Gifting leave to one in need is a good deed indeed

In case you were one of those left with unused leaves in 2023, read on.

Some companies are offering such employees a chance to gift their leaves to colleagues who are in need of time off and, in return, get incentives.

According to the findings of a recent Deloitte survey shared exclusively with ET, the reasons for adopting such a policy include promoting a culture of camaraderie and collaboration. It also helps new employees who may have a low leave balance. The Deloitte India Benefits Study, conducted in 2023, covered more than 200 firms spanning sectors such as manufacturing, services, pharmaceuticals, technology, financial services and consumer. ET spoke to executives at companies including Marico, Persistent Systems and BT Group India who confirmed that they have adopted such a policy.


"This promotes a culture of camaraderie, collaboration and looking out for one another in times of need. In addition, it also reduces the financial liability on account of leave accrual for an organisation," said Neelesh Gupta, director, Deloitte India.

'Gift-a-leave policy', where employees can gift leaves to another employee during emergencies, is a differentiated practice being adopted by progressive companies, especially now, Gupta said.

The local unit of UK-based telecoms company, BT Group, rolled out the policy in August 2023, as part of its HR policy refresher project for India.

"The utilisation is picking up gradually (as of now, it is less than 1%) and it is primarily because it is utilised only in crisis situations. However, the feedback has been great," said Jay Muthu, HR director, BT Group India.

Starting this year, the BT Group has also introduced a 'Flexi Bank Holiday' option for all employees in India.

"This provides an opportunity to all colleagues in India to select their public holidays from a state-gazetted list (excluding mandatory holidays) and also choose one personal day," said Muthu.

Marico has a 'Leave Sharing' policy. "Through this, members enable and support each other in meeting personal and professional commitments," CHRO Amit Prakash said.

Persistent Systems implemented a 'Donate/Gift Your Leave' policy during the Covid-19 pandemic. As fewer people started utilising it after the pandemic, the company expanded the scope of the policy. "A couple of quarters ago, we enhanced this policy to extend support to underprivileged segments of society by enabling employees to donate leave (its cash equivalent through the leave encashment route) to our CSR fund," said chief people officer Yogesh Patgaonkar.

Gift a leave helps in providing a safety net to employees, especially new employees, said experts.