Do your employees love your organisation? Kudos to you! Most probably, you have fostered a culture that other organisations would love to emulate.
Don’t you think that all work and no play can make Jack a dull boy? We see you nodding!
It has become crucial for HRs to frame the right leave policies year after year. The result is a balance between happy employees and healthy business growth. When it comes to framing leave policies, HR has to do it thoughtfully by keeping the employees’ needs and expectations in mind.
We now encourage you to read what three seasoned HR practitioners had to share during our Parichay webinar series. The attendees got answers to many of their doubts and questions. The speaker panel consisted of Maneesha Jha Thakur (HR Leader), Suchandra Dutta (HR Head, Plum) and Soyirindhi Hore (Manager, HRBP, Yahoo).
In this post, we have attempted to summarise our experts’ points of view on leaves and leave policy restructuring. Stay with us till the end, and you can expect a bonus!
Leave Policy is the New Talent Magnet
Although your employees have a myriad of reasons for taking leave, they do need some time off to relax and come back rejuvenated. HR knows this better than anybody else.
When you frame a good leave policy, you get to attract and retain talent since it reveals the trust element in the culture of a workplace. The policy should also meet the expectations of a diverse set of people without impacting business operations. Don’t be surprised if Marketing says it helped them elevate the brand image of the organisation!
Every State Has Something Different
Just imagine the task of an HR whose organisation has operations across multiple states in the country. Leave policies have to be formulated as per the different local acts. Even the regional holidays differ from state to state.
Since it’s not practical to have different leave policies for employees in different states, Human resource management system has to arrive at a list that works for the majority. The best way to get started is by collating all the state-wise information in a knowledge bank. The next step is just easy execution.
Leave Pooling: It’s a Happening Thing
Every employee is entitled to take a certain number of leaves in a year. But some leaves are wasted if he/she does not avail of the same. Leave pooling is about creating a shared pool with leaves donated by magnanimous employees. Anyone who is in dire need of leaves can dip into the pool anytime. This unique concept not only helps your employees avoid loss of pay, but also promotes a spirit of camaraderie and oneness among them.
A Revised Sandwich Rule: A Treat for Employees
Factories have been following the Sandwich Rule policy for years. Over the years, the corporates have also adopted the same for white-collar workers.
When a holiday falls between two leaves, the former is also counted as a leave. Here’s an example: If John begins his vacation on Friday and returns only on Tuesday, his HR will deduct 4 days of leave from his balance! But he wouldn’t be surprised if he knew the rule. Better still, he wouldn’t do it, if he knew it.
Many modern organisations have decided to do away with the Sandwich Rule since employees have become more concerned about scheduling their leaves than in utilising them. HRs can explore the option of considering only the working days while calculating leaves. Who doesn’t love an organisation that’s flexible and employee-friendly!
Special Needs Require Special Leaves
Different sections of the workforce have different kinds of needs. Also, the current scenario is compelling organisations to think of innovative leave policies to take better care of their employees.
Here are some examples: Some companies offer a ‘happy weekend’ that allows people to take off one Friday, in a month, and get an extended weekend. A ‘family leave’ is a paid leave that’s given to an employee for taking care of an ailing family member. Even ‘leave pooling’, mentioned earlier, is a novel concept that allows employees to share their accumulated leaves with those who really need them.
In Conclusion
A leave policy is not just about preparing a comprehensive document. It includes a plan that is structured well, implemented effectively and tracked periodically. It’s also not only about granting leaves or calculating the number of leaves, but also about an assurance that essential time will be granted for taking care of important life events or unforeseen incidents.
Here’s the bonus we promised: The recording of the entire webinar
