Archive · 9 Aug 2026
Can employees take leave while serving notice period? Rules explained
When people decide to leave a job, they usually need to keep working for a little while, and this time is called the notice period.
Some workers want to use their saved vacation days during that time.
But they need to ask their boss and get permission first.
Having vacation days saved up does not mean you can stay home automatically.
If workers stay away without permission, they might get in trouble or lose pay.
Courts have said different things about these situations.
One court said vacation days can be used during the notice period if the rules don't forbid it.
Another court said the two cannot run at the same time when company rules say otherwise.
The best advice is to check your company's rules and get written permission before staying home.
Employees may request leave during the notice period, but it generally requires the employer's sanction; unused leave balance alone does not entitle them to be absent.
Silence or failure by the employer to respond to a leave request should not ordinarily be treated as automatic approval.
The Delhi High Court in Ghanshyam v. DMRC (2007) held that sanctioned leave may run concurrently with the notice period unless the notice clause prohibits it.
The Supreme Court in CAMPCO Ltd. v. B. Vishnu Murthy (2022) held that leave and notice cannot run concurrently where service rules expressly bar the overlap.
Unauthorised absence can constitute misconduct and lead to disciplinary action or loss of pay, though courts consider whether absence was wilful or due to genuine circumstances.
- Who
- Employees serving notice periods, their employers, and Indian courts including the Delhi High Court, Gujarat High Court and the Supreme Court; the report was shared by Labour Law Reporter (LLR).
- What
- Whether employees can take sanctioned leave during their notice period and whether such leave runs concurrently with the notice period.
- When
- The LLR report was posted on August 7, 2026; the cited rulings span from 2007 to 2024.
- Where
- India, based on rulings by the Delhi High Court, Gujarat High Court and the Supreme Court.
- Why
- Because employees and employers hold conflicting views on leave rights during the notice period, and courts have clarified that leave must be sanctioned while overlap depends on contracts and service rules.
Employees' View
Employers' View
Using leave balance during the notice period
Employees' View
Many employees believe that having an unused leave balance entitles them to use it during the notice period.
Employers' View
Many employers believe that once a resignation is submitted, no leave can be granted during the notice period.
- Key principle
- Leave during the notice period generally requires employer sanction; unused leave balance alone is not an automatic entitlement.
- Concurrent leave ruling
- Ghanshyam v. DMRC (Delhi High Court, 2007): sanctioned leave may run concurrently with the notice period unless the clause prohibits it.
- Non-concurrency ruling
- CAMPCO Ltd. v. B. Vishnu Murthy (Supreme Court, 2022): leave and notice cannot run concurrently where service rules expressly forbid it.
- Unauthorised absence
- Can constitute misconduct under State of Punjab v. P.L. Singla (2008), with possible disciplinary action or loss of pay.
- Wilful absence test
- Authorities must consider whether absence was wilful, especially in illness or genuine hardship cases (Krushnakant B. Parmar v. Union of India, 2012).
- Special statutes
- May expressly prohibit overlap between leave/vacation and resignation notice (Shriram Manohar Bande v. Utkranti Samiti, 2024).
- Practical guidance
- Check the appointment letter, standing orders, service rules and leave policy, and obtain written approval for leave.