Sick, casual and annual leave: a policy for small firms

"Sir, I was sick, why was my salary cut?" Most leave fights in small businesses happen because nobody wrote down the rules. A one-page leave policy solves most of them.

What the law usually requires

For shops, offices and factories, Pakistani labour laws (the Factories Act and the provincial shops and establishments laws) have for years set roughly:

Provinces have revised their labour laws, and the details differ for factories, shops and domestic staff, so check the current law for your province before you put numbers in a contract. Treat the table as a starting point, not legal advice.

A simple policy you can copy

1. Annual leave: 14 days a year after one year of service. Apply one week before. Unused days can be carried over up to a limit, or paid out.
2. Casual leave: 10 days a year for short, sudden needs. No more than 3 days at a time.
3. Sick leave: as per law. More than 2 days in a row needs a doctor's note.
4. Unpaid leave: any leave beyond the balance is cut from salary at the per-day rate.
5. Public holidays: as announced by the government. Staff who work on them are paid overtime.

Print it, have every staff member sign it, and keep it in their file.

Keep balances where staff can see them

The second biggest leave fight is "I still have 3 days left". When staff can see their own balance on their phone, that argument ends.

In Munshi

Munshi's HR and payroll lets you set your leave types and yearly days, staff apply from the staff app, the manager approves, and the balance updates by itself. Paid leave does not cut salary; unpaid leave does, at the per-day rate you chose. Start free.