Purpose of the Act
The main objective of the Act is to avoid unnecessary delay in the payment of wages and to prevent unauthorized deductions from the wages. Every person employed in any factory, upon any railway or through sub-contractor in a railway and a person employed in an industrial or other establishment.The State Government may by notification extend the provisions to any class of persons employed in any establishment or class of establishment. The benefit of the Act prescribes for the regular and timely payment of wages (on or before 7th day or 10th day of after wage period is greater than 1000 workers) and Preventing unauthorized deductions being made from wages and arbitrary fines.
Salary statics
Wages are averaging less than Rs. 6500.00 per month only are covered or protected by the Act by the amendment in 2005 by {Section 1(6)}.Wages means contractual wages and not overtime wages. They are not to be taken into account for deciding the applicability of the Act in the context of section 1(6) of the Act. Wages must be paid in current coin or currency notes or in both and not in kind. It is, however, permissible for an employer to pay wages by cheque of by crediting them in the bank account if so authorized in writing by an employed person.
Summary of the provisions of the Act
The provisions of the Act regarding the imposition of fines on the employed person are as follows such as, The employer must exhibit on his premises a list of acts or omissions for which fines can be imposed, Before imposing a fine on an employed person he must be given an opportunity of showing cause against the fine, The amount of fine must not exceed 3 percent of the wages, A fine cannot be imposed on an employed person who is under the age of 15 years, A fine cannot be recovered by installments or after 90 days from the day of the act or omission for which it is imposed, The moneys realized from fines must be applied to purposes beneficial to employed persons.
Subsection 8(3), 10(1-A) & Rule 15} deals with Any person desiring to impose a fine on an employed person or to make a deduction for damage or loss shall explain personally or in writing to the said person the act or omission, or damage or loss in respect of which the fine or deduction is proposed to be imposed, and the amount of fine or deduction, which it is proposed to impose, and shall hear his explanation in the presence of at least one other person, or obtain it in writing.
The procedure and Competent authority which deals with employment matters
The procedure to employ a person has to follow for claiming deducted or delayed wages.If contrary to the provisions of the Act any deduction has been made from the wages of an employed person or any payment of wages has been delayed, he has to make an application for claiming the same to the Authority appointed under the Act.Such application can be made by the employed person himself or a legal practitioner or an official of a registered trade union.Such application has to be made within a period of 12 months from the date on which the date on which the deduction from the wages was made or from the date on which the payment of the wages was due to be made.
There is a competent Authority to entertain and decide an application for payment of subsistence allowance. The subsistence allowance payable to an employee placed under suspension pending Departmental Enquiry is covered within the definition of wages given under Section 2(6) of the Act and, therefore, the Authority is competent to entertain and decide an application for payment of subsistence allowance.
The Authority under the Payment of Wages Act is a Court of summary jurisdiction having powers to deal with the simple matter of delay in payment of wages or deduction from wages. It is not within the competence of the Authority to decide the question of the status of an employed person. The matter is a complicated question of law as also of fact. There is an agreement between an employer and his employees authorizing the deduction of union subscription from the salaries of the employer null and void under Section 23 of the Act, Such agreement being beneficial and advantageous to the employees is not null and void under Section 23 of the Act.
Employer's duty
Employer's required to display the abstracts of the Act in his factory or establishment. Every employer must display in his factory or establishment a notice containing the abstracts of the Act and the rules made thereunder in English and also in the language understood by the majority or the persons.
Conclusion
The Payment wages act is a regulation drawn up to protect the employee’s rights from being infringed by the employer. The employee should be paid on time and should not be harassed against anything during the employment. It has however given a lot of protections to employees and will continue to do so in the future as well.
Full text of "Payment Wages Act 1936" available here