1. Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act. 2. Wages Boards Ordinance. 3. The Employees' Provident Fund Act (EPF). 4. The Employees' Trust Fund Act (EPF) 5. Payment of Gratuity Act. 6. Workmen's Compensation Ordinance. 7. Factories Ordinance. 8. Industrial Disputes Act. 9. Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act. 10. Minimum Wages (Indian Labour) Act. 11. Maternity Benefits Ordinance Salient Features of some of these Principal Labour Laws are: 1. AGE LIMIT 2. WORKING HOURS On any one day - not to exceed 9 hours (including one hour for meals and rest). In any week - not to exceed 45 hours. Note: 1. If working time includes the period between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. the rest and lunch interval should be one hour. If it includes the time 7 p.m. and 10 p. m. the rest and dinner interval too should be one hour duration. Any work period, which includes 4 p. m. and 6 p. m., and at any time after a duration of four hours such rest and meal interval could be for 30 minutes. 2. The provision regarding nine hour day and forty five hour week applicable to all persons employed in shops and offices does not apply with the same vigour to public corporation managerial executives. Administratively, the application of overtime rules are relaxed In the case of other persons holding similar posts in the private sector. Travelling inspectors, travelling agents, travelling salesmen, canvassers, and those in similar positions do not get coverage for the limitation of working hours. Similarly, reporters and press photographers of publishing houses and editorial establishments of newspapers also fall into this category. 3. Working beyond nine hours (with a break for rest and meals and overtime) each day is restricted to all females and to males below 18 years' of age. This prohibition is relaxed in the case of residential hotels, clubs, theatres, and air-line shops or offices. Females above the 18th year of age could be employed before 6 a. m. and after 6 p. m. in offices maintained by airlines, and those who work as ground hostesses, as receptionists In residential hotels, as ladies cloak-room attendants, as ladies linen-room attendants, or as ladies lavatory attendants. 4. A person who has not attained the age of fourteen years cannot be employed in or about the business of a shop or an office. A male between fourteen and eighteen years of age may not be employed in a shop or an office before 6 a. m. or after 6 p. m. on any day; any male between fourteen and sixteen years may however be employed in a hotel, restaurant or place of entertainment during the period between 6 p. m. and 10 p.m. Females below fourteen years are forbidden from employment before 6 a.m. and after 6 p. m. There are however relaxations extended to females who are eighteen years of age employed in hotels etc. 3. OVERTIME Rate of payment – 1½ times the ordinary remuneration (including C. 0. L allowances) Period of overtime - not to exceed 12 hours in any week Note: 1. An employee becomes entitled to overtime payments If he works for more than 8 hours a day or for more than 45 hours in a week. However, in some establishments the daily, and therefore, the weekly, hours are less than what the law allows. For instance, in some establishments the daily working hours are 7 or 7½ hours. In such cases an employee should nevertheless be paid at overtime rates for work beyond his normal working hours even though such normal working hours are less than 8 hours permitted by the Act. 2. The necessity of paying overtime rates for working in excess of 45 hours a week, as distinct from work in excess of 8 hours a day, would arise only In a situation where an employee does not receive his weekly holidays in a particular week but only in the succeeding week and, thereby, exceeds the weekly hours of work. For example, In a particular establishment the working hours are 8 hours on week days and 5 hours on Saturday, making a total of 45 hours in the week. If he works overtime during the period Monday to Friday he will receive overtime payments for work in excess of his normal working hours during the week, and not on the basis that he has exceeded the 45 hours in the week. If, in the same example, an employee worked 8 hours each day between Monday and Friday, works the whole of the Saturday and Sunday and receives his weekly holidays only in the next week then, by working on the Saturday afternoon and on Sunday he has exceeded the weekly hours of work and will receive overtime for that reason. 3. The period of any leave or holidays during the week will be deemed to be time worked for the purpose of ascertaining the number of hours he has worked In that week. 4. As the Act does not prescribe particular days in the week as the weekly holidays, the question of any special rates of overtime for 'work on 'weekly holidays does not arise. As stated earlier, if an employee does not enjoy his weekly holidays in a particular week then he receives overtime payment for having exceeded his normal weekly hours. 5. For any overtime work an employee is entitled to be paid at 1½ times the normal hourly rate. 6. For the purpose of computing overtime remuneration, the hourly rate of remuneration is worked out as follows:
7. Where an employee is employed on a statutory holiday he is entitled to one extra day's salary or to a paid holiday in lieu before 31st December of that year. 8. The Commissioner of Labour may at his discretion permit a worker to be employed on such holiday. 9. All Full Moon Poya days operate as 'dies non' for employees in shops and offices. Unlike in the case of Public Holidays, employment on Poya Holidays, does not require the sanction of the Commissioner of Labour; remuneration for work on Poya Holidays is one and a half times the normal pay for such day. Monthly remunerated workers would receive only one half day's pay. 4. LEAVE AND OTHER BENEFITS 4.1 ANNUAL LEAVE For those (a) who join between 1st January and 31st March 14 days In the year succeeding (b) who join between 1st April and 30th June 10 days in the year succeeding (c) who join between 1st July and 30th September 7 days in the year succeeding (d) who join on or after 1st October 4 days in the year succeeding Note: On cessation of employment an employee is entitled to leave earned in the previous year and also in the current year of cessation. If an employee is unable to avail himself of his leave entitlement before the cessation he should be remunerated in respect of his unavailed leave on the basis of one day for each complete month if the final period of employment is less than ten months; for 14 days If the period is over ten months. 4.2 CASUAL LEAVE Leave on account of private business, ill-health or other reasonable cause could be obtained upto a maximum of 7 days each year. New employees can obtain such casual leave on a pro-rata basis of one day for each complete period of two months. 4.3 MATERNITY BENEFITS Women in shop and office are entitled to 84 working days leave in respect of their first two live birth. Female employees are entitled to - (a) 14 days leave prior to confinement and to 70 days leave subsequent to such confinement (upto a maximum of two confinements) (b) 42 days (of which 14 days leave prior to confinement and the balance 28 days) subsequent to such confinement (for the third and subsequent confinements) Maternity leave 84 working day will be in addition to the any holidays falling within this period together with the weekly holidays. The Maternity Benefits Ordinance, but not Shop and Office Employees Act requires an employer of a female employee who is nursing a child under one year of age to allowed a two nursing intervals within the normal working day at such time as she may require. WAGES BOARDS have been established for a number of trades. These boards have the power to determine minimum rates of wages and overtime and fix working hours, days of leave and holidays etc. 4.4 EPF: All employees (other than government servants, local Govt. service employees, domestic servants, employees in charitable institutions or any institutions maintained solely for the purpose of religious worship or social service and employees in industrial undertakings which are carried mainly for the purpose of giving industrial training to juvenile offenders, orphans or to persons who are destitute dumb or blind) are covered by the EPF Act. Now even employment in the service of any charitable Institution or Institution maintained for the purpose of religious worship or social service employing 10 or more employees is also a covered employment. Contributions: Employer - 12% of the employee’s earnings Employees - 8% of the employee's earnings Employees electing to pay higher contribution can do so but the decision, once taken, is irrevocable. Contributions: 4.5 ETF : Employers have to contribute 3% of the employees earnings. This contribution brings for members a life insurance cover and certain medical benefits. 4.6. GRATUITY The Payment of Gratuity Act was promulgated to achieve two main objectives: (a) To make a payment of gratuity for the periods of service to the Indigenous workers of the estates, which were acquired by or vested in the L.R.C., on or after May, 1971 (b) To provide appropriate legal provisions for payment of gratuity to employees by employers. Part I of the Act came into force with retrospective effect i.e. on 26.08.1972. All employees, except Indian repatriate workers, who had completed a period of over 05 years uninterrupted service, on an estate or an agricultural land, at the time of vesting or acquisition, under the land Reform Act or the Land Acquisition Act, are covered by this Part and calculation of gratuity to those workers is set out In the Part I of the Act. Part II of the Act came into operation with effect from 31.03.83. All employees attached to private sector establishments and state sector Corporations which employ 15 or more workmen are covered by this Part. The Following employees are excluded from the coverage of this Part :- (a) Employees, employed in establishments which have less than 15 workmen. (b) Employees who do not count 05 years continued service. (c) Employees attached to Government Owned Business Undertakings, Co-operative Societies and Local Bodies. (d) Personal chauffeurs and domestic Servants. (e) Employees who are entitled to any non-contributory pension scheme. (f) Employees who are entitled to a more favourable gratuity under any Collective Agreement. Computation of gratuity to workers covered by Part II of the Act is made as follows :- Monthly Paid Employee - Half of the monthly terminal salary for each year of service, completed by the worker. Daily Paid Employee - 14 days salary for each year of completed service. The daily rate is deemed to be the terminal daily rate received by the worker. Piece Rated Employee - 14 days salary earned at piece rate, for each completed year of service. The average daily earnings during the preceding 3 months before the cessation of employment of the worker, has to be considered here. Factories Ordinance - provides for safety health and welfare of all workers in Factories. Special provisions have been made regarding the health safety and welfare of women and young persons who work in the Factories. Industrial Disputes Act – The Industrial Dispute (Amendment) Act No. 56 of 1999 prohibits certain unfair labour practices by employers. This law contains provisions for prevention, investigation and settlement of industrial disputes and matters connected therewith. Salient features of The Industrial Dispute Act are those providing for arbitration, establishments of Industrial Courts Labour Tribunals and Collective Agreements etc. An applicant seeking relief from a Labour Tribunal should make the application within 3 months of the date of termination. TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT OF WORKMEN (Special Provisions) Act No.45 of 1971 (as amended by the Law No.44 of 1976 and the Act No.51 of 1988) Any employer employing 15 or more workmen on an average in a scheduled employment shall not terminate (for any reason whatsoever other than by reason of a punishment imposed by way of disciplinary action) the services of a workman who has one year or more service under the employer without the workman's prior written consent or the prior written approval of the Commissioner of Labour. Termination effected in contravention of this Act is illegal and null and void. Any complaint to the Commissioner of Labour in respect of a termination in violation of this Act should be lodged within 6 months of such termination. |