LABOUR LAWS EVERY INDIAN EMPLOYEE MUST BE AWARE OF

Labour Laws Every Indian Employee Must Be aware of

According to the United Nations – India is the country with the highest youth population. We are now standing at a point where the dream of becoming a super economy seems a reality. A major obstacle that is standing between this ambitious project and reality is the Indian labour laws. The labour laws and its acts have always been a topic of controversy, therefore in such a scenario, it now becomes mandatory that every employee in organized and
non-organized sectors must be aware of current labour laws and its reforms.

In 2016, The Global Rights Index which is annually published by International Trade Union Confederation ranked India as one of the 10 worst countries for its employees (working people), which is undoubtedly a shocking fact in itself. Violence against employees, large scale exclusions of workers, and arrests were few of the main reasons responsible for India’s poor rank.

Indian labour laws have been a topic of controversy since the beginning. In such scenerio it becomes really important for an employee to be aware of these labour laws, here is our list of labour laws every Indian employee must be aware of:

1. The Factories Act

This act was made to prevent the exploitation of factory workers by their employers. According to this act, there is some sort of working conditions that must be fulfilled by both the employer & employee. In this act, it was clearly mentioned that the maximum working hours should not be more than 48 hours a week. One holiday per week was also made mandatory in this act.

2. The Employees Provident Fund Act

This act was made to provide some social security to employees, this act is applicable to every employee who works in any establishment in any sector (organized/ unorganized). Under this act, the employees get welfare such as medical care, housing, retirement funds, education, and financing benefits, etc..

3. Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill

This act was established in 1961 and it gives benefits to expecting mothers, and later few amendments were made further made to provide more benefits to the employee. It was made to protect the employment of female employees – during the time of maternity, providing her with “maternity benefits” – which is fully paid leaves. So, that she can take care of her and her child without stressing over her work. Later few new amendments were made which increased the duration of leaves. Apart from this few more claws like leaves for adopted children, commissioning mothers, work from home option, etc. were too added in the act.

4. The Apprentices Act

The main purpose of this act is to nurture technically qualified candidates by giving them practical training. As per the basic scheme of this act, every employer is required to provide a training to its employees, with the intention of making him/her sound in the required skills. This scheme is applicable to engineering, non-engineering, technical or even a vocational course. The employer is required to provide all the facilities required for training, or even if they want they can outsource the training from an approved agency. The employer is required to pay to its candidates. After the completion of the training, the candidates may appear for a test (optional) conducted by the National council. The employer is not bounded to recruit the candidates after the completion of training, they can have their internal policy to recruit the candidates after completion of the training. Recruitment is not mandatory after the completion of the training.

5. The Workmen’s Compensation Act

This act was established to provide financial protection in the form of compensation to the employee who has been injured in an accident.

6. The Payment of Gratuity Act

The gratuity fund is the amount of money which is generally given to the employee by the employer as a gratitude for the service he/she has done for the organization. It’s one of the retirement benefits that the company gives to its employees, however, the must stay in the company for a certain period of time (except in case of his/her death) to receive the amount.

7. The Payment of Wages Act

This act was made to provide an assurance of salary, without any deductions. As per this act, the employer can’t take away the money he/she is entitled to pay to the employee. This act also gives assurance for timely payments of the salary from the employer. Apart from this, according to this act, an employee must know that even if he/she is fired from the company they are still eligible to take a salary for that month.

8. The Industrial Disputes Act

This act was made to provide protection to the employee if they have a dispute with their employer. It also ensures that no employer can throw you out just like that, they have to provide a notice of certain period before terminating you from the service.

9. The Payment of Bonus Act

This act makes it mandatory for employers to provide a bonus to their employees. After the employee has stayed in the company for a certain pieriod they are eligible to receive the bonus. This act also gives you the power to claim your rightful bonus to your employer for your services.

10. The Employee State Insurance Act (ESIC)

Now, this act was made to protect the employee if he/she is injured at their workplace. ESIC is a self-financing security and health scheme for workers. This scheme provides medical aid to the employees and their families.