June 20, 2023

If there are two public holidays occurring during the period when you are planning your block leave, how many consecutive working days of block leave should you take? Tough one, huh? Today, we have answered this and other frequently asked questions (FAQs) on block leave for the benefit of Sherus. Save this mailer and if you are eligible for block leave but have not availed of it yet, read the answers and plan your block leave today.

FAQs on block leave

Am I eligible for block leave?
All staff who joined before December 31, 2022 are eligible for block leave in 2023.

How many days of block leave do I get?
The mandatory block leave period is 10 consecutive working days. So you actually get 14 full days of relaxation in a row (including the weekends).

What if there is a public holiday during my block leave period?
A maximum of one public holiday can be included in the block leave period. If the public holiday occurs within or adjacent to the block leave period, whereby nine working days are identified for block leave, the public holiday can be considered as part of the block leave.

What if there are multiple public holidays during my block leave period?
If more than one public holiday occur within or adjacent to the block leave, whereby less than nine working days are identified for block leave, the additional public holidays shall not be considered part of the block leave and you will be required to extend your block leave by the number of the additional public holidays.

Can I take CSR leave as part of block leave?
CSR leave, that is the leave all staff are entitled to for participating in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, cannot be taken as part of block leave as per APAC leave guidelines.

I will go on maternity leave this year. Can I use a period of my maternity leave as block leave this year?
For the purpose of calculating the consecutive 10 working days for the block leave, one public holiday and periods of maternity leave/voluntary, without-pay leave/sick leave of no less than 10 consecutive days can be included in the block leave.

I go on a vacation with family every year. Does that affect my block leave?
If your annual leave is longer than the block leave (ie 10 consecutive working days), then your access to systems and premises will be blocked for the first ten working days by default.

Could I go on block leave in December?
We strongly advise you against planning your block leave in December or even in the last quarter. In the last two years, a large section of the staff availed of their block leave in the last quarter of the year especially in December, thereby disrupting the day-to-day processes in some departments and affecting the smooth functioning of the business. That is why to maintain business continuity, it has been made compulsory that at least 25% of the staff of each and every department and branch should avail of block leave in each of the four quarters of the year.

This year, two quarters of the year have already passed. To maintain business continuity, it is advised that at least 75% of the staff of each and every department and branch should avail of block leave before the end of the third quarter (ie before the end of September 2023) so that a large section of the staff does not go on block leave in the last quarter of 2023.

How can I apply for block leave?
If you are eligible, finalise your block leave dates after discussing with your manager and enter them on ShareKonnect before June 23, 2023.

I am a retainer, am I eligible for block leave?
All staff of Sharekhan — whether they are on roll, external resources, retainers, interns or trainees — who joined before December 31, 2022 are mandatorily required to avail of block leave before December 31, 2023. So if you joined on or before December 31 of the last year, you are eligible for block leave.

I am on notice period, can I go on block leave?
No. Employees serving notice period are not mandated to be on block leave as they need to serve the notice period and no leaves are allowed during the time.

I need to change my block leave dates. What should I do?
We strongly advise you against changing your block leave dates once these have been entered on ShareKonnect. Once your block leave dates are updated on ShareKonnect, the same will be considered as final and you will not be able to change the dates in the system. However, if you wish to change the dates for some reason, you must update the same on ShareKonnect at least two days prior to the start of your previously planned block leave with the approval of your manager; otherwise your terminal and e-mail ID will be blocked for the duration of the previously planned block leave dates.

Why must I go on block leave?
The purpose of block leave is two-fold: Risk control for the management and a sabbatical for the staff. Block leave allows you and your colleagues an opportunity to balance work and life. Take it. Reinvigorate yourself with block leave of 10 consecutive working days.

Will I be able to access my office e-mails when I am on block leave?
The whole idea behind taking a block leave is to forget work for ten days and recharge your batteries. You will not have access to any physical or virtual resources related to work responsibilities during block leave. Access rights to workstations as well as remote access will be locked from the first day of the block leave (0.01am) to the last day of the block leave (12 midnight).

By when must I finalise my block leave dates?
All eligible staff must discuss with their respective managers and finalise their block leave dates in the first half of a year itself. The first half of 2023 has already passed. If you have not availed or planned your block leave yet, you must finalise it by June 23, 2023 after discussing with your manager and avail it before December 31, 2023.

As an employee what are my responsibilities to be compliant with the block leave policy of Sharekhan?
The responsibility to comply with the Block Leave Policy lies with the employees. Follow these simple guidelines to be compliant with the policy.

1. If you are eligible for block leave, you must avail of your block leave every year.
2. Finalise your block leave dates after discussing with your manager in the first quarter of the calendar year itself. You must then also enter the dates on ShareKonnect.
3. You must not access any Sharekhan systems and applications, nor should you visit any Sharekhan premises during the block leave.
4. You should not perform your professional duties off premises either.
5. You must not attend any official trainings, official meetings on internal or external premises, client visit, seminar etc during your block leave.
6. On the last day at work before your block leave is due to start, save all documents and close all work sessions on your PC by clicking “Log off” or “Restart”.
7. Don’t forget to turn on the autoreply in your Microsoft Outlook with your block leave and back-up details for the benefit of those who may try to reach you in your absence.

I am a manager. What are my responsibilities with respect to the implementation of the Block Leave Policy of Sharekhan?
The responsibility to comply with the Block Leave Policy lies as much with the line managers as with their team members. As a line manager, you can help implement the Block Leave Policy by doing the following.

1. Ensure that each eligible direct reportee plans and takes block leave before the end of December every year.
2. Encourage your direct reportees to finalise their annual block leave dates after discussing with you in the first quarter of the year. As part of the process, they must then also enter the start and end dates of their block leave on ShareKonnect.
3. See to it that at least 25% of your team members goes on block leave in each of the four quarters of a calendar year so that a large section of the staff does not go on block leave in the last quarter of a year.
4. Approve all block leave requests on ShareKonnect at least 48 hours before the start date of such leaves.
5. Ensure business continuity during the vacation period of your staff.

What is Sharekhan’s compliance rate for block leave?
It has been five years since we rolled out the BNP Paribas Group’s Block Leave Policy for the employees of Sharekhan and we have achieved 100% compliance with the policy in each of these years, ie 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, thanks to the collective efforts of each employee, his or her manager and the Human Resources team.

Hope we have answered all your questions. If you have more questions related to block leave, feel free to write to us at hr@sharekhan.com.

Yeh FAQs wali mailer save kar, block leave plan karte hue refer kar, Sharekhan kar.