and this is impacting the goals and outcomes of the work deliverables negatively.
   5. In cases of leave of absence, the request can also be denied on the basis of the person’s past work performance and the situation demanding such a leave.
3. Any unauthorised leave will result in loss of pay, disciplinary action and can lead to termination of employment. 

7) Leaves during Probation 

Employees are not entitled to any leaves while on probation. However, the leaves arising during this period, will accumulate during the probation period as well and can be used after the completion of probation. In case of any emergency or ill-health during the probation period, employees are entitled to use borrowed leaves as per Section 12. 

8) Leaves during notice period

1. Employees may use their casual and earned leaves during the notice period but are not allowed to use their compensatory offs during notice period. 
2. No additional leaves (casual or earned) will accrue during the notice period. 
3. Employees are not entitled to any financial compensation against the leaves available to them at the time of exit. 

9)  Types of Leave Available

The following types of leave are available to you as employees of <Name of Organisation>.. 

1. Paid Time Off 
2. Compensatory Off 
3. Borrowed Leaves 
4. Leave without Pay 
5. Leave of Absence 

10)  Paid time off (PTO)

1. National and festival holidays 
   1. <Name of Organisation>. will observe 3 national holidays: 26th January, 15th August and 2nd October, and 1st May as mandatory leaves, annually. 
   2. <Name of Organisation>. will follow a total of 10 statutory holidays including the above four holidays per calendar year. 
   3. The annual holiday list will be published on 15th March of the previous financial year for the next financial year. 
   4. <Here>  is the list of holidays for <add duration of the year>.

2. Casual leaves
   1. All employees are entitled to 8 days of casual leave every financial year, i.e. 2 casual leave for every 90 days of employment (every quarter). 
   2. You can only take upto 3 casual leaves a month, separately or collectively. 
   3. These will start being counted from the date of joining but can be used post probation only. 

3. Earned leaves
   1. You will have access to earned leaves which gets allotted at 1 earned leaves for every 20 days, which means 18 earned leaves in a year. 
   2. The team uses 6 of its earned leaves to take a collective annual end year leave from 24th December to 1st January. 
   3. You can use your earned leave to take more than 3 consecutive days of leaves in a month. However, for any such leave approval must be obtained as per Section 4. 
   4. These will start being counted from the date of joining but can be used post probation only. 

Note: Please note that sick leaves and menstrual leaves are both calculated within and as casual and/or earned leaves. 

4. Parental leaves
   1. Parental leaves will be provided in accordance with the “The Maternity Benefit Act & Maternity Benefit (amendment) Act 2017.” 

5. Bereavement leave 
   1. In case of the loss of any persons mentioned in sub-section (ii) below, we will extend employees a paid bereavement leave of 15 continuous days. 
   2. The people recognised for the purposes of this section include spouse/common law partner, parents, siblings and children, grandparents, grandchildren. We understand that our chosen families are more expansive than this, in those cases you can speak with your reporting manager to understand options available, however, a bereavement leave will not apply.
   3. At our current capacity and size, we are able to provide one such period of leave to each employee within one financial year. If there is a requirement of more than one such period, you are entitled to use other leave as is applicable. 
   4. We recognise that grieving can take longer and if you require a longer leave, please talk to your team leader and discuss a leave plan that works mutually. Any leave beyond 15 days, which is beyond what is available to you under this policy, will be unpaid. 
   5. If such a leave occurs during your probationary period it will not be paid, however you can avail unpaid leave during this time and it will not affect your performance assessment. 

6. Mid-Year Wellness Leave 

All employees are eligible for a mid-year wellness 9-day (5 working days) leave scheduled for the last week of June, each year. These leaves are additional to the leaves available for our employees under this policy. 

11) Compensatory offs 

1. If you’re working on days that are non working for you, you can claim a compensatory off against it. Please check before you work those additional days with your reporting manager on the applicability of compensatory offs. 
2. Compensatory offs can be claimed for full days only. Note: If you have a stall or training that is half day, you are expected to work the rest of the work day as a general work day and claim compensatory off for the full day. 
3. Compensatory offs are only available for a period of one month from the date on which they come into effect. 
4. The date on which you plan to take the compensatory off should be discussed with your reporting manager and logged onto <add information about relevant portal> as soon as you are informed that you are expected to work on a non-work day. 
5. Compensatory offs cannot be split into two half days but need to be taken as a full day off.
6. Compensatory offs for additional days you have worked on before beginning your notice period, cannot be availed during notice period. They will be considered to have been lapsed on the first day of your notice period. 
7. If you’ve set a deadline for yourself, or a certain time is designated for a task and you accept that deadline, and there are delays from your end which is pushing the work over to other days, these leaves will not be applicable.

12) Borrowed leaves 

In case you don’t have any eligible leaves (for example: during probation, at the start of the work year etc) or you want to use some leaves that have not accrued yet but may lapse if you don’t use them in advance, you are allowed a total of 7 borrowed leaves. This means you can use up to a maximum of 7 future leaves that you may be eligible for. In case you resign or your employment is terminated in advance of you being eligible for these leaves, it will be deducted from your final pay.

13) Leave without pay (LWP)

All employees are eligible for LWP for a period of up to 30 days. This LWP is in addition to paid leave available to them and can only be used after paid leave has been exhausted. Rules governing LWP are described below and are at the final discretion of the <add relevant detail> after taking into account project and program needs, office operations and any other such factor that impacts the work. <Name of Organisation> will make every effort consistent with good business practice to grant requests for such LWP. 

1. Eligibility:
   1. All employees are eligible for this program once they complete one year of work at <Name of Organisation> for medical and personal reasons.
   2. To use LWP you must first exhaust any accrued PTO.
2. Calculation: all LWP will cumulatively be considered within the 30 day allowance within a financial year. 
3. Application process: Any LWP between 3 to 7 days requires a 7 day notice period and LWP beyond 7 days requires a 30 days notice period, to be requested via email to the <add relevant personnel details>
4. In cases of emergency LWP, you are expected to inform your reporting manager of the emergency and the expected number of days that you may require the leave for. 

14) Benefits during LWP

1. During the period of LWP, the employee will not receive any compensation but will continue to be eligible for gratuity and insurance. 
2. Employees will not be paid for National Festivals/Holidays that occur during their LWP period. 
3. Employees on LWP will not earn any PTO credit for that period. 

15) Effects of LWP 

1. Upon the return to work, <Name of Organisation> shall make every effort to reinstate you in your present position or in an equivalent or comparable position in the Company and at a salary that is not less than your last drawn salary prior to your leave. 
2. LWP impacts duration of service within the organisation, timelines within which your performance review will be held, and your eligibility for sabbatical. 
3. Sabbatical eligibility date shall be adjusted by the length of the leave beyond 30 calendar days. 

16)  Resignation post LWP

1. At the end of 30 days of LWP, if the employee does not return to work upon completion of the leave, they shall be considered to have voluntarily resigned as of the last day of work unless the employee has obtained approval for availing an extended LWP in the form of Leave of absence.
2. In case they are considered to have resigned, they will  still be required to serve a notice period or follow other exit related formalities as per the governing rules and regulations of the Hiring, Onboarding, Appraisal, and Exit Policy. 
3. Please note that the 30 days of LWP will not be counted as notice period and that you are expected to serve an additional 30 days notice period or follow other exit related formalities as mentioned above. 

17) Leave of absence

1. LWP may be extended by 15 days for medical reasons on a case by case basis and will be decided solely on the discretion of the <add relevant personnel detail>. In the event such an extension is requested, such request should be made at least 2 weeks in advance. 
2. In order to request a Leave of absence, employees are expected to submit a letter by a certified doctor advising additional time off from work. 
3. Leave of absence is governed by the same rules and regulations applicable during LWP mentioned  in Sections 13, 14, 15, and 16  above. 
4. However, in cases where LOA is used, <Name of Organisation> cannot guarantee your job while you are on a Leave of Absence upon your return. 

18) Return after LWP and LOA 

1. Upon your return to work, you are expected to email <add details of relevant personnel>, confirming your return to work along with a doctors’ release statement (where applicable)  or personal statement certifying your willingness and readiness to return to work and your ability to execute your role effectively. 
2. You are expected to set up a meeting with your reporting manager to understand the progress of the projects you have been working on and any overall updates that may be relevant to you during your time of absence. 
3. In cases where any medical or other accommodations are required to be made by <Name of Organisation>, please ensure that the same is communicated to the <add relevant personnel information> upon your return. They shall work with you to understand whether and to what extent such accommodations can be made. 
4. All efforts will be made to reinstate you to the same position and at the same pay and benefits receivable by you before the period of absence. However, the same is not guaranteed in cases of Leave of Absence. 
5. In the event that the previous position is not available for any reason, you may be eligible for compensation and benefits in lieu of the same. This provision does not apply to cases where you are returning to work after a leave of absence. 

19) Acting Up Budget

1. In the event any employee is on an extended unpaid leave (i.e. unpaid leave extending 15 days), projects that need immediate attention and require to be picked up in their absence will be re-allocated to someone external at a compensation that is to be decided on a project-to-project basis. The details of the project, the skills required, interview and shortlisting process,  timelines, and compensation available will be decided on a project-to-project basis and will be disclosed at the time of making the opportunity available. 
2. Existing <Name of Organisation> employees are ineligible to take up additional work under this section, even if they offer to take it up outside of work hours. In some cases, work may be distributed amongst other existing employees while simultaneously adjusting other work deliverables and timelines. In such cases, the acting up budget does not apply. 

20)  Exception Requests 

All exception requests need to be raised to the <add relevant personnel details> and are discretionary for approval.

Annual Leave Calendar at a glance
	Full time	Eligibility
National and Public Holidays	10 days	From date of joining
Casual Leaves	8 days	2 casual leave for every 90 days of employment (every quarter). Available post probation only.
Earned Leaves (Discretionary)	18 days[Of which 6 days (+2 days of the weekend) are compulsorily blocked for leave between the dates of 24th December and 1st January].	1 earned leaves for every 20 days of employment. Available post probation only. All employees are eligible for the annual leave from 24th December to 1st January.
Mid Year Break	5 days [This is additional paid time off for all <Name of Organisation> employees scheduled for the last week of June, each year.]	All employees are eligible for this mid-year leave. If you are on your probation period during these leaves, they are deductible against your full and final settlement if your probation is not confirmed into full time employment.
Total Leaves	41  leaves	As given for every section