3044640 payment of wages act 1936

7/31/2019 3044640 Payment of Wages Act 1936

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Applicability

It applies in the first instance to the payment of wages to personsemployed in any factory, to persons employed (otherwise than ina factory) upon any railway by a railway administration or, eitherdirectly or through a subcontractor, by a person fulfilling a

contract with a railway administration, and to persons employedin an industrial or other establishment specified.


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Responsibility for payment ofwages

Every employer shall be responsible for the payment to persons employed by him of allwages required to be paid under this Act:Provided that, in the case of persons employed (otherwise than by a contractor)-

(a) in factories, if a person has been named as the manager of the factory

(b) in industrial or other establishments, if there is a person responsible to the employerfor the supervision and control of the industrial or other establishments

(c) upon railways (otherwise than in factories), if the employer is the railwayadministration and the railway administration has nominated a person in this behalffor the local area concerned.

The person so named, the person. so, responsible to the employer, or the person sonominated, as the case may be; [shall also be responsible] for such payment.


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Fixation of wage-periods.

(1) Every person responsible for the payment of wagesunder section 3 shall fix periods (in this Act referred toas wage periods) in respect of which such wages shall

be payable.

(2) No wage period shall exceed one month.


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Time of payment of wages

(1) The wages of every person employed upon or in-

(a) any railway, factory or industrial or other establishment] upon orin which less than one thousand persons are employed, shall bepaid before the expiry of the seventh day,

(b) any other railway, factory or industrial or other establishment,shall be paid before the expiry of the tenth day, after the last day ofthe wage period in respect of which the wages are payable:

(c) in the case of persons employed on a dock, wharf or jetty or in amine, the balance of wages found due on completion of the finaltonnage account of the ship or wagons loaded or unloaded, as thecase may be, shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh day fromthe day of such completion.


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(2) Where the employment of any person is terminated by or

on behalf of the employer, the wages earned by him shall bepaid before the expiry of the second working day from theday on which his employment is terminated

Where the employment of any person in an establishment isterminated due to the closure of the establishment for anyreason other than a weekly or other recognized holiday, thewages earned by him shall be paid before the expiry of the

second day from the day on which his employment is soterminated.


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(3) The State Government may, by general or special order,exempt, to such extent and subject to such conditions as

may be specified in the order, the person responsible for thepayment of wages to persons employed upon any, railway(otherwise than in a factory) or to persons employed as dailyrated workers. in the Public Works Department of the CentralGovernment or the State Government from the operation ofthis section in respect of the wages of any such persons orclass of such persons:

Provided that in the case of persons employed as daily ratedworkers as aforesaid, no such order shall be made except inconsultation with the Central Government

(4) All payments of wages shall be made on a working day.


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Wages to be paid in current coinor currency*notes.

All wages shall be paid in current coin or currency notesor in both:

Provided that the employer may, after obtaining thewritten authorization of the employed person, pay himthe wages either by cheque or by crediting the wages inhis bank account


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Deductions which may be madefrom wages.

Wages of an employed person shall be paid to him without deductions of anykind except those authorized by or under this Act.

Every payment made by the employed person to the employer or his agentshall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a deduction from wages.

Any loss of wages resulting from the imposition, for good and sufficient cause,upon a person employed of any of the following penalties, namely:-

(i) the withholding of increment or promotion (including the stoppage ofincrement at an efficiency bar);

(ii) the reduction to a lower post or time scale or to a lower stage in a time scale;or

(iii) suspension: shall not be deemed to be a deduction from wages in any casewhere the rules framed by the employer for the imposition of any such penaltyare in conformity with the requirements, if any, which may be specified in thisbehalf of the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette.


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(2) Deductions from the wages of an employed

person shall be made only in accordance withthe provisions of this Act, and may be of thefollowing kinds only, namely:-

(a) fines

(b) deductions for absence from duty;

(c) deductions for damage to or loss of goods

expressly entrusted to the employed person orcustody; or for loss of money for which he isrequired to account, where such damage or lossis directly attributable to his neglect or default;


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(d) deductions for house-accommodation supplied by theemployer or by Government or any housing board set upunder any law for the time being in force (whether theGovernment or the board is the employer or not) or anyother authority engaged in the business of subsidizinghouse-accommodation which may be specified in thisbehalf by the State Government by notification in theOfficial Gazette.

(e) deductions for such amenities and services supplied

by the employer as the State Government or any officerspecified by it in this behalf] may, by general or specialorder, authorize;


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Maintenance of registers andrecords.

(1) Every employer shall maintain such registers and recordsgiving such particulars of persons employed. by him, the workperformed by them, the wages paid to them, the deductionsmade from their wages, the receipts given by them and suchother particulars and in such form as may be prescribed.

(2) Every register and record required to be maintained under thissection shall, for the purposes of this Act, be preserved for aperiod of three years after the date of the last entry made therein.


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Inspectors.

(1) An Inspector of Factories appointed under Factories Act,1948 shall be an Inspector for the purposes of this Act in respectof all factories within the local limits assigned to him.

(2) The [State Government] may appoint Inspectors for thepurposes of this Act in respect of all persons employed upon arailway (otherwise than in a factory) to whom this Act applies.

(3) The State Government may, by notification in the Official

Gazette appoint such other persons as it thinks fit to beInspectors for the purposes of this Act, and 'may define the locallimits within which and the class of factories and industrial orother establishments in respect of which they shall exercise theirfunctions.


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(4) An Inspector may,-

(a) make such examination and inquiry as he thinks fit inorder to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act or rulesmade there under are being observed;

(b) with such assistance, if any, as he thinks fit, enter,

inspect and search any premises of any railway, factory or[industrial or other establishment] at any reasonable time forthe purpose of carrying out the objects of this Act;

(c) supervise the payment of wages to persons employedupon any railway or in any factory or industrial or other

establishment;


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(d) require by a written order the production at, such place, asmay be prescribed, of any register or record maintained inpursuance of this Act and take on the spot or other wisestatements of any persons which he may, consider necessary forcarrying out the put-poses of this Act;

(e) seize or take copies of such registers or documents orportions thereof as he may consider relevant in respect of anoffence under this Act which lie has reason to believe has beencommitted by an employer;

(f) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed:

No person shall be compelled under this section to answer anyquestion or make any statement tending to incriminate himself.


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Claims arising out of deductions from wages or delay inpayment of wages and penalty for malicious or vexatious

claims. The State Government may, by notification in the Official

Gazette, appoint a presiding officer of any Labour Court or IndustrialTribunal, constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 orunder any corresponding law relating to the investigation andsettlement of industrial disputes in force in the State

Any Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation or other officerwith experience as a judge of a Civil Court or as a stipendiaryMagistrate to be the authority to hear and decide for any specifiedarea all claims arising out of deductions from the wages, or delay inpayment of the wages, of persons employed or paid in that area,including all matters incidental to such claims:

Provided that where the State Government considers itnecessary so to do, it ,may appoint more than one authority for anyspecified area and may, by general or special order, provide for thedistribution or allocation of work to be performed by them under thisAct.


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(a) a bona fide error or bona fide dispute as to theamount payable to the employed person, or

(b) the occurrence of an emergency, or theexistence of exceptional circumstances, suchthat the person responsible for the payment ofthe wages was unable, though exercisingreasonable diligence, to make prompt payment,or

(c) the failure of the employed person to apply foror accept payment.


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(4) If the authority hearing an application under this section issatisfied

(a) that the application was either malicious or vexatious, theauthority may direct that a penalty not exceeding fifty rupeesbe paid to the employer or other person responsible for the

payment of wages by the person presenting the application;or

(b) that in any case in which compensation is directed to bepaid, the applicant ought not to have been compelled to seekredress under this section, the authority may direct that apenalty not exceeding fifty rupees be paid to the StateGovernment by the employer or other person responsible forthe payment of wages.


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(5) Any amount directed to be paid under this sectionmay be recovered

(a) if the authority is a Magistrate, by the authority as if

it were a fine imposed by him as Magistrate, and

(b) if the authority is not a Magistrate, by anyMagistrate to whom the authority makesapplication in this behalf, as if it were a fineimposed by such Magistrate.


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Penalty for offences under theAct.

Whoever being responsible for the paymentof wages to an employed person contravenesboth inclusive, shall be punishable with fine

which shall not be less than two hundredrupees but which may extend to onethousand rupees or five hundred rupees


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(3) Whoever being required under this Act to maintainany records or registers or to furnish any informationor return

(a) fails to maintain such register or record; or(b) wilfully ref uses or without lawful excuse neglects to

furnish such information or return; or

(c) wilfully furnishes or causes to be furnished any

information or return which he knows to be false; or


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(d) refuses to answer or willfully gives a false answer toany question necessary for obtaining any informationrequired to be furnished under this Act;

Shall, for each such offence, be punishable with finewhich shall not be less than two hundred rupees butwhich may extend to one thousand rupees.


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(4) Whoever

(a) wilfully obstructs an Inspector in the discharge of his

duties under this Act; or

(b) refuses or wilfully neglects to afford an Inspector anyreasonable facility for making any entry, inspection,

examination, supervision, or inquiry authorised by orunder this Act in relation to any railway, factory or[industrial or other establishment]; or


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(c) willfully refuses to produce on the demand of an Inspector anyregister or other document kept in pursuance of this Act; or

(d) prevents or attempts to prevent or does anything which he

has any reason to believe is likely to prevent any person fromappearing before or being examined by an Inspector acting inpursuance of his duties under this Act.

shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than two

hundred rupees but which may extend to one thousand rupees].


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(5) If any person who has been convicted of any offencepunishable under this Act is again guilty of an offence involvingcontravention of the same provision, he shall be punishable on asubsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term which shallnot be less than one month but which may extend to six monthsand with fine which shall not be less than five hundred rupees butwhich may extend to three thousand rupees

No cognizance shall be taken of any conviction made more thantwo years before the date on which the commission of the of

fence which is being punished came to the knowledge of' theInspector.


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(6) If any person fails or willfully neglects to pay thewages of any employed person by the date fixed by theauthority in this behalf, he shall, without prejudice to anv

other action that may be taken against him, bepunishable with an additional f inc which may extend toone hundred rupees for each day for which such failureor neglect continues.

3044640 payment of wages act 1936

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