Indian companies have different types of leaves, paid or unpaid to establish a better work-life balance, making their employees’ lives easier. While the specifics may vary from company to company, office leave types are almost the same everywhere.
Moreover, many companies offer additional types of leaves as extra benefits to their employees. But what are these office leaves and how many different types of leaves are there?
In this blog, we will discuss 11 different types of leaves Indian employers offer to their workers. Let’s dive in!
8 different types of office leave in India
Let’s take a closer look at different types of leaves offered by Indian companies:
1. Casual Leave
Casual leaves are the type of leaves used most by employees. People apply these office leaves for unforeseen events where they may need to take a day or two off from work to take care of personal matters.
Most companies allow casual leaves of up to 3-5 days a month with the employer’s approval. To know more, read our guide on how to apply for casual leaves with sample applications.
Let’s take a look at short-term casual leaves:
1. Half-day leave
As the name suggests, half-day leaves are the type of leaves taken for just half part of the day, i.e. the employee may take off either for the first half of the day or the second half.
This type of leave is beneficial for those wanting to take care of minor tasks like going to the banks, attending PTMs, etc., allowing them to balance their personal and professional lives. Great for work-life balance, no?
To know more, read our guide on how to apply for half-day leaves with sample applications.
2. One-day leave
The most common type of leave in a workplace, one-day leaves are taken by employees when they want a short break or just need a day to themselves to take care of personal chores.
To know more, read our guide on how to apply for one-day leaves with sample applications.
2. Earned/Vacation/Privilege Leave
Privilege leaves, also known as earned leaves are paid leaves that are earned annually by employees as they work with a company. The number of privilege leaves vary across organizations, but usually, an employee is entitled to 18 privilege leaves where they can ditch work and take some time off for themselves.
To get a privilege leave sanctioned, the employees need to get approval from their employers in advance, unless there is an emergency.
This type of leave is a dream for all employees as they can encash these leaves in case they don’t wish to use them or can accumulate them to take a long leave when needed.
To know more, read our guide on how to apply for privilege leaves
3. Sick Leave/Medical Leave
As the name suggests, sick or medical leaves are the type of office leaves used when an employee falls ill and cannot come to work. An employee is entitled to sick leaves after having worked with a company for a set time.
Each company provides a different number of sick leaves to its employees. Since sickness is unforeseen, no prior intimation is necessary while applying for sick/medical leaves. However, some companies require a medical certificate from the doctor’s office testifying to the employee's ill health.
To know more, read our guide on how to apply for sick/medical leaves with sample applications.
4. Maternity Leave
Childbirth is a miracle, but working women expecting a child may find it hard to balance work and health. To make life easy for them, most Indian companies have the provision of maternity leaves- the type of leaves available for women employees who are pregnant and are expecting a child soon.
Maternity leaves are also used in case of miscarriage/abortion but the duration of leaves in this situation is 6 weeks (as per the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961). While the duration of maternity leave may vary in each company, usually the paid maternity leave is 10-30 weeks.
The same can be extended with unpaid leaves for up to 16 months. To know more, read our guide on how to apply for maternity leaves with sample applications.
5. Paternity leaves
This type of leave is for male employees who are soon to become a parent. Paternity leave is applied preceding or immediately after the arrival of the baby. Even though all the good companies provide paternity leaves, it is still not a common type of leave in private Indian companies.
The company policies regarding paternity leaves are different across organizations, so it is always a good idea to check with HR about the details of the same. To know more, read our guide on how to apply for paternity leaves with sample applications.
6. Sabbatical Leave
Sabbatical is the type of leave granted by companies to allow their employees to upskill and gain more knowledge in their field so they can contribute better to their organization in the future.
An employee can request a sabbatical for education advancement, family/health crisis, or to take a career break. This type of leave is not approved immediately, so one must plan it far in advance. A sabbatical is a long-term break and is usually unpaid.
To know more, read our guide on how to apply for sabbatical leaves with sample applications.
7. Bereavement leave
Bereavement leaves are offered by companies to employees on account of a death in the family. This type of leave is paid for by the company, and while there are no laws that make it mandatory for organizations to offer bereavement leaves, most companies provide them on the grounds of compassion.
While the concept of bereavement leaves is new in India, it is one of the most important types of leaves for an employee. Employees may use this bereavement leave to grieve, participate in the last rites, or handle any other legal or family situation that may arise.
To know more, read our guide on Bereavement leaves -how to apply with sample applications.
8. Marriage leave
This is the type of leave employees use when they or someone in their family is getting married. It is an official document with which employees can request a few days off to get married, or to attend the wedding of a close friend/relative without having to worry about work.
Just like any other leave application, this too must be written in a formal format and tone.
To know more, read our guide on Marriage leaves -how to apply with sample applications.
9. Compensatory leaves
Famously called comp off, comp time, or comp leaves, this leave is one of a kind. While all the other leaves are accumulated over time, compensatory leaves are earned by working extra hours on holidays, days off, etc.
Compensatory leave, is a leave awarded as compensation for working extra days/hours. It enables people to encash leaves when they want in exchange for the overtime they have earned by working on weekly off, holidays, etc.
To know more, read our guide on Compensatory leaves
10. Adoption Leave
Bringing a child home is one of the greatest joys for many, and to make this a day free of any other stress, many companies offer adoption leaves. Adoption leaves are the paid leaves offered to employees by the company to adopt a child and settle in their role as parents.
Today, companies realize the importance of leaves for adoptive parents and offer benefits like adoption leaves to boost productivity, garner employee loyalty, and manage employee attrition rates.
However, it is a relatively new concept in the Indian corporate scenario making them less popular than the other leaves available to the employees.
To know more, read our guide on Adoption leaves
11. Compassionate leaves
Compassionate leaves are special leaves applied in rare case of family emergencies like illness of a family member, death and tragic events of the same degree.
These leaves should be applied only in extreme cases since companies provide them to make your life easier during difficult times.
While many confuse compassionate leave with bereavement leave, the two are very different. Bereavement leave is applied after the death of a near or dear one to mourn the loss, while compassionate leave is a special leave of absence that you can use to take care of an ailing family member.
Like other office leaves, there is no common policy around compassionate leaves in India and the number of leaves offered varies in each organization.
To know more, read our guide on Adoption leaves
Conclusion
There are many types of leaves one can apply for, and in this blog, we discussed 10 of the most common office leaves an employee can apply for.
We hope with this guide on different types of office leaves, you will find out all there is to know about which application to use and when.
All the best!
