00:00If she is not recovering, put her in a medical or shelter home and come to office.
00:04In a social media post that went viral, a private bank employee said their boss told them not to
00:10take leave for a grandparent's funeral. Another said they were denied work from home even when
00:15their own father died. Thousands of responses poured in with similar stories of bad bosses
00:21denying leave for family medical emergencies. And that raises the question, do you actually
00:26have legal rights regarding leave policy in India? Or is leave just a matter of company
00:32policy? Let's break down what Indian law really says about employee leaves and where it falls short.
00:40Under Indian labor laws, not all leave is equal. Some types of leaves are statutory, meaning they
00:47are guaranteed by law. These include earned leave, medical leave and maternity leave. For example,
00:52the new labor code's mandate, one day of earned leave for every 20 days worked. Medical leave and
00:59maternity leave are also protected, especially maternity leave, which the Supreme Court has
01:03called a human right. If your employer denies these statutory leaves, you can take legal action.
01:11Government employees, in fact, are in a much stronger position. They have detailed service
01:15rules that clearly provide for casual leave, earned leave, maternity and paternity leave,
01:20and compensatory leave. If a government employee is denied statutory leave, they can approach courts,
01:26even file a writ petition in a high court. Private sector employees are usually governed by that
01:32employment contract and company policy. And that makes a huge difference. Here's the hard truth.
01:38There is no law in India that guarantees leave for family emergency, illness of a close relative
01:44leave or bereavement. What many people call compassionate leave is completely discretionary
01:50and casual leave. If your employer offers it, great. If they don't, you have no legal remedy.
01:57In such cases, employees usually have to use earned leave, casual leave or take leave without pay.
02:03But can you sue if leave is denied? According to lawyers, you can do it only if your company denies
02:09the statutory leaves. For casual or compassionate leave, you have the option to file a case for
02:16emotional damages, since tort law does technically allow it. But courts generally don't accept emotional
02:24distress alone as legal suffering. So the reality is this. Only statutory leave is enforceable,
02:31compassionate leave is not a legal right, and private sector employees depend heavily on employer
02:37discretion. Until the law evolves, much depends on having a reasonable and compassionate employer
02:43or a strong union that can support you. So read your contract and don't assume that every leave
02:50is legally protected.
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