Key Leave & Holiday Considerations:

Public & National Holidays
India observes a mix of national, gazetted, restricted and state-specific holidays. Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti are widely recognised national holidays, while additional holidays vary by state, religion, industry and local government calendars.

State & Festival Holidays
The final holiday calendar for an employee depends heavily on the state in which they work. Higher Ground builds location-specific holiday calendars so teams remain compliant locally while maintaining clear coverage for your UK operation.

Earned / Privilege Leave
Annual leave entitlement and accrual rules vary by applicable state Shops and Establishments legislation and employment category. Some frameworks provide leave based on days worked, with rules governing carry-forward and encashment.

Casual & Sick Leave
Casual and sick leave entitlements are also commonly governed at state level. Rather than applying one national allowance across every employee, Higher Ground configures leave policies around the rules that apply to the employee’s location and working arrangement.

Maternity Leave
Eligible employees can receive up to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first two surviving children under the Maternity Benefit framework, with up to eight weeks permitted before the expected delivery date. Other provisions apply in different circumstances, including adopting and commissioning mothers.

How Higher Ground Supports You
Higher Ground manages the operational administration around employee leave and holiday entitlements.
We maintain location-specific holiday calendars, track leave balances and accruals, manage employee requests, and give managers visibility of upcoming absences and team availability.
Where your team works UK-aligned schedules, we can also help plan coverage around both Indian holidays and important UK working days — while keeping statutory requirements and employee entitlements intact.