Month: November 2020

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women and help prevent gender discrimination. Article 39 of the Indian Constitution envisages that the States will have a policy for securing equal pay for equal work for both men and women. To give effect to this constitutional provision, the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 was introduced.

An Act to provide for the payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers and for the prevention of discrimination, on the ground of sex, against women in the matter of employment and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

The purpose of the act is to make sure that employers do not discriminate on the basis of gender, in matters of wage fixing, transfers, training and promotion. It provides for payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers, for same work or work of similar nature and for the prevention of discrimination against women in the matters of employment.

The salient features of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

• The Act is a Central Legislation and applies to the whole of India.
• The objective of the Act is to provide for protection against discrimination of women workers on the ground of sex, about the payment of equal remuneration in the matter of employment.
• Restricting the employer to create terms and conditions in a contract of service or work of labor contrary to equal pay for equal work doctrine and the provisions of Equal Remuneration Act.
• The Act doesn’t make a distinction like employment or the period of employment and applies to all workers even if engaged only for a day or few days.
• No overriding effect is given to any agreement, settlement or contract to the provisions of the Equal Remuneration Act.
• Any settlement or any agreement with the employee that is detrimental to the employee isn’t allowed.
• The Ministry of Labour and The Central Advisory Committee are responsible for enforcing this Act.
• Meaning of equality of work: The equality of work is not based solely on the designation or the nature of work but also on factors like qualifications, responsibilities, reliabilities, experience, confidentiality, functional need and requirements commensurate with the position in the hierarchy are equally relevant.
• When the employer doesn’t comply with the provisions of the act, he will be liable to pay fine, imprisonment, or both.

Various provisions of the Act

Every employer covered under this act shall pay the employees remuneration in cash/kind at a rate which shall not be less favourable to the other gender if the work is the same or of similar nature.

Same work or work of similar nature would mean if the work is performed under similar conditions either by a man or woman it would require the same skill, effort and responsibility. If there are any differences in the skill, effort and responsibility required from a man when compared to a woman the same is not important to the employment.

• No employer shall be allowed to reduce the remuneration of any worker in order to comply with the provisions of this act.
• In case the remuneration payable before the commencement of this act was different due to discrimination then going forward the higher(in case of two rates) or highest(in case of more than two rates) rate shall be payable. However the same shall not apply to the remuneration payable for the services rendered before the commencement of the act
• While employees are recruited for work which is the same or of similar nature no discrimination shall be directed towards women unless any law prohibits the same. This provision is also extended to activities after recruitment i.e promotion, training or transfer. The reservations made towards Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, ex-servicemen, retrenched employees or any other class or category of persons will not be affected by this provision.
• An advisory committee shall be formed which shall consist of 10 members half of which shall be women and the committee shall focus on providing its advice for increasing the employment opportunities for women, hours of work, nature of work and such other matters.
• Every employer is required to maintain registers and other documents in relation to the workers employed by him.
• The appropriate government shall appoint inspectors for the purpose of investigation of compliance with the provisions of this act.
• The Inspector shall have the power:
• To enter any building/premises/factory/vessel
• Require the production of documents
• Take evidence from any person to confirm compliance of the act
• Examine the employer/agent/servant

The term wage policy refers to legislation or government action undertaken to regulate the level or structure of wage, or both, for the purpose of achieving specific objectives of social and economic policy.

A wage policy guides organizations in taking decisions on wage-related matters. At the organizational level, wage policies are framed, keeping in mind various regulatory requirements and the organizations own strategies.

The term wage policy refers to legislation or government action undertaken to regulate the level or structure of wage, or both, for the purpose of achieving specific objectives of social and economic policy. It involves all systematic efforts of the government in relation to a national wage and salary system, legislations, and so on to regulate the levels or structures of wages and salaries with a view to achieving economic and social objectives of the government.

The first step towards the evolution of wage policy was the enactment of the payment of Wages Act, 1936. The main objective of the Act is to prohibit any delay or withholding of wages legitimately due to the employees. The next step was the passing of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, authorizing all the State governments to set up industrial tribunals that would look into disputes relating to remuneration.

Another notable development that led to the evolution of wage policy was the enactment of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The purpose of the Act is the fixation of minimum rates of wages to workers in sweated industries such as woolen, carpet making, flour mills, tobacco manufacturing, oil mills, plantations, quarrying, mica, agriculture, and the like.

The Act was amended several times to make it applicable to more and more Industries. Then the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, which prohibits discrimination in matters relating to remuneration on the basis of religion, region or sex was enacted. The Constitution of India committed the government to evolve a wage policy. Successive five-year plans have also devoted necessary attention to the need for a wage policy.

Following the recommendations of the First and Second Plans, the Government of India constituted wage boards for important industries in the country. A wage board is a tripartite body comprising representations from the government, owners, and employees. Technically speaking, a wage board can only make recommendations, and wage policies are normally implemented through persuasion.

In spite of legislations, tribunals, and boards, disparities in wages and salaries still persist.

Some of the disparities are:

1. Employees of MNCs are paid much more than their counterparts in host countries for identical work.
2. Different industries have different wage and salary structures resulting in disparities in remuneration for identical work.
3. Wide gaps exist between wages and salaries of employees in the organized sector and of those in the unorganized sector, the latter earning much less than the former.
4. Differences exist between earnings of employees in the government sector and those in the private sector.
5. Within the government sector, salary differences exist among employees of different departments.

The disparities are glaring. If an illiterate supervisor in leather processing unit can earn Rs. 12,000 plus per month and a half-yearly bonus, how much can a university professor earn? Rs. 10,000 and no bonus? If an auto driver can earn Rs. 3000 per month, how much should a temporary lecturer in a college earn? Rs. 5000 per month? And remain temporary forever. A sweeper in L&T is an Income tax assessee but a BE or an MBBS degree holder works for Rs. 800 per month in a small-scale unit or Rs. 1200 in a private nursing home, respectively.

In order to correct such disparities, the Government of India appointed a Committee headed by Mr Bhootalingam in 1979. The committee was to suggest regional and integrated wage policy covering all sectors of the economy. Soon after the committee submitted its report, it was criticized as anti-labor and impracticable.

Recent wage practices in India in the organised sector are such that dearness allowances are paid to neutralise at least partially, price increases, bonus paid as per the Bonus Act, and fringe benefits given under this Employees’ State Insurance Act and the Employees’ Provident Fund” Act. Wage Boards have attempted to settle wage disputes, taking into account the principle of fair wages first set forth by the Report of Committee on Fair Wages.

The Fair Wages Committee recommended that the “minimum wage should represent the lower limit of the fair wage, the upper limit being the capacity of industry to pay”. Between these two limits, the Committee suggested that the fair wage should depend upon – (i) productivity of labour; (ii) prevailing rates of wages in the same and similar occupations in the same neighbouring localities; (iii) level of the national income and its distribution, and (iv) place of the industry concerned in the economy of the country. The Committees’ recommendations are similar to the requirements laid down above.

Wage Policy

A rational wage policy is essential both on social and economic grounds. Without it there is a danger of unreasonable exploitation of workers leading to discontent which must result in disharmony between workers and management. Therefore, a sound wage policy is needed in the interest of workers, employers, the Government and the country.

Three Concepts of Wages:

Three concepts of wages are commonly used in discussions on wage policy, and the same concepts were also explained by the Fair Wages Committee, namely:

1. Minimum wage,
2. Living wage, and
3. Fair Wage.

These are broadly based on the needs of the workers and the capacity of employers to pay, as also on the general economic conditions prevailing in a country.

1. Minimum Wage:

A minimum wage is said to be a wage which is sufficient to satisfy at least the minimum needs, of at least a frugal and steady workers. According to the Committee on Fair Wages, the minimum wage is an irreducible or minimum amount regarded necessary for the bare sustenance of the worker and his family and for the preservation of his efficiency at work.

In most countries, like ours, Minimum Wages Legislation has fixed minimum wages for specified occupations, especially where sweating and exploitation of labour had been prevalent. In fixing a minimum wage both the need of the workers and the capacity of the industry to pay are taken into account. From the social point of view, an industry which cannot even afford to pay a basic minimum wage has no justification for existence in the long-run.

2. Living Wage:

It is a wage which should offer an employee incentive to work and produce enough in quantity, without sacrificing quality, so that the payment of such a wage is justifiable by the industry. The living wage for a worker should be such as to include not merely the cost of maintenance for himself but also for supporting his family.

As such, living wage should include provision for the following:

1. Bare necessaries such as food, clothing and shelter;
2. A measure of frugal comfort includes:

(a) education for children

(b) protection against ill-health

(c) requirements of essential social needs

(d) a measure of insurance against the more important misfortunes including old age.

3. Some margin for self-development and recreation.

The concept of living wage, to be realistic, should be linked with economic conditions and the size of the family. While determining expenditure under various heads, attention should be paid to the changes in the cost of living as prices fluctuate from time to time.

3. Fair Wage:

While living wage is the cherished goal and the ultimate aim or target, a fair wage is a step towards a living wage. In the narrow sense, a wage rate is fair if it is equal to the rate prevailing in the same area and industry. In the wider, sense, fair wage is the predominant rate available for similar jobs and occupations throughout the country or in all industries.

The demand for a fair wage is also reflected in the slogan ‘equal pay for equal work’ In simple terms, it is the wage equal to that received by employees performing equal work, demanding equal skill, equal difficulty and equal unpleasantness. Equal work is considered not only in the same job but also work in similar and comparable jobs. Fair wage is positively higher than the minimum wage, but it may be lower than the living wage.

The actual fixation of a fair wage depends upon the productivity of labour, prevailing rates of wages, level of national income, capacity of the industry to pay, wage differentials in corresponding places and the importance of industry in relation to the national economy.

Wage Policy Objectives of Sound Wage Policy

The objectives of a sound/ideal wage and salary policy are manifold.

A sound wage policy promotes industrial relations, protects against price rise, and serves many more purposes:

1. Establish good labour relations
2. Decide on appropriate wages
3. Decide wages based on the individual’s capability
4. Develop a pre-determined scheme for payment of wages
5. Establish linkages of wage payment with performances
6. Maintain parity of wages with other organizations
7. Provide for incentive payment
8. Guarantee minimum wages
9. Provide for neutralization of price rise
10. Develop wage structures that can attract talent.

The Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 has been enacted with the main objective of protecting the interest of the employees after their retirement and their dependents after death of the employee. The Act provides insurance to workers and their dependents against risks of old age, retirement, discharge, retrenchment or death.

The objective of this act is to provide substantial security and timely monetary assistance to the employer and their family members. This act covers all the state of India except Jammu and Kashmir. It applies to any factory or any other establishment employing 20 or more persons with the permission of central, according to central government’s official gazette. But the central government is empowered to apply this provision to any employing less than 20 persons with prior notification at least 2 months before.

EPF Applicability

The Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 extends to whole of India except the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

It applies on every establishment employing 20 or more persons & engaged in industry specified in Schedule I of the Act or any other activity notified by the Central Government.

It applies to all departments / branches of an establishment wherever situated.

Any establishment employing even less than 20 persons can be covered voluntarily under section 1(4) of the Act.

EPF Eligibility

Employees drawing salary / wages at the time of joining up-to Rs. 6,500/- per month are governed by the provisions of the Act;

Employees drawing salary / wages more than Rs. 6,500/- per month may also be brought under the purview of the Act at the discretion of the management and by furnishing a joint undertaking to the Provident Fund Commissioner;

Employees engaged through the Contractor in or in connection with the work of an establishment are also covered under the purview of the Act.

This act covers three major schemes:

(i) Employees provident fund scheme.

(ii) Employees’ pension scheme.

(iii) Employees deposit linked insurance scheme.

Employee’s Contribution

An employee is eligible for membership of Employee Provident Fund from the very 1st date of joining in any establishment getting salary up to Rs6500 Provident fund contribution is recovered at 12% of wages from employee salary. The pension is that which represents a person has retired. To avail pension a person should have 10years of continues service and with age of 50years or more will receive pension amount on monthly basis after the age of 58. A member is eligible to apply for withdrawing his provident and pension fund only after 2 months from the date of registration, provident that he/she is not employed during those 2months. Employer’s Contribution: Employer is also required to contribute towards provident fund, the deduction rate is same as employee’s contribution i.e. 12% of the wages. Of this 12%, 3.67% goes to Provident Fund and the balance of 8.33% goes to Pension Fund.

Thus, Employee Provident Fund grants the employee to have a regular income through a pension. These are the important facts of Employee Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act,1952.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (abbreviated to EPFO), is an organisation tasked to assist the Central Board of Trustees. Employees’ Provident Fund is a statutory body established by the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.

EPFO assists the Central Board in administering a compulsory contributory Provident Fund Scheme, a Pension Scheme and an Insurance Scheme for the workforce engaged in the organised sector in India. It is also the nodal agency for implementing Bilateral Social Security Agreements with other countries on a reciprocal basis. The schemes cover Indian workers as well as International workers (for countries with which bilateral agreements have been signed. As of now 19 Social Security Agreements are operational). The EPFO’s apex decision making body is the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).

On 1 October 2014, the government of India launched Universal Account Number for Employees covered by EPFO to enable PF number portability.

The total assets under management are more than ₹11 lakh crore (US$157.8 billion) as of 2018 .

Broadbanding is a job grading structure that falls between using spot salaries vs. many job grades to determine what to pay particular positions and incumbents within those positions. While broadbanding gives the organization using it some broad job classifications, it does not have as many distinct job grades as traditional salary structures do. Thus, broadbanding reduces the emphasis on ‘status’ or hierarchy and places more of an emphasis on lateral job movement within the company. In a broadbanding structure an employee can be more easily rewarded for lateral movement or skills development, whereas in traditional multiple grade salary structures pay progression happens primarily via job promotion. In this way, broadbanding is a more flexible pay system. This flexibility, however, can lead to internal pay relativity problems as there is not as much control over salary progression as there would be within a traditional multi-level grading job (structure).

Organisations with broadband pay structures have broader salary ranges but there are fewer one of them this type of structure is found in flattened organisations where there is a reduced chance of promotion in terms of responsibility. Broadbanding allows organisations to increase pay and offer opportunities for training without promoting employees.

Broadband pay structures aren’t as sensitive to changing market conditions and also allow skills to more easily develop because there’s an increased emphasis placed on jobs without traditional areas of responsibility, such as managers.

Broadbanding is defined as a strategy for salary structures that consolidate a large number of pay grades into a few “broad bands“

In a broadband pay structure, the numbers of salary grades are consolidated into fewer, but broader, pay ranges. In broadbanding, the spread of the pay ranges is wider and there is less overlap with other pay ranges.

Broadbanding evolved because organizations want to flatten their hierarchies and move decision-making closer to the point where necessity and knowledge exist in organizations. In flattened organizations, fewer promotional opportunities exist so the broadbanding structure allows more latitude for pay increases and career growth without promotion.

Benefits of Broadbanding

Broadbanding has been successfully implemented in large, hierarchical organizations which attempted to flatten their organizations and remove levels of management. For example, organizations that had eight levels of management could eliminate four levels, widen the salary ranges of the remaining four levels, and simply slot each manager into one of those ranges.

With broadbanding, a manager can more easily encourage his/her employees to broaden their skills and abilities. This is valuable to organizations because employees with broad skills and abilities are critical for the success in a total quality/continuous improvement environment. In contrast, the jobs in traditional organizations are narrow and specialized. In order for employees to advance in pay and responsibility, they have to further develop their specialized skill. Thus, a bias exists against the broadening of skills.

New Pay

The New Pay’ is an approach to focusing investment in employee reward, which can be located in the ‘best practice’ (or ‘normative’) tradition of thinking. This can be contrasted with a ‘contingency’ approach matching decisions to the circumstances of institutions and people and attempts to adopt what has been termed a ‘configurational’ perspective. That approach emphasises ensuring that with lots of moving parts involved in the employment relationship those designing and administering reward management remain actively aware of the ‘open systems’ characterising all levels of an economy. We address this ‘systems thinking’ in the book, raising awareness of the way that, while the employment relationship is indeterminate (there is no algorithm for programming its outcomes), there is an interplay of forces and interests that seek to regulate it.

Irrespective of overall merits, New Pay thinking highlights that reward management is of strategic importance to all organisations; that it is a highly visible medium through which to communicate organisational values and priorities when seeking a return on investment in employing people. Where claims need particular testing is in relation to the proposition that ‘base’ pay (salary, wages) should focus on recognising the potential value an employee may contribute to an employer, whereas variable pay (commissions, bonuses, profit and other forms of ‘sharing’ plans) should recognise outcomes from the application of employee knowledge and effort. And that together these fixed and variable elements should act as an incentive to attract, retain and motivate high performance among the kinds of workforce members an employer requires to realise corporate strategic goals.

Contract employees, also called independent contractors, contract workers, freelancers or work-for-hire staffers, are workers hired for a specific project or length of time by a company for a set fee. Often, contract employees are hired due to their expertise in a particular area, like writing or illustration, that internal employees at the company do not have. Contract employees are usually hired for projects that require niche expertise for a short-term project. Rather than hire a full-time, long-term employee with that expertise, the company chooses to hire a contractor for the duration of the project.

Contract employees

• Tax form: Contract employees receive a 1099 tax form, and their taxes are not automatically deducted from their paychecks.
• Work duties: Contract employees perform a specific task or role on a short-term project.
• Training: Contract employees receive training and instruction exclusively for their projects.
• Work hours: Contract employees can typically choose the days and hours they work.
• Pay: Contract employees are often paid after a project has been completed rather than on a set payment schedule.
• Travel: If travel is required for work, the contract employee is usually responsible for their travel expenses.
• Benefits: Contract employees typically do not receive benefits like health insurance or life insurance.
• Time off: Contract employees do not receive paid time off.

Duties of the Contractor and a Principal Employer

The law looks at contractual workers differently from regular employees. Hence, the duties of a contractor are different than that of a principal employer.

Wages

• The contractor is responsible for the worker, his conditions of employment, and payment of wages. The wage period is to be fixed by the contractor and must not exceed one month.
• If the establishment has less than 1000 employees, payment must be done before the 7th day of the last day of the wage period. If the worker’s last day is the 30th of June, the payment must be done by the 7th of August.
• If there are more than 1000 employees, payment can be done before the 10th day of the expiration of the wage period.

Duties of a Principal Employer

While hiring contractual workers, the employer has to:

• Register the establishment to hire contractual workers.
• Hire workers only from licensed contractors.

In a situation where either of these two conditions is not satisfied, the workman employed will not be considered a contractual labourer and will be considered to have been employed directly by the employer. The employer also has a duty to ensure that the Contractor complies with applicable labour laws.

Rights of the Contractual Employee

Working Hours

A contractual employee can be made to work for only 48 hours a week, and 9 hours a day. In case of overtime, he/she is entitled to a wage twice the ordinary rate. The period of work hours must be notified to the workers. If a contractual worker has worked for a period of 240 days or more, he/she is entitled to annual leave with wages, with one day leave for every 20 days of work.

Safety and Health

In line with the duties of the employer, contractual factory workers have the right to i) obtain information relating to health and safety at work ii) receive training given for health and safety at work.

Social Security

Contractual workers are covered under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 and entitled to social security cover if they draw up to Rs.15,000/- in monthly wages. The employer has to register with the Employee State Insurance (ESI) corporation and is responsible to insure the workers. In the ESI scheme, the employer contributes 4.75% of the wages payable to employees, while the employee contributes 1.75% of his/her wages. Workers earning less than Rs. 137/- a day as daily wages are exempted from payment of their share of contribution. Workers under the scheme can avail medical benefits, sickness benefits, maternity benefits, disablement benefits and dependant benefits. The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 provides contractual workers in the unorganized sector with the benefits of Social Security Schemes like Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojana, etc. However, registration under the Act is not mandatory and hence the Act hasn’t been implemented properly.

Retirement benefits

After retirement, contractual workers are entitled to provident fund benefits under the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 ; if they completed five years in employment under a single employer, they are eligible for gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

Other benefits

In case a worker is injured in the course of employment but not covered under the ESI scheme, he/she can claim compensation under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923. Similarly, if a female contractual worker is not covered under ESI, she can claim maternity leave (26 weeks for birth of first 2 children) with wages under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (provided she worked in an establishment for not less than 80 days in a year prior to the date of her expected delivery).