A Reddit post exposing a company’s harsh leave policy overhaul has sparked online outrage, with users decrying merged sick leaves, penalties, and potential illegality-highlighting tensions in India’s workplaces amid calls for labour ministry intervention.
Screenshots from an internal LinkedIn post, shared on Reddit’s r/india subreddit under “Important Leave Policy Update”, reveal a firm’s sweeping changes to employee leaves, framed by HR and Recruitment Specialist Priya Sharma as “key updates” to simplify systems and align with “current work culture”.
The policy merges sick, casual, and privilege leaves into a single 15-20 day annual pool-down from separate entitlements-while introducing penalties like pay deductions or warnings for excess usage.
Critics, including thousands of upvotes and over 5,000 comments as of 16 December 2025, label it “demoralising modern slavery”, with one top comment stating: “Treating sick days like a holiday quota ignores real illnesses-especially for women with family duties or chronic conditions.”
The post, viewed 75,000+ times, captures widespread dismay. Netizens shared personal stories: a presumed employee wrote, “Post-pandemic burnout is real; this will push people to quit.” Another added, “It’s illegal under state Shops Acts-minimum 12 sick days are mandatory.”
No company response has emerged, but the thread tags India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, urging probes. Labour experts like advocate Kavita Rao note such policies risk...
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