What is compounding? Compounding refers to a process whereby the defaulting person or entity may file an application to the notified compounding authority, accepting the commission of an offence, and pleading for its condonation. The compounding authority may compound the offence after the defaulter deposits a compounding fee. If the offence is compounded before the institution of prosecution proceedings, then no proceedings are initiated against the defaulter. If an offence is compounded after the institution…
Background The amalgamation and codification of 29 labour statutes into 4 codes – Code on Wages, 2019, Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Code on Social Security, 2020, and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (‘Labour Codes’) – streamlines and simplifies complex labour law-related procedures. The aim of such amalgamation is to reduce the burden of compliance and promote the ease of doing business. One salient feature of the Labour Codes is the decriminalization of…
Introduction The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 currently defines the conditions of employment in industrial establishments. It applies to every industrial establishment in a State based on a threshold fixed by the State Government. In the current framework an establishment is required to draft its own set of standing orders based on model standing orders issued by State Governments. Following this, the draft standing orders are submitted to the Jurisdictional Labour Commissioner. As mentioned…
Overview of the Definition and Its Effect Wages as defined under Section-2(y) of the Code on Wages, 2019 or Section-2(zq) of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 or Section-2(88) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 and Section-2(zzj) of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 reads uniformly. Thus, for all of the twenty-nine Central labour laws subsumed into four labour codes, ‘wages’ has the same meaning and import from a definitional perspective. The…
Introduction The new labour Codes have introduced a uniform procedure for registration and cancellation thereof. Specifically, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 read with their respective draft rules contain provisions on registration. These two labour Codes have greatly reduced the number of registrations an employer has to maintain and have digitized the entire process to ensure that the same is streamlined. This article shall examine…
Current Scenario Under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, licensing norms for contractors can be understood by reading the enactment with its corresponding Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules, 1971. At this juncture we must also add that the State rules provide further clarity on the norms respective states choose to adopt. However, for the sake of understanding and comparing the norms under the current Contract Labour Act to the Code and…
Introduction The efficacy of any legal framework is dependent on enforcement as a matter of basic jurisprudence and the same holds true for India’s latest labour reforms. Under the OSHWC Code the inspector-cum-facilitator is the primary authority responsible for inspection and thus enforcement. While there is a great deal of speculation surrounding how the provisions of the labour codes will affect workers, employers, and the ease of being compliant, it is important to understand the…
Introduction The advent of app-based services operating on an aggregator model has ushered in a new era of convenience and choice for the Indian consumer. Additionally, it has helped small and medium business owners compete with veterans of the industry on online platforms. A key characteristic of this business model is that the end consumer as well as the provider of the service act as customers of the brand, there is also the partnership model…
Introduction The Occupational Safety Health and Working Conditions Code (OSHWC Code), 2020 contains separate definitions for the terms ‘employee’ and ‘worker’ respectively. This article explores the operation of the definitions in the good and the objectives behind their use in particular provisions. It is imperative for both staff and management to understand the implications of these definitions and the changes they bring in as it materially affects the nature of employment in India. The legal…
Introduction The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 is one of thirteen enactments being subsumed under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. It regulates registration of establishments, licensing of contractors, ensures that suitable working conditions are provided and incur penalties where any of these provisions are contravened. Section-10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 contains prohibitions on the employment of contract labour. It empowers the appropriate Government to…