What Is Comp Off
What if you work on weekends or public holidays or work extra hours? Wouldn’t you want some appreciation? Comp off does precisely that. It is ideal for motivating and incentivising employees to give their best.
If they work extra to help companies meet their targets on some tough days, compensatory off compensates them.
Let’s see how?
What Is Comp Off Meaning?
Comp Off or Compensatory Off is a concept that gives you leave on a working day for working on weekends or public holidays. Working overtime also can be availed as a comp off.
Companies set the number of overtime hours that can be exchanged for comp off in their leave policy. So, the next time you work overtime, pre-read your leave policy!
How Many Days Is A Compensatory Off Valid?
Sadly, the Indian Government has not stipulated any norms regarding this. Thus, every company has its criteria.
Most commonly, companies prefer to keep this period to 30 days which means you can get your extra time compensated within 30 days of your overtime. And after these 30 days, your compensatory leave expires.
Rules For Availing Compensatory Off?
The policies and rules associated with compensatory off largely depend on the company’s leave policy.
Generally, the rules are divided into two major categories.
#1: Rules for compensatory off due to working on public holidays and weekly days off
- Say, the employee worked on 15th August (Independence Day). Now, the employee can take his compensatory off from the next day onwards until the compensatory off is valid. If not used within this period, the off expires.
- When working on weekends that are an off in your company, the decision to consider the work done as a comp off or not lies with the employer. The boss or the employer decides whether the employee has come to the office for work he was called for. If it’s a yes, the employee can take the off. But again, the employer can say no for the off, depending on the workload.
- Although the Government does not set many rules in this respect, some say that the employee can take a leave along with a comp off too.
#2: Rules for compensatory off due to office tour on public holidays and weekly days off
- If you are working on an office tour on a public holiday or weekly day off, you are entitled to half a day’s compensatory off for working on each holiday or weekly off. Working here refers to meeting clients or time spent on the site.
- If the employee is spending the holiday of the tour in travel, he is not applicable for a compensatory off.
How Do You Avail It?
#1: Compensatory Off Request
When in need of leave, the employee applies for a compensatory off while specifying the duration they will be unavailable. But of course, they should have done some overtime in the past.
#2: Review the Request
The approver looks up for corresponding valid overtimes in place of which the employee can receive compensatory off benefits.
#3: Match The Overtimes And Off
Also, the approver investigates whether the overtimes are still valid for providing the off. Many leave management software auto-expire the overtime once the limit is exceeded to make things easy for HRs.
#4: Grant The Compensatory Off
If valid overtime is done in the past, the approver grants the leave. Otherwise, it suggests the employee look for other leave alternatives.
In A Nutshell…
Comp offs are a great way to incentivise and motivate employees for the hard work.
Employees can maintain their work-life balance better. So that when they return to work, their performance is at its peak.
Moreover, timely offs are required to maintain good physical and mental health.
This boils down to improved trust in the employer and better employer reputation.
Thus, it is a win-win situation for both. The employees get motivation and leaves. At the same time, the employer receives employee trust and good performance.
What can be better? Agree?
