Free template · Excel · updated 30 Sep 2026
Earned, casual and sick leave as a running ledger: opening, credit, taken, adjustment and closing, one row a month. Filled here with Asha Rao's earned leave for 2026, including the month a credit was missed and put right.
Earned leave · Asha Rao
| Month | Opening | Credit | Taken | Adjustment | Closing | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.0 | 1.25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.25 | because 8.0 was left on 31 Dec 2025, under the 30-day cap | |
| Feb | 9.25 | 1.25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.5 | ||
| Mar | 10.5 | 1.25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 11.75 | ||
| Apr | 11.75 | 1.25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.0 | ||
| May | 13.0 | 1.25 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 9.25 | because five working days, Mon 11 to Fri 15 May, and no holiday fell inside | |
| Jun | 9.25 | 1.25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.5 | ||
| Jul | 10.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 10.5 | because the July credit was not entered, so the balance ran 1.25 short | |
| Aug | 10.5 | 1.25 | 0.0 | +1.25 | 13.0 | July credit missed; added 3 Aug by Meenal | because a correction is a new line with its reason, never an edit to July's row |
| Sep | 13.0 | 1.25 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 14.25 | because the ledger now agrees with the balance: 14.25 days | |
| Oct–Dec | 14.25 | 3.75 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 18.0 | projected | because 1.25 more lands on 1 Oct, 1 Nov and 1 Dec if she takes no more |
| Carry to 2027 | 18.0 | up to 30 | because 18.0 is within the 30-day cap, so all of it carries forward | ||||
| Encash at year end | 0.0 | above 30 | because days above 30 cannot be carried; where the policy is silent they are paid out on the worker's demand rather than lapsed, for the workers the OSH Code covers |
because a balance should be the sum of its lines, and a mistake belongs on a line of its own, dated and explained.
No. 01
How to use it
because the only balance typed by hand is January's opening.
Three tabs: Setup for your leave types, cap and people; Ledger for the months; Year View for the year at a glance.
Rename the leave types to your policy (EL, CL, SL and one of your own), set the leave year and the carry-forward cap, and list your people.
Type each person's January opening, the balance carried in from last year. Every later month opens by itself.
Enter the credit and the days taken. If something was wrong, add an adjustment with its reason. Never type over a closing.
The Year View shows what carries into next year, up to your cap, and flags the days above it for encashment or your policy's treatment.
No. 02
Tab by tab
because the ledger, not a typed number, is the balance.
No. 03
The law behind it
because the cap and the year end are set by law, not by the spreadsheet.
Under the OSH Code, 2020, s.32, in force since 21 Nov 2025, a worker who has worked 180 days or more in a calendar year earns 1 day of annual leave for every 20 days worked, for the workers the Code covers. Up to 30 days carry forward, and unused leave is encashed on exit.
OSH Code, 2020, s.32; earlier under the Factories Act, 1948, s.79 (240 days; repealed)
OSH Code, 2020, s.32
OSH Code, 2020, s.32; the leave year is the calendar year. The Ministry's FAQs (MoLE FAQ, 16 Mar 2026, reply 26) read year-end encashment as applying to leave applied for and refused; where your policy is silent, pay out the excess on demand. A more favourable state law, such as Andhra Pradesh's 60-day accumulation, prevails (reply 25)
OSH Code, 2020, s.32
OSH Code, 2020, s.32
OSH Code, 2020, s.2(1)(zs)
OSH Code, 2020, s.32 and each state's Shops & Establishments Act and rules
OSH Code, 2020, s.32 · in force 21 Nov 2025 · checked by the LekhaHR team, 30 Sep 2026
No. 04
Common mistakes
because each one is a balance someone will dispute.
Under the OSH Code the leave year is the calendar year, and days above 30 cannot be carried. The Ministry's FAQs read year-end encashment as applying to leave applied for and refused; where your policy is silent, pay the excess out on the worker's demand rather than let it lapse, for the workers the Code covers.
A corrected number with no line behind it cannot be checked. Add an adjustment with its reason.
For workers the OSH Code covers, holidays that fall within the leave, or are prefixed or suffixed to it, are not counted as leave.
There is none. Casual and sick leave follow each state's law and your policy.
All unused annual leave is encashed when someone leaves, for the workers the OSH Code covers. The balance on the last day is the figure for the final settlement.
No. 05
In LekhaHR
because nobody should have to find the missing credit by hand.
LekhaHR credits leave on its date, counts each request against the policy, and shows the carry-forward before the year closes. An HR correction is a visible line with who made it and why. Days above the cap are staged for encashment in the payroll run.
because 8.0 was left on 31 Dec 2025, under the 30-day cap
because 1.25 is credited on the 1st, nine times so far
because five working days, and no holiday fell inside
Design preview · sample data
No. 06
Questions
Statutory answers carry the date the rule took effect.
Download the free template (no email, no account), rename the leave types on the Setup tab to match your policy, set the carry-forward cap and list your people. On the Ledger tab each person has one row a month, with Opening, Credit, Taken, Adjustment and Closing for each leave type. Only January's opening is typed; later months open themselves.
Closing = Opening + Credit − Taken + Adjustment. The next month opens with that closing, so the balance on any day is the sum of the lines above it. A balance is never typed over; if it is wrong, an adjustment line with its reason puts it right.
Under the OSH Code, 2020, s.32 (in force 21 Nov 2025), a worker who has worked 180 days or more in a calendar year earns annual leave at 1 day for every 20 days worked (for adults). A mid-year joiner qualifies after working a quarter of the days left in that year. Company policies are often more generous, such as 15 days a year.
Where the OSH Code's annual leave applies (from 21 Nov 2025), up to 30 days carry forward. The Ministry's FAQs (16 Mar 2026, reply 26) tie year-end encashment of the excess to leave applied for and refused; where your policy is silent, pay the excess on demand as s.32 reads. A more favourable state law prevails (reply 25).
Under the OSH Code, all unused annual leave is encashed on exit, whether the person resigns, is terminated or retires, for the workers the OSH Code covers. The tracker shows the balance to encash; the amount is worked out in the final settlement.
There is no national number. Casual, sick and festival leave follow each state's Shops and Establishments law, and some states combine casual and sick leave into one entitlement. That is why the template's leave types are labels you rename to match your state and your policy, not entitlements it asserts.
Workers as the Code defines them. People employed mainly as managers or administrators, and supervisors drawing over ₹18,000 a month, are outside that definition, so their leave follows your policy and the state's Shops and Establishments law.
Add an adjustment in the month you find it, with the reason in the reason column, as Asha's August row does for the July credit that was missed. The earlier row stays as it was, so the balance shows its own history.
OSH Code, 2020, s.32 · in force 21 Nov 2025 · checked by the LekhaHR team, 30 Sep 2026