How LOP days are determined
Start with the days in the pay period. Subtract present days, paid weekly offs, paid holidays and approved paid leave. What remains is LOP. Unapproved absence, exhausted leave balances, unauthorised late arrival beyond the grace rules (where the policy converts it to half-day LOP) and unapproved leave without pay all land here.
The regularization window matters: an employee who forgot to punch but was present should be able to raise a correction with manager approval before payroll locks, otherwise a missed punch becomes an LOP day.
Divisor methods and what they do to the deduction
For daily-rated and minimum-wage workers, the per-day rate is monthly wage ÷ 26, so one LOP day on a ₹15,600 wage costs ₹600. For monthly-salaried staff, companies commonly divide by the calendar days of the month or by a fixed 30. The same ₹26,000 salary loses ₹1,000 per day under the 26 method, ₹866.67 under a 30-day September and ₹838.71 under a 31-day October.
Whichever divisor you use, write it into the attendance and payroll policy and apply it consistently. Mixing methods between departments is a frequent source of grievances and inspection findings.
- LOP days = period days − present − paid weekly offs − paid holidays − approved paid leave
- Per-day deduction = monthly gross ÷ divisor (26, 30 or calendar days)
- All fixed components are pro-rated together, not just basic
- Show LOP days and amount on the payslip
Statutory ripple effects
Because LOP reduces basic plus DA, both employee and employer EPF fall for the month, and the LOP days are reported as non-contributory (NCP) days in the ECR. ESI is on gross actually paid, so it falls too. Professional tax slabs are usually tested on the reduced gross for the month in most states, though the slab amount itself is flat.
Extended LOP can also affect continuous service for gratuity and leave accrual if it is unauthorised absence rather than sanctioned leave without pay; keep the distinction clear in records.
An employee on ₹26,000 gross (basic ₹13,000) had three unapproved absences in September in a company using the 26-day divisor. Per-day pay is ₹1,000, so LOP is ₹3,000 and gross earned is ₹23,000. Basic pro-rates to ₹11,500, so employee EPF is ₹1,380 instead of ₹1,560. The payslip shows 23 paid days, 3 LOP days, and the ECR reports 3 NCP days.
Attend Mitra derives LOP days automatically from attendance, approved leave, holidays and weekly offs, applies the divisor configured in the payroll settings, and carries LOP days and amount onto the payslip and salary register. Regularization requests approved before the payroll lock reverse the LOP.