‘Avoid Leaves On Mondays & Saturdays’: HR’s Response To Employee’s Sick Leave Irks Internet

Sick leave might be a ‘big deal’ in the rest of the countries, but in Indian organisations, most employees do not even get their sick leaves ‘approved’. Or so can be said based on the number of incidents that have come forward, where a sick employee was asked to come to the office or to work from home, despite their requesting a day off. In a similar incident, a man’s Reddit post recently went viral, which left the internet frustrated over the issue- yet again. Allegedly, the employee had applied for sick leave; however, the response he got from his HR left him reconsidering his future in the company.Allegedly, not only did HR ask him to “mention the reason properly”, but also reminded him of the office guideline asking employees to "avoid taking

leave on Mondays and Saturdays”. The HR then stated that the request cannot be accepted without a “proper reason”.“Guys, is this some red flag or what? So I was sick today and texted my HR of unable to report 2-3 hours prior and I get a response saying- Hi please mention the reason properly, I've already mentioned at the start to avoid taking leaves on Mondays and Saturdays, plus day before I've strictly gotten instructions from the management about the same. Can't accept it without a proper reason. Thanks,” the post read.The interaction was then followed by an email, with “all members put in CC”. The mail again reiterated how employees have been asked to avoid taking leaves on “Mondays, Saturdays, or immediately before or after a national/public holiday, unless absolutely necessary”.The mail also stated that such leave, in the future, will be treated as “Leave Without Pay (LOP)”.“It's followed up by the mail wd all members put in cc: We request everyone to avoid planning leaves on Mondays, Saturdays, or immediately before or after a national/public holiday, unless absolutely necessary. These are critical working days for the organization and will be moving further, and repeated leave patterns during these periods may impact operations. Going forward, such leaves may be treated as Leave Without Pay (LOP) if they are not supported by a valid reason or prior approval,” the post continued.For sick leave, the employees were asked to put in a request “at least 2 hours before the start of workday, i.e. before 9:00 AM”. The mail also asked the employees to “provide a medical certificate or supporting documents” in case the “illness required an extended period of absence”.“For Sick Leave (SL): Please update the leave request in Zoho People at least 2 hours before the start of your workday (i.e., before 9:00 AM) wherever possible. Kindly mention the specific reason while applying for leave. If the illness requires an extended period of absence, you may be requested to provide a medical certificate or supporting documents. I just wanna know is this genuine or some kind of poorly structured organisation with terrible management?” the post concluded.Turning to the internet, the man then asked if such a treatment was a “red flag”. Netizens were quick to respond to the post, with most calling out HR for the “toxicity”.Times Now could not confirm the details and the authenticity of the post.Check out the viral video: The post was shared on Reddit, by the handle ‘venkyls’. The post was shared 2 days ago and pulled many views from people.