AttendMitra
Attend Mitra
Interactive demo
Leave · Glossary

Casual Leave (CL)

Also called: CL, casual leave days

Definition

Casual leave is short-notice paid leave for unforeseen personal matters such as a family emergency, a government appointment or a sudden household need. Entitlements are set by state Shops and Establishments Acts and company policy, commonly up to 12 days a year, and CL is usually granted for one to three days at a time, does not carry forward, and is not encashable.

Purpose and statutory basis

Casual leave exists so that employees can handle unexpected personal matters without losing pay or dipping into earned leave meant for planned holidays. The Factories Act does not prescribe casual leave; it prescribes earned leave. Casual and sick leave entitlements for shops, offices and commercial establishments come from the state Shops and Establishments Act, and for factories they come from standing orders, awards or company policy.

Entitlements vary by state, commonly up to 12 days a year for CL. Quote the figure from the Act applicable to the establishment rather than a national number.

Typical policy rules

Most policies allow CL to be taken for one to three consecutive days, require notice on the same morning where possible, do not permit combining CL with earned leave in a single spell (to prevent an extended absence being disguised as casual), and treat the balance as lapsing at the end of the leave year. CL is credited in full at the start of the year or pro-rated for joiners.

A half-day CL is a common provision that pairs well with a half-day attendance rule, so that an employee leaving at lunch for a bank visit does not lose a full day.

  • Short spells: typically 1–3 days at a time
  • Usually no carry-forward and no encashment
  • Cannot normally be clubbed with earned leave
  • Pro-rated for employees joining mid-year

Payroll and attendance handling

Approved CL is a paid day; it is not LOP, and it does not reduce EPF or ESI. When the CL balance is exhausted, further short absences either draw down earned leave (if the policy allows) or become LOP. The attendance system should apply this order automatically so that the payroll executive is not deciding case by case.

Because CL is short-notice, most disputes are about approval after the fact. A policy that requires the CL request to be raised within the day and approved within a set number of days keeps the register clean before the payroll lock.

CL exhausted in September

A sales coordinator with a 10-day annual CL entitlement (per her company's policy, which meets the state S&E minimum) has used 9 days by August. In September she needs three days for a family matter. One day is covered by CL; the remaining two draw on her earned leave balance of 6 days under the company's fallback rule. All three days are paid; her payslip shows 30 paid days and no LOP. Had she had no EL either, two days would have been LOP at ₹28,000 ÷ 30 = ₹933 each.

How Attend Mitra handles this

Attend Mitra supports casual, sick and earned leave as separate types with their own credits, per-request limits and lapse rules, with the balance visible to the employee before applying and approvals recorded for the attendance register.

Frequently asked questions

How many casual leaves are allowed in a year?
It depends on the state Shops and Establishments Act and company policy. Many states provide up to 12 days of casual leave a year for establishments they cover. Factories set CL through standing orders or policy. Check the Act applicable to your establishment rather than assuming a national figure.
Can casual leave be carried forward?
Under most policies and state Acts, no. Casual leave lapses at the end of the leave year and is not encashable, which distinguishes it from earned leave. A few companies allow a limited carry-forward as a benefit, but that is voluntary.
Can CL be combined with earned leave?
Most policies prohibit clubbing CL with EL in one continuous spell, because CL is meant for short, unplanned absence. Some allow CL to be used as a fallback once EL is exhausted, or vice versa; the policy should state the order in which balances are consumed.
Is casual leave paid?
Yes. Approved casual leave is paid leave and counts as a paid day for salary, EPF and ESI. Once the CL balance is exhausted, further short absences become LOP unless another leave type covers them.

Related terms

Earned Leave (EL / Privilege Leave)
Earned leave is paid leave an employee accrues in proportion to days worked, meant for planned time off. Under the Factories Act adults earn one day for every 20 days worked after completing 240 days in a calendar year, with carry-forward up to 30 days. Shops and Establishments Acts set their own EL entitlements, commonly 12 to 18 days a year, and EL is the leave type most often encashed.
Sick Leave (SL)
Sick leave is paid leave for an employee's own illness or injury. Entitlements come from state Shops and Establishments Acts and company policy, commonly up to 12 days a year, often with a medical certificate required beyond two or three consecutive days. For employees insured under ESI, cash sickness benefit from ESIC runs alongside or instead of employer-paid sick leave, depending on policy.
Loss of Pay (LOP)
Loss of pay is the salary deduction for days an employee was absent without paid leave to cover them. Payroll counts LOP days from the attendance and leave records and deducts one day's pay for each, using the company's divisor (26 or calendar days). LOP reduces gross, and therefore EPF, ESI and other proportional deductions for the month, and is shown as a separate line on the payslip.
Half Day (Attendance)
A half day in attendance is a day credited as 0.5 present and 0.5 absent, triggered when an employee works less than the minimum hours for a full day – commonly under 4 to 4.5 hours of an 8-hour shift – or by a policy rule such as accumulated late marks, a very late arrival or an early exit. Pay for the day is halved unless the shortfall is covered by half-day leave.
Leave Without Pay (LWP)
Leave without pay is leave that an employee applies for and the employer approves, but for which no salary is paid because the employee has no paid leave balance or the policy does not cover the reason. Unlike unauthorised absence, LWP keeps the employment relationship and usually service continuity intact, but the days are deducted from salary as loss of pay.
Compensatory Off (Comp Off)
Compensatory off is a paid day off granted to an employee who worked on a weekly off or a declared holiday, in lieu of that lost rest day. The Factories Act requires compensatory holidays when a worker is deprived of the weekly holiday, to be given within the same month or the two months following. Comp off is distinct from overtime pay, which compensates extra hours with money rather than time.

Go deeper

Leave policy for private companies in IndiaLeave policies setupIndia leave compliance guideLeave tracker Excel template

See how this works inside Attend Mitra

Verified attendance, shift rosters, leave, and payroll-ready reports in one platform built for Indian teams.

Browse all terms