Leave Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

This document sets out the leave entitlements, holiday arrangements, and approval process for all full-time and probationary employees of Kaagazy Technologies Private Limited across India. It covers definitions, leave types, entitlements, public and restricted holidays, accrual and encashment rules, and the application process.

Where the law applicable to an employee provides a benefit more favourable than this policy, that benefit applies.

The current version of this policy is published at www.swasthiq.com/company/policies/employee-leave and is also available to every employee through the HRMS portal. The version published at that address is the authoritative version. Printed or forwarded copies are for reference only.

2. Eligibility and Applicability

• The policy applies to all regular, full-time employees engaged by the Company anywhere in India.
• Probationers are eligible for Casual Leave, Sick Leave, and Menstrual Leave from the date of joining. Privilege Leave accrues from the first day of employment and may be availed from the date of joining with the approval of the reporting manager.
• Contractual, part-time, consultant, and temporary staff are governed by the terms of their individual engagement. Interns are covered separately at Section 10.
• Employees deputed to, or employed in, any other state are governed by this policy, with any additional entitlement of that state applying automatically and in addition, as set out at Section 9.

3. Leave Year

• The leave year runs from 1 January to 31 December.
• Employees joining mid-year receive entitlements on a pro-rata basis calculated from the date of joining, except for Menstrual Leave, which is credited in full for the joining month.
• Entitlements are computed on a calendar-month basis, from the first to the last day of each month.

4. Types of Leave and Entitlement

4.1 Summary of annual entitlements

4.2 Privilege / Earned Leave (PL or EL)

Entitlement: 15 days per calendar year, accruing at 1.25 days for each completed calendar month of service, pro-rated for joiners and leavers.

Eligibility

• Accrues from the first day of employment and may be availed from the date of joining with the approval of the reporting manager, subject to accrued balance.
• Privilege Leave may not be taken in advance of accrual except with the written approval of Human Resources and a Director.

Carry forward

• Unused Privilege Leave may be carried forward into the next leave year up to a maximum accumulated balance of 30 days.
• Any balance above 30 days as at 31 December is encashed at the employee’s option, or otherwise lapses.

Encashment

• On separation by resignation, retirement, or termination, all accrued and unused Privilege Leave is encashed at the rate of the employee’s last drawn full wages, not basic salary alone.
• Encashment is computed as: (accrued unused days) × (last drawn monthly full wages ÷ 26), less applicable deductions. Encashment is taxable as salary income.
• Settlement is made within two working days of the last working day.
• In-service encashment is at the discretion of the Company, except where the Company has refused leave that was properly applied for, in which case the refused leave is encashable on request.

4.3 Casual Leave (CL)Revised

Entitlement: 8 days per calendar year, credited 2 days per quarter in advance on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, and 1 October.

Purpose and conditions

• For short, unforeseen personal absences that are not covered by any other leave type.
• Ordinarily not more than 3 days may be taken at one time.
• Available from the date of joining, including during probation. Pro-rated for the joining quarter.
• No supporting documentation is required.

Carry forward: Not permitted. Unused Casual Leave lapses at the end of the leave year.
Encashment: Not permitted.

4.4 Sick Leave (SL)

Entitlement: 6 days per calendar year, credited on 1 January or on the date of joining, pro-rated for joiners.

Purpose: Illness, injury, disability, medical or dental treatment, and recovery.

Medical certificate

• A registered medical practitioner’s certificate is required for any continuous absence of 3 or more consecutive working days, to be submitted within 2 working days of return.
• For an absence of 2 working days or less, self-certification through the HRMS is sufficient.
• Absence not supported by the required documentation may be treated as Leave Without Pay.

Carry forward: Not permitted. Encashment: Not permitted.

4.5 Menstrual Leave (ML)New

Entitlement: 1 paid day in every calendar month for all female employees, regardless of grade, location, or length of service. A second day may be taken in the same month on request, by self-declaration through the HRMS, giving a maximum of 2 days in any month.

Credit and expiry

• Credited automatically on the first day of every calendar month.
• Unused Menstrual Leave expires at the end of that calendar month and is replaced by a fresh credit on the first day of the following month.
• There is no carry forward to the next month or to the next leave year, and no encashment under any circumstance.
• The entitlement cannot be converted into, or exchanged for, any other leave type, and is credited in full in the month of joining without pro-rating.

How it is taken

• Each day may be taken as one full day or as two half days.
• Where a second day is taken in the same month, the days must be taken on consecutive working days, and the whole entitlement used that month must fall within a period of 7 calendar days beginning on the first day it is taken.
• The 7-day period cannot extend beyond the end of the calendar month. Any part of the entitlement not taken by the last day of the month lapses.
• No medical certificate, prescription, or documentation of any kind is required. A self-declaration through the HRMS is sufficient.
• The leave may be applied for on the day itself, including after the start of the working day. Advance notice is not required.
• Applications are recorded in the HRMS under a confidential leave category. The reason is not disclosed to the wider team, and the leave balance is visible only to the employee, the reporting manager, and Human Resources.

Protection

• Menstrual Leave is fully paid at normal salary and is not counted as absence for any purpose, including attendance records, confirmation of probation, increments, promotion, appraisal ratings, or attendance-linked incentives.
• Use of this entitlement will not be raised in any performance discussion, and no employee is required to explain or justify taking it.
• No employee is obliged to use this entitlement. Employees who prefer to use Casual Leave or Sick Leave instead may do so.

4.6 Maternity Leave and Related BenefitsRevised

Eligibility and conditions

• Available to every female employee, permanent or contractual, who has worked at least 80 days in the 12 months preceding the expected date of delivery.
• The 12-week adoption entitlement applies regardless of the age of the adopted child.
• Work from home may be agreed after maternity leave ends, on mutually agreed terms, where the nature of the work permits it.
• All other benefits, including health insurance, continue during maternity leave. Return to the same or an equivalent position is guaranteed, with no loss of seniority.
• A creche facility will be provided once the Company employs 50 or more persons, with four visits per day permitted.

4.7 Paternity Leave

• Entitlement: 5 paid working days for male employees, on the birth or adoption of a child.
• Timing: To be availed within 30 days of the birth or of the date the adopted child is handed over.
• Documentation: Birth certificate or adoption order.
• Paternity Leave may be combined with Casual Leave or Privilege Leave where a longer absence is needed.

4.8 Marriage Leave

• Entitlement: 3 paid working days, once during the tenure of employment, for the employee’s own marriage.
• Documentation: Marriage certificate or a copy of the invitation.

4.9 Bereavement Leave

• Entitlement: 3 paid working days on the death of an immediate family member.
• Immediate family: Spouse, child, parent, parent-in-law, and sibling.
• Documentation: Death certificate or funeral notice, which may be submitted after return.
• Additional leave beyond 3 days may be taken as Casual Leave, Privilege Leave, or unpaid leave, with the approval of the reporting manager.

4.10 Compensatory Off

Purpose: Time off granted for official work performed on a declared company holiday, on a weekly off, or on a public holiday when the employee is called in for a critical business need.

• One full day of Compensatory Off is granted for each full day of such work. A half day is granted for four hours or more but less than a full day.
• Compensatory Off must be availed within 60 days of the date on which it was earned, after which it lapses.
• It cannot be carried forward into the next leave year and cannot be encashed.
• It may be combined with other leave types with the approval of the reporting manager.

4.11 Leave Without Pay (LWP)

Purpose: Absence beyond the available leave balance, or absence that has not been approved.

• No salary is paid for days taken as Leave Without Pay.
• Continuous Leave Without Pay beyond 5 working days may affect increment, promotion, and other discretionary benefits.
• Prolonged or repeated Leave Without Pay may attract disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
• Effect on gratuity: Leave Without Pay does not by itself break continuous service. However, unpaid days do not count as days worked, so a long spell of unpaid leave may mean that year does not count towards the qualifying period for gratuity. Paid leave, and up to 12 weeks of maternity leave, do count as days worked.

Leave Without Pay should be used only where no other leave balance is available.

5. Public Holidays and Restricted Holidays

5.1 Company-declared public holidays

The Company publishes an annual holiday calendar before the start of each calendar year. The 2026 calendar is at Appendix A.

• Total: 11 paid public holidays per calendar year, applicable across all locations in India.
• National holidays: Republic Day (26 January), May Day (1 May), Independence Day (15 August), and Gandhi Jayanti (2 October).
• Festival holidays: Major national and regional festivals, selected to give pan-India representation.
• Company-declared days: Founder’s day, company anniversaries, or other days declared by management.

Holiday falling on a weekly off

• The Company’s working week is Monday to Saturday. Sunday is the weekly off.
• Where a public holiday falls on the weekly off, it is not separately credited and no substitute day is granted, except where the Company specifically declares a substitute day in the annual calendar. Any such substitute day is named in Appendix A.
• Where the Company requires an employee to work on a public holiday or on the weekly off, Compensatory Off is granted under clause 4.10.

5.2 Restricted holidays

• The Company publishes a list of regional, religious, and cultural holidays each year. The 2026 list is at Appendix B.
• Entitlement: Each employee may avail up to 3 restricted holidays per calendar year, chosen from that list, subject to the approval of the reporting manager and to business continuity.
• The office remains open on restricted holiday dates. Only the employees whose applications have been approved are absent.
• No leave balance is deducted. Restricted holidays do not carry forward and cannot be encashed.
• Applications must be made through the HRMS at least 7 days in advance.

6. Accrual, Carry Forward, and Encashment

6.1 Accrual

All entitlements other than Menstrual Leave and Restricted Holidays are pro-rated for employees who join or leave during the year.

6.2 Carry forward

• Privilege Leave: Carried forward up to a maximum accumulated balance of 30 days.
• Casual Leave, Sick Leave, Compensatory Off, Restricted Holidays: Do not carry forward. These lapse on 31 December.
• Menstrual Leave: Does not carry forward. It lapses at the end of each calendar month.
• Interns: No leave of any type carries forward beyond the internship term.

6.3 Encashment

• Privilege Leave is the only leave type that is encashable, and only for employees. No leave is encashable for interns.
• Encashment on separation is at last drawn full wages, computed as set out in clause 4.2, and is settled within two working days of the last working day.
• In-service encashment is at the discretion of the Company, other than in respect of leave the Company has refused.
• Leave encashment is computed and paid separately from gratuity, and is treated as additional compensation.

7. Applying for and Availing Leave

7.1 Application process

• All leave must be applied for through the Company HRMS portal. Where the HRMS is unavailable, the application must be sent by email to the reporting manager with Human Resources in copy, and entered in the HRMS on restoration.
• The reporting manager reviews and approves or declines the application, taking account of team coverage, business requirements, and available balance. Human Resources validates the balance and policy compliance.

Notice periods

7.2 Availing leave

• Leave may be taken only after approval is recorded in the HRMS, other than in the emergency cases identified above.
• Absence without prior approval is treated as Leave Without Pay and may attract disciplinary action.
• For sick leave of 3 or more consecutive working days, a doctor’s certificate must be submitted within 2 working days of return.
• Supporting documents for marriage, bereavement, maternity, and paternity leave must be provided as set out in the relevant clause. No documentation is required for Menstrual Leave or Casual Leave.

7.3 Restrictions

• Leave may not be taken on the date of joining or on the last working day without the written approval of Human Resources and a Director.
• During critical project phases, peak business periods, or force majeure situations, the Company may restrict or postpone leave, giving not less than 10 days’ notice. This does not apply to Sick Leave, Menstrual Leave, Bereavement Leave, or Maternity Leave.
• Leave during a notice period is subject to management discretion and to applicable law.

7.4 Return from leave

• Employees are expected to report for work on the scheduled return date.
• Delay in returning, without prior notification and approval, is treated as unauthorised absence and may be recorded as Leave Without Pay or referred for disciplinary action.

8. Clubbing Rules and General Conditions

8.1 Clubbing of leave

• Different leave types may be combined to form a longer continuous absence, for example Privilege Leave with Casual Leave, or Privilege Leave with Sick Leave, with the approval of the reporting manager.
• Example: an employee with 10 days of Privilege Leave and 5 days of Casual Leave may apply for a continuous block of 15 days.
• Menstrual Leave may be combined with other leave types but remains subject to the conditions in clause 4.5.
• Clubbing must be requested in the original leave application.

8.2 Weekly offs and holidays within a leave period

• Sunday, being the weekly off, and any company-declared public holiday falling within an approved leave period are not counted against the leave balance.
• Example: an employee taking Privilege Leave from Friday to Monday spans 4 calendar days, but as Sunday is the weekly off, only 3 days of Privilege Leave are deducted.
• Compensatory Off earned on a weekly off or a holiday is tracked separately, as set out in clause 4.10.

8.3 Leave refused by the Company

• Where the Company is unable to grant Privilege Leave that has been properly applied for, despite an available balance, it will give written notice not less than 30 days in advance.
• Leave so refused is encashable at the employee’s request, and any resulting balance above the 30-day accumulation cap does not lapse.

9. Employees Working in Other States

Where an employee is deputed to, or employed in, a state whose legal entitlements exceed those set out in this policy, the higher entitlement applies automatically and in addition to this policy. Human Resources maintains a state-wise leave matrix and reviews it each quarter. Where any ambiguity arises, the provision most favourable to the employee is adopted.

10. InternsNew

Interns are engaged under an internship letter for a fixed term, ordinarily 3 or 6 months. The leave entitlements and rules in Sections 4 to 9 of this policy apply to interns in the same way as they apply to employees, calculated on a pro-rata basis for the length of the internship, subject only to the four differences set out below.

10.1 Pro-rata entitlement

Leave accrues on the same basis as for employees, and is credited over the internship term.

Public holidays, the weekly off, Compensatory Off, Bereavement Leave, and Maternity Leave apply to interns in full and on the same terms as employees. Marriage Leave and Paternity Leave apply where the occasion arises during the internship.

10.2 The four differences

• No carry forward. No leave of any type carries forward beyond the end of the internship term. Unused balance lapses on the last day.
• No encashment. No leave of any type is encashable, including on early or normal termination of the internship. Clause 6.3 does not apply to interns.
• Loss of pay applies. Any absence beyond the accrued entitlement is treated as Leave Without Pay under clause 4.11, and the stipend is reduced pro-rata for each such day.
• Attendance condition for the certificate. An internship completion certificate is issued only where the intern has attended at least 85 per cent of the working days in the internship term. Approved paid leave counts towards attendance. Days taken as Leave Without Pay do not.

10.3 Other conditions

• Leave may not be taken in advance of more than 2 days of unearned accrual.
• All leave is applied for through the HRMS and approved by the assigned mentor, with Human Resources in copy. The notice periods in clause 7.1 apply.
• Where an intern falls below the attendance threshold, the Company may extend the internship by the number of days lost, at its discretion and with the intern’s agreement, so that the certificate can be issued.
• Unapproved absence of more than 5 consecutive working days will be treated as abandonment of the internship.
• An intern who wishes to end the internship before the agreed date must give 7 days’ written notice. The Company may end an internship with 7 days’ notice, or immediately for misconduct.
• Interns are bound by the same confidentiality and intellectual property terms as employees, and those terms continue after the internship ends. All equipment, credentials, and system access are returned or revoked on the last day.
• Interns are not eligible for gratuity or bonus.
• Where an intern is offered full-time employment, the Company may at its discretion count all or part of the internship period towards the probation period.

11. General Guidelines

11.1 HRMS

• All leave balances, applications, and approvals are recorded in the Company HRMS, which is the system of record.
• Employees are responsible for checking their balances and submitting applications correctly.
• HRMS records are the source of truth for entitlements and leave history. Verbal or informal approvals are not recognised.

11.2 Misuse and disciplinary action

• Repeated abuse of this policy, unauthorised absence, or the submission of false documentation may attract disciplinary action, up to and including termination, under the Company’s Disciplinary Policy.
• Patterns that may indicate misuse of Casual Leave include repeated absence on Fridays and Mondays, absence clustered around public holidays, and absence immediately before or after notice of resignation.
• Menstrual Leave, Sick Leave supported by a certificate, Maternity Leave, and Bereavement Leave are excluded from any pattern-based review of this kind.

11.3 Exceptions and waivers

• Any exception to this policy requires the written approval of Human Resources and a Director of the Company.
• All approvals must be documented in the HRMS or by email.

11.4 Policy changes

• The Company may amend this policy at any time, giving not less than 30 days’ notice, except where an earlier change is required by law.
• Changes are communicated through official company channels, published at www.swasthiq.com/company/policies/employee-leave, and reflected in the HRMS and the employee handbook.

12. Definitions

13. Contact and Clarifications

For any question or clarification relating to this policy, please contact:

Appendix A: Annual Holiday Calendar 2026

11 paid public holidays. All dates below fall on working days.

Appendix B: Restricted Holiday List 2026

Each employee may choose up to 3 days from the list below. Apply through the HRMS at least 7 days in advance.

Appendix C: Summary of Changes in Version 2.0

• Menstrual Leave introduced. 1 paid day per month, with a second day on request. Monthly reset, no carry forward, no encashment.
• Casual Leave defined at 8 days per year, credited 2 per quarter. Version 1.0 referred to it throughout but never set an entitlement.
• Sick Leave reduced from 7 days to 6.
• Public holidays reduced from 15 to 11. The festivals removed are available as optional days under Appendix B.
• Interns covered for the first time, at Section 10. Interns receive the same leave as employees on a pro-rata basis, with no carry forward, no encashment, loss of pay beyond entitlement, and an 85 per cent attendance condition for the completion certificate.
• Full day, half day, and working hours defined at Section 12.
• Privilege Leave carry forward raised from 20 days to 30.
• Leave encashment now on last drawn full wages, not basic salary, settled within two working days.
• Maternity benefits expanded to cover adoption, surrogacy, miscarriage, tubectomy, pregnancy-related illness, nursing breaks, and medical bonus.
• Restricted Holidays fixed at 3 days, replacing the inconsistent “2 to 3 days”.
• Casual Leave notice set at 2 days.
• Probation contradiction removed. Privilege Leave is available from the date of joining with manager approval.
• Working week clarified as Monday to Saturday, with Sunday as the weekly off.
• Section numbering corrected throughout, and contact email updated to hr@swasthiq.com.

Kaagazy Technologies Private Limited · Leave Policy v2.0 · Effective 1 September 2026. This web page is the authoritative version of the policy. Printed or forwarded copies are for reference only. The policy is also available to every employee through the HRMS.