A Bengaluru-based HR professional has ignited a heated conversation online after drawing attention to the controversial “sandwich leave” rule, a workplace policy that many employees believe unfairly eats into their leave balances.
Rubin Tania Louis, who shared her thoughts in a LinkedIn post, broke down how the system works: if an employee applies for leave on both sides of a weekend or a public holiday, the intervening non-working days are also recorded as leave. For instance, if someone requests a Friday and the following Monday off, all four days — Friday through Monday — are counted against the employee’s leave entitlement.
Louis defended the rationale, saying the practice helps ensure leave allocation is “fair,” discourages workers from maximising extended breaks with minimal leave, and safeguards business continuity. She noted that exemptions may be granted for official assignments or medical needs, but only with prior HR approval.
Online Backlash and Employee Frustration
The post, which soon spread to Reddit, unleashed a storm of criticism. Many professionals branded the policy exploitative, arguing it punishes employees for non-working days. One Reddit user wrote, “Weekends are already non-working days — counting them as leave is absurd. This isn’t about fairness; it’s about control.”
Another added, “Control, plain and simple. The idea of an employee having a week off is abhorrent as it is to these people, let alone a week where two of the days didn’t even ‘count.’”
Sceptics also questioned the business logic behind such rules. “Isn’t using weekends as part of a vacation preferential to the company because they’re not paying those days? There’s not even logic to this,” a user asked.
Fears of a Toxic Work Culture
Some commenters went further, warning that enforcing such rules could erode morale and fuel attrition. One sarcastic remark read, “Guys! Guys! Guys! Have you heard the latest idea for getting our employees to quit? Wait’ll you all hear ’bout this shit. It’s amazing. Everyone will quit and we’ll save a ton of money! It’s BRILLIANT.”
Others challenged its legality. One user argued: “Not used by any organisation I worked for. Let’s extend this ‘sandwich leave’ concept a bit. You have earned 10 days of paid leave. You schedule, with appropriate approvals, a Friday and a Monday as leave. In a non-sandwich leave organisation, you consume 2 days of leave and are paid for 2 days. The weekend, being non-working time, is not paid. In a sandwich leave organisation, if they charge you 4 days of leave they had better be paying you for the 4 days. If not, I can’t see how it wouldn’t be illegal.”
A Policy Under Scrutiny
The viral discussion underscores growing tensions between employees seeking flexibility and organisations attempting to curb absenteeism. While some HR professionals argue that the “sandwich leave” rule protects operational stability, critics insist it undermines trust and reflects outdated management practices.
As workplace dynamics evolve, the debate has reopened broader questions about work-life balance, employee rights and whether policies like this ultimately harm rather than help retention.
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