How is earned leave calculated under the Factories Act?

Section 79 of the Factories Act, 1948 grants an adult worker one day of leave for every 20 days actually worked in the previous calendar year. A young worker (under 15) earns one day for every 15 days worked. The tool divides days worked by that ratio.

How are fractions of a day treated?

The Act says a fraction of leave of half a day or more counts as a full day, and a fraction below half a day is ignored. The calculator applies that rounding rule automatically to the raw quotient.

What about Shops and Establishments Act employees?

Shops & Establishments rules are set by each Indian state, so the ratio varies — many states grant roughly one day per 20 worked or a flat 15-21 days a year. Use the custom ratio field to match your state rule.

Do I count weekly offs and holidays as days worked?

No. Only days actually worked count toward accrual. Weekly offs, festival holidays, and days on leave are excluded. The eligibility threshold is having worked at least 240 days in the year under the Factories Act.

Is this a substitute for legal advice?

No. This is an estimator for the statutory minimum accrual. Your company policy, contract, or a more generous state rule may grant more leave, and carry-forward caps differ. Confirm specifics with your HR or a labour-law adviser.

India Earned Leave Calculator

The India Earned Leave Calculator works out how many days of annual earned leave (EL, also called privilege leave) an employee accrues from the days they actually worked. Indian statutory leave is accrual-based, not a flat annual grant: you earn it in proportion to attendance during the previous calendar year. The two main frameworks are the Factories Act, 1948 (Section 79) for manufacturing units and each state’s Shops & Establishments Act for shops, offices and commercial establishments.

How it works

Under Section 79 of the Factories Act, an adult worker earns one day of leave for every 20 days actually worked in the preceding calendar year; a young worker (below 15) earns one day for every 15 days. The core formula is simply:

earned leave = days actually worked / accrual ratio

The Act then applies a rounding rule: a fraction of leave of half a day or more is counted as one full day, and any fraction below half a day is dropped. So 250 days worked at the 1-in-20 adult rate gives 250 / 20 = 12.5, which rounds up to 13 days of earned leave. Eligibility to earn leave at all requires having worked at least 240 days in the year.

For Shops & Establishments employees the ratio is set by state law and varies, so the calculator lets you enter a custom days-per-leave ratio to match your state. The arithmetic — divide, then round at the half-day boundary — is identical.

Example and notes

An adult factory worker who worked 300 days last year accrues 300 / 20 = 15 earned-leave days. A worker who clocked 245 days accrues 245 / 20 = 12.25, which drops to 12 days because the fraction is below half. Note that earned leave is distinct from casual leave and sick leave, which are governed separately and usually do not carry forward, whereas earned leave can typically be accumulated up to a statutory cap. Every figure here is computed locally in your browser — no employee data is uploaded.