Designing a leave policy for a distributed team

Balancing statutory minima, culture, and calendar coverage.

Priya Sharma November 2025 6 min read

Start with the statutory floor

Map earned, casual, sick, and maternity/paternity leave to your state's Shops & Establishments Act. That's the floor, not the target.

Publish 8 common holidays and offer 2-3 elected floating holidays. This respects a diverse workforce without exploding the calendar.

A shared team calendar with peer leaves visible reduces manager approval churn by 40%. Let people plan around each other.

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