Comp Off Rules in India (2026): Eligibility, Validity and a Sample Policy

An employee works on a Sunday to finish a client delivery, or comes in on Diwali to keep a plant running. What do you owe them — a day off later, double pay, or nothing because they're salaried? How long can they keep that day off before it lapses? And who keeps track?

Compensatory off (comp off) is the most common answer in Indian workplaces, but the rules behind it are scattered across the labour codes, state Shops and Establishments Acts, festival holiday laws and company policy. This guide explains comp off rules in India for 2026: when it's required, when double pay applies instead, eligibility, validity, half-day comp offs, a sample policy and the mistakes that cause disputes.

General guidance as of 2 October 2026, not legal advice. Rules on weekly holidays and festival holidays vary by state and by type of establishment. Check your position with a labour consultant.

The short answer

• Comp off is a day off given in place of a weekly off or holiday on which the employee worked.
• For workers in factories and many shops and establishments, the law requires it (or extra pay) when they work on their weekly holiday, usually within a set window.
• For national and festival holidays, state laws commonly require double wages or a substituted holiday for employees who work.
• For managers and staff outside these rules, comp off is a matter of company policy.
• Typical policy: comp off must be approved in advance, availed within 30–90 days, and isn't encashable.
• Track it like leave — request, approval, balance, redemption — not on WhatsApp.

Where comp off comes from

Weekly holidays under the labour codes and state Acts

Workers are entitled to a weekly holiday. Under the OSH Code (which absorbed the Factories Act provisions) and most state Shops and Establishments Acts, if a worker is made to work on their weekly holiday, they must generally be given a substituted (compensatory) holiday within a specified period — commonly within the same month or the following two months — and the employer can't make them work more than a set number of days in a row without a holiday.

National and festival holidays

Most states have laws on national and festival holidays (for example, Republic Day, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti, plus notified festival holidays). An employee required to work on such a holiday is commonly entitled to twice the wages for that day, or, at their option or as the law provides, wages plus a substituted holiday. The exact rule — and whether the employee or employer chooses — depends on your state.

Company policy

For employees not covered by these rules — typically managers and many office staff — there's no general statutory entitlement. Your leave policy decides whether they get comp off, extra pay or nothing. Most companies offer comp off to keep things fair.

Rule of thumb: apply the statutory rule where it covers the employee, and your policy (if more generous) everywhere else.

Comp off vs overtime pay vs holiday pay

Situation	Typical entitlement
Worker works on weekly holiday	Substituted holiday within the legal window; overtime rules may also apply for extra hours
Employee works on national/festival holiday	Double wages, or wages plus a substituted holiday, depending on state law
Worker works beyond daily/weekly hour limits	Overtime at twice the ordinary rate of wages
Manager works on a weekend	As per company policy — usually comp off
Employee works a few extra hours on a weekday	Usually nothing for managers; overtime for workers

Comp off and overtime are different. Comp off replaces a day off; overtime pays for extra hours. A worker who works 10 hours on a Sunday may be entitled to both a substituted holiday and overtime for hours beyond the limit.

Eligibility rules most policies use

1. Worked on a weekly off or company holiday. Not on a working day, and not on a day of approved leave.
2. Pre-approval by the manager, except in emergencies.
3. Minimum hours — a full comp off for at least 6–8 hours worked, a half-day comp off for 4 hours, nothing below that.
4. Attendance record on the worked day (check-in, biometric punch or approved regularisation).
5. Request within a deadline — say, within 7 days of the worked day.
6. Grade limits — some companies exclude senior roles or provide a fixed number of comp offs per year.

Validity and expiry

Comp offs that never expire pile up and become a hidden liability. Most policies set a validity:

Validity	Notes
30 days	Common for shift-based teams; aligns with weekly holiday rules
60 days	Common middle ground
90 days	Common for office teams and project work
End of calendar year	Simple but allows balances to build up

For workers whose comp off is a statutory substituted holiday, validity must be within the legal window — you can't let it lapse before the law's deadline.

Also decide:

• Can comp off be encashed? Most policies say no; statutory entitlements may require pay if the holiday can't be given.
• Can comp off be combined with other leave? Usually yes, subject to manager approval.
• What happens at exit? Commonly lapses — unless it's a statutory entitlement, in which case pay it out in the F&F.

Worked examples

Example 1: weekend work, office employee

Ravi, an analyst, works 8 hours on Saturday 10 October (a weekly off) for a client deadline, with his manager's prior approval. Policy: one comp off for 6+ hours, valid 60 days.

• Comp off credited: 1 day
• Valid until: 9 December
• He takes it on Friday 23 October.

Example 2: half-day comp off

Meena works 4.5 hours on Sunday. Policy: half-day comp off for 4–6 hours. She gets 0.5 day comp off.

Example 3: festival holiday, state law requires double wages

Suresh, a machine operator, works on Gandhi Jayanti (2 October). His state's festival holidays law requires twice the wages for that day, or a substituted holiday at the employee's option. His daily wage is ₹800.

• Option A: ₹1,600 for the day (his normal ₹800 plus an extra ₹800)
• Option B: normal wages plus a substituted holiday

Record which option applies and why.

Example 4: expired comp off

Anita earned a comp off on 5 July with 60-day validity. She didn't use it by 3 September, and the policy says unused comp off lapses. It lapses — provided she isn't a worker whose comp off is a statutory substituted holiday, in which case she must be given the day (or paid) as the law requires.

Sample comp off policy

Compensatory Off Policy — [Company name]

1. Purpose. To compensate employees who work on a weekly off or company holiday.

2. Applicability. All employees. Where a law provides a substituted holiday or double wages for working on a weekly holiday or a national/festival holiday, that law applies and prevails over this policy.

3. Eligibility. An employee who works on a weekly off or a company holiday, with the prior approval of their reporting manager, is eligible for comp off:

• 6 hours or more: 1 day
• 4 to 6 hours: half a day
• Less than 4 hours: no comp off

4. Request. The employee must apply for comp off within [7] days of the day worked, through the HRMS, with a reason. The manager approves or rejects the request.

5. Validity. An approved comp off must be availed within [60] days of the day worked. Unused comp off lapses, except where the law requires otherwise.

6. Availing comp off. Comp off is applied for like leave and is subject to manager approval and business needs. It may be combined with other leave.

7. Encashment. Comp off is not encashable, except where required by law.

8. Exit. Unused comp off lapses on exit, except where required by law.

9. Records. All comp off requests, approvals and redemptions are recorded in the HRMS.

Comp off for shifts, remote teams and travel

• Rotating shifts. If weekly offs rotate, define the weekly off for each employee in the roster. Comp off applies when someone works on their weekly off, not on Sunday by default.
• Remote employees. Work on a weekly off must still be pre-approved and recorded — through an online check-in, a timesheet or system activity — so the request can be verified.
• Travel on weekends. Decide whether travelling on a weekly off for work earns comp off. Many policies give a half day for travel and a full day only if the employee also works at the destination.
• On-call duty. Being on call from home isn't the same as working. Policies often give comp off only if the employee is actually called in for a minimum number of hours.
• Comp off during notice period. Allow employees to use approved comp off during notice where business permits; otherwise, state clearly that it lapses.

Who should approve comp off?

Keep approval close to the work: the reporting manager confirms the employee actually worked and that the work was needed. HR's role is to check the policy rules — a valid weekly off or holiday, within the request deadline — and to watch for patterns, such as the same team routinely working weekends. Frequent comp off in one team is a signal of under-staffing, not just a leave balance.

Common mistakes

1. No validity period, so comp off balances build up indefinitely.
2. Letting statutory substituted holidays lapse — the law's window prevails over your policy.
3. Comp off for festival holidays where state law requires double wages.
4. No pre-approval, so employees self-declare weekend work.
5. No attendance proof for the worked day.
6. Tracking on email or WhatsApp, so no one knows the real balance.
7. Comp off on working days — that's overtime, not comp off.
8. Different treatment for similar employees without a written reason.

How PeopleVio handles comp off

What PeopleVio does:

• Comp off requests — employees request comp off for a date they worked, with a reason.
• Automatic eligibility check — PeopleVio only accepts requests for a date that was a weekly off or an applicable holiday (using your weekly-off settings and holiday calendar), and not for a future date.
• One request per worked date, so the same day can't be claimed twice.
• Approval workflow — managers or HR approve or reject each request, with a note, and every action is logged.
• Redemption — once approved, the employee redeems the comp off against the date they take off, and it's marked as used.
• Holiday calendar with national, festival and optional holidays, and probation rules for optional holidays.
• Attendance from mobile, geofenced or biometric check-ins, so you can verify the worked day.

What PeopleVio doesn't do (yet): it doesn't apply an expiry date, give half-day comp offs or check minimum hours worked on the day automatically. Apply those rules during approval, and use the request date to track validity.

Active employees	Monthly billing	Yearly billing (per month)
20	₹1,180	₹980
50	₹2,450	₹2,050
100	₹4,900	₹4,100

Prices exclude GST. See the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

What is comp off? A day off given in place of a weekly off or holiday on which the employee worked.

Is comp off mandatory in India? For workers covered by the OSH Code or a state Shops and Establishments Act, a substituted holiday (or the pay the law requires) is generally mandatory when they work on their weekly holiday. For others, it depends on company policy.

What is the validity of comp off? There's no single rule for all employees. Policies commonly set 30–90 days. For statutory substituted holidays, the legal window applies.

Is comp off given for working on a national holiday? Many state laws require double wages, or wages plus a substituted holiday, for working on a national or festival holiday. Check your state's rules.

Can comp off be encashed? Usually not, under company policy. Statutory entitlements may need to be paid if the holiday can't be given.

Can comp off be taken as a half day? Many policies allow half-day comp off for working 4–6 hours on a holiday.

Is comp off the same as overtime? No. Comp off replaces a day off; overtime pays for hours beyond the daily or weekly limit, usually at twice the ordinary rate for workers.

Does PeopleVio track comp off? Yes. Employees request comp off for a weekly off or holiday they worked, managers approve it, and employees redeem it against a day off — all in PeopleVio.

The bottom line

Comp off works when it's simple: worked a weekly off or holiday, got approval, got a day off within a fixed period. Know where the law requires a substituted holiday or double pay, write the rest into your policy, and keep every request and redemption in one system.

Tracking comp off on WhatsApp and Excel? PeopleVio checks that the worked date was a weekly off or holiday, routes the request for approval and tracks redemption — alongside leave, attendance and payroll. See PeopleVio's pricing or book a demo.

Related reading: Leave policy for private companies · Shift management software · Overtime management software · Late coming policy