14 Types of Corporate Leaves in India

Leave is one of an employee's basic yet important rights. Every company drafts its own HR leave policy for the benefit of employees. In India, employee leave policies are diverse and vary based on state laws and company regulations. However, the common types of leave are mostly the same across all organizations.  
 
If you are an employer or human resource professional before you design a leave policy, make sure you understand the leave types and their meanings to further explain the leave policy to your employees and maintain transparency and harmony throughout the organization. In this article, you will learn about 14 types of corporate leaves in India. Don’t forget to read the article for a surprise HRMS tool at the end.  

• Sick Leave 

Sick leave is paid leave that allows employees to recover from illness or injury. When a medical condition arises employees can apply for sick leave and come back to the office after full recovery. Employees can apply for sick leave at short notice as medical emergencies are unforeseen, so no prior intimation is necessary. The Indian government mandates a minimum of 12 sick leave days per year. If an employee takes more than three consecutive sick days, a medical certificate may be required by some companies. Unused sick leave cannot be carried forward or encashed. 

• Casual Leave (CL) 

Casual leave allows employees to take time off for unplanned personal matters. Most companies provide up to 12 casual leave days annually. Unlike other leaves, casual leaves can be applied on short notice to take care of personal matters. However, unused casual leave typically cannot be carried forward depending on one's company policy.  

• Privilege Leave (Paid Leave/Earned Leave) (EL) 

Privilege leave is accrued over time and is typically used for vacations or personal commitments. Employees usually earn between 12 to 20 paid leave days per year. Many organizations allow employees to carry forward or encash their unused paid leave, making it one of the most valuable leave types in corporate India.  

• Half Day Leave 

Half-day leaves are special kinds of leaves that allow the employee to apply for a half day. In case of any emergency or personal reasons, an employee can consider taking a half day's leave according to his work hours, which can be the first half or second half. Sometimes you want to visit the bank for some work, and it might consume 2-3 hours of your time, therefore in such a case you can simply apply for a half-day leave and inform your manager about the same.  

Pro tip: Runtime HRMS system is a cloud-based payroll management software in India that helps you manage and automate your various HR operations. Read more about leave management using Runtime HRMS.  

• Maternity Leave 

Balancing work and personal life is a challenge for many working women in India, as they juggle career growth with family responsibilities. Childbirth is a critical moment of life and requires intensive care for the mother as well as the newborn child. Maternity leave is specially for the expecting mothers so that they can take care of themselves. Therefore, as per the Maternity Benefit Act, of 1961, female employees are entitled to 26 weeks of paid leave for their first two children. For the third child, maternity leave is reduced to 12 weeks. This leave also applies in cases of miscarriage, surrogacy, or adoption. Read more to learn about how to apply for maternity leave.

• Paternity Leave 

Like maternity leave is for working women, male employees are granted paternity leave in some companies. While not yet mandatory under Indian labor laws, the Paternity Benefit Bill (2017) proposes 15 days of paternity leave for new fathers. Many private companies voluntarily offer this leave to help employees balance work and family responsibilities. Male employees can check if paternity leave is a part of their company’s leave policy.  

• Marriage Leave 

In some companies in India, marriage leave is granted for employees who are getting married or if someone from their family is getting married. Typically, the duration of marriage leaves is from 3 to 15 days depending on the company's leave policy. Also, this leave is not legally mandated, but many companies might require proof such as a wedding invitation for approval of marriage leave.  

• Menstruation Leave 

Recently companies like L&T, Swiggy & Zomato have offered menstruation leave for female employees. This leave allows female employees to take leave for one or two days. As there is no mandate in India for menstruation leave some companies have started offering this leave so that female employees can rest and take care of their hygiene during the period.  

• Bereavement Leave 

In the unfortunate event of a death in the family, bereavement leave allows employees to grieve and make necessary funeral arrangements. While not legally required, many companies offer 2 to 5 days of paid leave for such situations. 

• Sabbatical Leave 

A sabbatical is a special leave that lets employees take time off to learn new skills, advance their education, or handle personal matters like health or family issues. It helps them grow and contribute better to the company in the future.   

Employees can request a sabbatical for studies, a career break, or personal reasons, but it isn’t approved right away and needs to be planned. Since it’s a long-term break, it is usually unpaid. It is not a legal requirement, but many companies offer it as a retention strategy. 

• Compensatory Leave (Comp-off) 

Employees who work on weekends or public holidays can claim compensatory leave instead of receiving overtime pay. These leaves usually have a limited validity period and must be used within a set timeframe. Check this video to learn more about comp-off leave.  

• Compassionate Leave 

Compassionate leave is a special leave granted in rare cases of family emergencies, such as a family member's illness, death, or other serious situations. Companies provide this leave to support employees during difficult times, so it should be used only in extreme cases. 

Many people confuse compassionate leave with bereavement leave, but they are different. Bereavement leave is specifically for mourning the loss of a loved one, while compassionate leave allows you to care for an ill family member. In India, there is no standard policy for compassionate leave, and the number of days granted varies across organizations.  

• Loss of Pay (LOP) Leave 

When an employee exhausts their leave balance, they may take leave without pay. Many companies limit LOP leave to a maximum of 5 days per year to prevent excessive absenteeism. To apply for such leaves employees can use apps like runtime workman and human resource professionals can approve/reject the leave using the same app. Our ESS app helps to automate leave and attendance and helps the human resource manager to approve/reject leaves like (LOP) within the same app.  

• National & Public Holidays 

Indian labor laws mandate holidays for Republic Day (Jan 26), Independence Day (Aug 15), and Gandhi Jayanti (Oct 2). Additional public holidays, such as Diwali and Eid, vary by state and industry. Do you have access to your company's holiday calendar? Employees are entitled to know the holidays granted by their company in the year to plan any occasions or personal time. Many online employee management software in India lets HR display a holiday calendar for the year with some additional benefits.  

Click on the link to read more about holidays in 2025.  

How to create an Effective Leave Policy? 

For businesses, creating a well-structured leave policy ensures compliance, employee satisfaction, and productivity. Modern HR and payroll software, like Runtime HRMS, can help streamline leave tracking, approvals, and encashment processes, making leave management effortless. 

At Runtime HRMS, we provide automated leave and payroll solutions to help organizations maintain transparency and efficiency. More than 20,000+ users are empowered with Runtime Workman our employee self-service app that helps employees to perform 30+ HR operations like time & attendance management, leave management, salary slips, payroll information, selfie punch with face detection, rewards and recognition plus many more. With Runtime Workman, it’s easier to apply for leaves whereas the HR managers can approve or reject the leaves using the same app.  

Do you want to simplify your company’s leave management? Visit Runtime HRMS today!