Indian Employee Shocked by Bizarre Rule: “No Consecutive Holidays Allowed!”

A recently shared screenshot of an internal email has exposed a bizarre workplace policy in India, an employee was explicitly told they could not take two days of continuous leave, even if planned in advance. The post, titled “Planned leaves”, went viral on Reddit and quickly made rounds on Twitter and other platforms, sparking frustration and debate around leave flexibility.

In the email, the manager wrote: “Please avoid taking leaves 2 days at a stretch as it is impacting the entire team’s productivity. This month, you were allowed to take leaves on 28th and 29th October, but it is not possible to accommodate 26th and 27th November too. Either plan your leave on 26th or 27th.” The employee claimed they had submitted their leave schedule months ahead, only to be told that consecutive days off weren’t permitted because they would “put pressure on other team members”.

The email also revealed a restriction on combining leave with weekends, making it difficult to plan short getaways or family trips. Readers on social media were quick to empathise. One comment said: “Stop requesting leaves, just inform and go… they will not penalise you if you’re gone.” Another user added: “The project is dependent on you, but when things go south they will never think twice to throw you out.”

The incident has reignited a broader conversation about work-life balance, leave policy fairness, and whether modern workplaces are caught between productivity demands and employee well-being