Policy Title: Leaves policy and guidelines

Policy No: HR/GP/2013/01 Effective date: 1st Jan 2017

Classification: GEP- Leave Policy Description of change: Clause on Non-availability of

Privilege Leave during the first three months
removed

Policy Review
Prepared by Reviewed by Validated by

Neha Dand Vineet Sharma Manish Sharma

Sathi Aich-Dharap
Dhananjayan Narasimhan

1. Objective
GEP recognizes that employees require time to rejuvenate themselves regularly to maintain
productivity and work life balance. This policy aims to provide comprehensive information on
eligibility and entitlements for availing leave at GEP.

2. Scope and applicability

2.1. All GEP India Full time Employees
2.2. Leave accounting year: Leaves will be accounted for on a calendar year basis (January to
December)

3. Eligibility

All employees of GEP India are eligible to avail Privilege Leave, Public Holiday, Floater and Special
Leave from Day 1.

4. Entitlement

All employees are entitled to avail leave as per the chart mentioned below.

Category Number of Days

Privilege Leave 21 working days
Public Holidays 9
Compensatory Off As Applicable
Maternity Leave 84 days
Paternity Leave 3 days
Special Leave 1 day
Bereavement Leave 2 days

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5. Salient Features

5.1. Leave approval: Leaves are subject to approval of the reporting manager. Leave requests may or
may not be approved depending on business needs of the process/function. .
5.2. Full day leave: The word ‘leave’ in this policy by default means a Full Day (8 hours of standard
work and 1 hour of break).

6. Privilege Leave (PL)

6.1. PL entitlement: All employees are entitled to 21 days of privilege leave during a calendar year.
6.2. Mandatory PL: In order to strike a healthy work-life balance, all employees are encouraged to
take 10 days of mandatory PL in the calendar year
6.3. Earning of PL: Employees will earn privilege leave on a pro rata basis at the rate of 1.75 days for
every completed month of service from the date of joining. For example, if you have joined on
the 1st of July, then: Privilege Leave earned during the calendar year = (No. of months between
July 1st and December 31st) * 1.75 = (6)*1.75 = 10.5; Only 1 day PL will be credited to new
employees joining after the 15th of the month.
6.4. It is suggested that you inform your manager of your leave plans at least one day in advance. In
case of an emergency, the same needs to be informed at least 2 hours before the start of the
shift so that the manager can plan and reallocate work for his or her process with the resources
available.
6.5. Clubbing of PL with other holidays: The days of leave under PL are exclusive working days hence
weekly offs and public holiday will not be included as Privilege Leave. As an example if 5th July
(Thursday) is a public holiday. If an employee takes leave on 4th July which is a Wednesday and
joins on 6th being a Friday, 5th July will be considered a public holiday and not privilege leave.
6.6. Accumulation and carry-over of PL: A maximum of 8 days each year can be carried forward to
the next calendar year. Leave carried forward has to be availed by the end of the December of
the following calendar year, failing which it will be deemed to have lapsed.
6.7. Encashment of PL: Employees can encash their privilege leave upto a maximum of 5 days at the
end of each year. Privilege leave encashment will be calculated on last drawn basic and 30 days
a month shall be considered as one month for the purpose of calculating PL encashment. Leave
encashment will be subject to taxation laws in force. Encashment is applicable for employees
upto senior manager level. This encashment is not applicable to AD & above level.
6.8. Leave entitlement for resigned employees: No PLs will be credited for the resigned employee if
the last working day falls on or before 10th of the month, 1 PL will be credited if his/her last
working day falls after 10th but on or before 15th of the month. 1.75 PLs will be credited for the
exit employee if the last working day falls after 15th of the month.

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 6.9. Leave without Pay: In case, an employee runs out of available PL balance, they can request for
authorization of Leave without Pay (LWP) from their reporting manager. Leave requests may or
may not be approved depending on business needs of the process/function. The sanctioning of
leave under this clause is at the sole discretion of the sanctioning authority of the company and
should not be perceived as a right or entitlement.

7. Public Holidays

7.1. All Employees are entitled to nine (9) Public Holidays including one floating holiday as per the
calendar year. This entitlement may change from year to year based on local regulations.
7.2. Employees need to inform their supervisor/Manager before taking a floating holiday.

8. Compensatory Off (CO)

8.1. Employees’ working on public holidays and weekly offs due to business exigencies can be eligible
to a compensatory off. Eligibility of CO is subject to approval of reporting manager.
8.2. CO should be availed within the calendar year worked post which it will lapse.
8.3. Minimum working hours put in during the weekly off day should be 4.5 hrs.
8.4. To work on a weekly-off and/or an employee has to obtain prior permission from his/her
reporting manager. Eligibility of CO is subject to approval of reporting manager. Immediate
reporting manager should forward such approval to HR Ops on Leavemanagement@GEP.COM
email Id and Finance to make necessary administrative arrangements.
8.5. The day on which CO can be availed needs to be approved by the reporting manager and shall
be agreed upon after taking into consideration business requirements.
8.6. COs cannot be encashed or carried forward to next year.
8.7. COs can be clubbed with the PL.

9. Maternity Leave (MAL)

9.1. In accordance with the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 employees will be entitled to a total of
twelve weeks or 84 Days of Maternity leave. Employees availing of such leave should have
worked for a minimum of 80 working days with GEP to be eligible for the same.
9.2. The applicant should inform about her pregnancy to the HR function minimum 2 months in
advance before proceeding on leave.
9.3. The application should be supported by a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy and
expected date of child birth.
9.4. Maternity leave may be combined with accrued Privilege leave with prior approval from the
Functional Head.
9.5. Un-availed Maternity Leave is non-encashable.
9.6. The weekly offs and holidays falling during this period will be part of the leaves availed.
9.7. In case of miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy, a woman shall, on production of such
proof, be entitled to leave with pay for a period of six weeks immediately following the day of
her miscarriage or, as the case may be, her medical termination of pregnancy.

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 9.8. Employees suffering from illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth or
miscarriage shall, on production of medical evidence, be entitled to leave of one month with pay.
9.9. Leave without pay: Leave without Pay are approved leaves which can be sanctioned only when
employee is medically un-fit and unable to resume her duties and also has availed leave under
clause 9.7 (leave for miscarriage). Maximum No. of leaves that can be availed on Leave without
pay is 30 days. In such cases, the Employee shall produce a medical certificate stating the valid
reason for such leaves.
9.10. Maternity benefit can be availed at a stretch in one of the following ways:
 Upto a maximum of 6 weeks before expected date of delivery and at least 6 weeks post-
delivery. OR
 12 weeks post-delivery.

10. Paternity Leave (PAL)

10.1. A maximum of 3 days can be availed for a maximum of two such occasions during employment.
10.2. The reporting Manager needs to be informed at least two weeks in advance of the leave.
10.3. Paternity Leave needs to be availed within two months of the birth of the child.

11. Bereavement leave

11.1. A bereavement policy is the company’s practice of allowing employee time off on death of
immediate family member. Bereavement time is granted for making funeral arrangements,
attending the funeral and burial, paying respects to the family at a wake or visitation, dealing
with the deceased’s possessions and will, and any ancillary matters that employees must address
when a loved one dies.
11.2. The immediate family includes:
 Spouse
 Child (natural/step/adopted/foster)
 Parent (natural/step/adoptive)
 Brother or Sister (natural/step/adopted)
 Immediate in-laws (father, mother, sister, brother, son, daughter)
 Grandparents (immediate or spousal)
 Legal Guardian
11.3. A request for bereavement leave due to the death of any other individual should be submitted
to the Human Resources Department for approval, after resuming duties.
11.4. Duration of bereavement leave is granted for no more than two days. If additional time is
necessary, the employee may elect to use privileged leave with the approval of his/her reporting
manager.
11.5. Employees taking bereavement leave will notify their reporting manager as soon as possible of
the funeral arrangements, anticipated length of leave, where the employee can be reached
during the leave, and other appropriate information. The employee should notify his/her
immediate supervisor as soon as possible to request bereavement leave.

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12. Special Leave

In order to make GEP a better place to work for, employees are encouraged to avail 1 day Special
Leave to celebrate self/spouse’s birthday, anniversary or other special occasions. Special Leave cannot
be encashed nor shall it be carried forward post the calendar year.

13. Unauthorized Leave / Absenteeism

13.1. All employees are strongly encouraged to plan their leaves and get them duly approved /
authorized. If an employee does not report to office and does not get leave authorized /
approved he will be treated as an Absentee. Such cases would be highlighted to HR immediately.
13.2. If the employee continues to remain absent for more than 3 consecutive working days, he/she
will be subject to disciplinary action which may even lead to termination in accordance with the
Exit and Separation policy.

14. Leaves and holidays during notice period:

14.1. Employees are not eligible to take leave while serving their notice period however holidays
(mandatory and floating) can be taken during this period.
14.2. If, due to unavoidable circumstances, an employee takes leave during the notice period last
working day would be extended. Any exception needs the approval of the Function lead and HR
Head.

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