Employment, Labour and Benefits

Pursuant to a government order dated 11 June 2019 (GO), the Government of Karnataka (Government) has discontinued the requirement of renewing the registration obtained under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 1961 (Karnataka S&E Act). As per the GO, the registration obtained under Karnataka S&E Act would stand automatically renewed upon submission of a self-certification form and payment of the renewal fees by the concerned establishment. 

On 10 July 2019, the Union Cabinet approved introducing the Draft Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019 (2019 Code) in the Parliament during the current monsoon session. The official press release regarding the same can be accessed here.

On 13 June 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, issued a notification (Notification) amending Rule 51 of the Employees’ State Insurance (Central) Rules 1950 to reduce the rate of the contribution required to be made under the Employees’ State Insurance Act 1948 (ESI Act) from 6.5% to 4%.  The Notification declares 1 July 2019 as the date on which the reduced rates of contribution would become effective.

This Case Update provides a brief analysis of the recent judicial decisions delivered by the Supreme Court of India (SC) and High Court of Bombay, on certain labour and employment matters pertaining to maternity / paternity leave in surrogacy cases, wage claims by absentee employees and communication of performance appraisals to concerned employees.

On 16 July 2019, the Government of Punjab (Government) issued a notification (Notification) allowing all establishments to remain open for 24 hours on all 365 days of the year, up to 31 May 2020. The Notification exempts all establishments in Punjab from the provisions of Section 9 and Section 10(1) of the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958. The above-mentioned sections prescribe opening and closing hours of an establishment and declare Sunday as a closed day.

On 25 May 2019, the Government of Karnataka (Government) issued a notification(Notification) extending the exemption granted to knowledge-based industries – including information technology (IT), information technology enabled services (ITES), start-ups, animation, gaming, computer graphics, telecom, business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing (together referred to as Exempted Establishments)– from the application of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946 (IESO Act) for an additional period of 5 years with effect from the date of the Notification.

The scope and ambit of the definition of an employee under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (EPF Act) has come up time and again before the Courts in India. This issue often arises in situations wherein workers engaged by an establishment are working from home or are being paid on a piece rate basis.

With effect from 24 July 2019, the Industries, Energy and Labour Department of Maharashtra (Maharashtra Labour Department), revised the basic rate of wages prescribed for employment in shops and commercial establishments in Maharashtra. The basic rate of wages for different class of employees has been reviewed and revised nearly after a decade.

The Gujarat Shops & Establishments Act 1948 (Old Act) stands repealed with the notification of the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 2019 (New Act) on 1 May 2019 (Effective Date) by the Government of Gujarat.

On 24 July 2019, the Government of Haryana, through the Labour Commissioner, Haryana (Government), issued guidelines (Guidelines) wherein it has clarified that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (IESO Act) is applicable to shops and establishments covered by the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 (as applicable to Haryana).