Sick Leave Rules in Odisha

Under Section 14 of the Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1956, an employee who has worked 240 days or more in an establishment during a year is entitled, in the following year, to earned leave with wages at the rate of one day for every 20 days worked (one day for every 15 days for a child worker). In addition to this earned-leave entitlement, the same section provides every employee with up to 15 days of sickness leave a year — a notably higher sick-leave allowance than the 7-to-12-day range common in several other states' Shops Acts. As with other states, a doctor-issued medical certificate is the standard supporting document Odisha employers expect when sickness leave is availed.

Employees covered under the ESI Act at establishments within the scheme's reach can additionally claim ESI sickness benefit, administered separately by ESIC.