Home » Blog » What public holidays will team members/staff in India take?
This question frequently arises with clients considering developing a remote component of their team in India. It is an important question too. For practical workforce planning considerations and to respect people’s time away from work for celebrations, it is essential to understand differences in public holidays between countries where your team or customers are.
United Kingdom:
In the UK, public holidays, commonly called “bank holidays,” are fixed UK-wide with very little variation between constituent nations. Northern Ireland does best with extra days for St. Patrick and one for July 12th, and in Scotland, there’s no holiday for Easter Monday but an extra day at New Year. Where there is an extra day for some event, like the King’s coronation, it is UK-wide.
India:
India, on the other hand, has quite a different system. While certain holidays, such as Independence Day, Republic Day, and Gandhi Jayanti, are observed nationwide, many others vary. Each state and union territory designates additional days as holidays or optional holidays according to local customs, festivals and religious traditions. The list of days that are optional/negotiated public holidays somewhere in India is very long. Be prepared to scroll and check out this Wikipedia article which lists them: Public holidays in India – Wikipedia
Hmm, this sounds complicated. How will I know when my offshore team will or won’t be available for work?
Good question. I can say how things work in Valenta. I’d imagine other providers might have similar systems.
Our staff can take up to 10 public holidays. 7 of these are determined by nationwide holidays and the office location. An individual elects a further three days from the designated days for their region. This is done at the beginning of the year, or when they onboard to us, so it is accommodated in forward planning.
Is there anything else I should consider?
It will depend on the nature of the work being done offshore, but it is important to respect the individual, family, and regional traditions as far as possible. When I am discussing a new engagement with a client, I explain that there is some uncertainty on public holidays as it depends on which office we place the work in and the individuals that will be assigned. We wouldn’t know those details until the work is committed and resources are planned. It shouldn’t be a big deal, like asking whether a new team member has any holidays already booked – you wouldn’t know for sure until you have decided to take that person on, and a day here or there might affect the start date, but not the overall decision.
Asking a candidate offshore staffing provider about this topic will indicate how they manage workforce relations. You will get better long-term assignment stability if your supplier has good workforce relations.
Of course, if your baseline requirement is 24/7/365 or some other extended working day, the sooner that is figured out, the better. I have written an article about working hours here.
If you are ready to start talking about developing your offshore team, please send me a direct message.
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