The Law pertaining to employment & employee rights in India is governed by the following Acts:
(i) Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
(ii) Factories Act, 1948
(iii) Industrial Dispute Act, 1947
(iv) Contract Act, 1872
(v) Minimum Wages Act, 1948
(vi) Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923
(vii) Trade Unions Act, 1926
(viii) Contract Labour Act, 1970
(ix) Mines Act, 1952
(x)Dock Workers (Safety & Welfare) Act, 1986
Such Acts and Legislations along with the precedents established by the Court of Law determine the rights in an Employee in India.
Section 2(f) of the Employees Provident Fund Act, defines Employee as:
‘employee’ means any person who is employed for wages in any kind of work, manual or otherwise, in or in any connection with the work of an establishment, and who gets, his wages directly or indirectly from the employer and includes any person-
Supreme Courts On Employee Rights
(i) Employed by or through a contractor in or in connection with the work of the establishment;
(ii) Engaged as an apprentice, not being an apprentice engaged under the Apprentice Act, 1961 (52 of 1961), or under the standing orders of the establishment.
The Supreme Court of India in the case of Officer in Charge, Sub Regional Provident Fund Office and Another v M/s Godavari Garments Limited deliberated upon the definition of employees is widely worded to include any person directly or indirectly engaged in the work of an establishment. Further, the court discussed that if supervision and control is established, then an employee and employer relationship can be determined even in terms of procurement of products from distant workers.
The Supreme Court further relied upon its decision in Silver Jubilee Tailoring House and Others v. Chief Inspector of Shops and Establishments, 3 SCC 498 (1974), where it had held that when the employer had the right to reject the end product if it did not conform to the instruction of the employer and direct the worker to rework it, the element of control and supervision could be said to be present.
The rights of employees can only be determined where a person is recognized as an employee. Therefore, these deliberations by the Supreme Court are pertinent in establishing who comes under the ambit of “Employee”.
(i) An essential right of an Employee in India is to receive an Employment Agreement that clearly states the designation, compensation, working hours, job description, terms of resignation and/or any other details relevant for the period of employment. It is the right of an employee to clearly know the exact terms of their employment.
(ii) As per the Factories Act, every Employee is entitled to assurance of health and safety at the workplace as well as a holistic work environment.
(iii) If the Employer fails to provide safe working conditions as a result of which the Employee is harmed, as per the Employees Compensation Act, the Employer shall pay full compensation to the Employee.
(iv) An employer always has the right to terminate the employment of an employee upon unsatisfactory work or unsuitability for the profile with a prior notice for the same. In such an instance, the employee can ask for an inquiry as well as reasons in writing for such termination.
(v) The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 also guarantees the protection of women against unwanted advances and provides for a mechanism of inquiry as well as redressal in order to support the aggrieved employees. An organisation with 10 or more employees has to institute an internal committee. Such a committee has to have one member from the company, one member from an NGO and two members committed to the cause of women’s safety.
(vi) The Maternal Benefit Act, 1961 deals with Maternity leave. It stipulates that women are entitled for 26 weeks of leave out of which 8 weeks can be taken for pre-natal care. Under no circumstances can the employment of a pregnant employee be terminated on account of the pregnancy.
(vii) Further, under the Minimum Wage Act, 1948 every employee is guaranteed a minimum wage which is the basic amount a person needs in order to survive. Therefore, not subscribing to the standards of minimum wage, violates a person’s right to life.
(viii) As per The Act of Equal Remuneration, 1976, it is mandatory to pay equal wage irrespective of physical strength of the employees.
(ix) The Payment of Wages Act stipulates that wages must be paid in a timely manner.
(x) As per the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 an Employer which employees 20 or more employees is bound to pay a bonus to its employees.
(xi) As per The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, if an employee works more than the normal working hours, the employer shall pay him for every hour or part of the hour for which he/ she worked overtime.
(xii) Every employer has to provide leaves on gazetted holidays and must have provisions for sick leave and casual leave
(xiii) As per The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 an employer can pay gratuity to an employee for services rendered on occasion of resignation, retirement, inability to work to accidents, disability or disease, upon death, etc, as the employer deems fit.
(xiv) As per the Employees Provident Fund Organization India any organisation with 20 or more employees has to register with the herein mentioned wherein a part of the employee’s salary is set aside which can be withdrawn for various reasons that include but are not limited to house loans, medical expenses, marriage, etc. At a time, an Employee can only withdraw up to 75% of the funds from the Provident Fund.
(xv) The Constitution of India also guarantees the Right against discrimination at workplace in Article 16 (2). It stipulates that no citizen can be discriminated on the grounds of religion, sex, caste, creed, gender, place or birth, descent, place of employment and/or any other grounds.
(xvi) Further, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have certain positions reserved for the purpose of ensuring equality of opportunity among the citizens of India.
Rights of Employees can be determined with the help of various Acts put together. Employees rights are protected at all costs. Termination without any reasonable cause can lead to complications for the Employer. Though there are a few provisions in the Industrial Disputes Act and some other legislations that allow an Employer to terminate the services of an Employee only for sustenance of business. In the current market due to Covid-19, the employers are terminating services due to the crumbling of markets, supply and demand. Other than reasonably justifiable situations, an Employer cannot easily or without repercussions. The Court of Law always gives the Employees a benefit of doubt because the Right to Life and survival holds a higher regard.
Also Read: What are the duties of an Employer under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace ( Prevention ,Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013?
Also Read: Procedure Established by Law must be followed in Determining Sexual Harassment Complaints at Workplace