Background:
The Karnataka Minimum Wages Rules, 1958, have been framed under the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, with the objective of implementing and enforcing the minimum wage standards prescribed under the Act within the State of Karnataka. These Rules provide the detailed procedure, forms, registers, records, and conditions to be followed by employers for proper payment of minimum wages, maintenance of wage-related records, and compliance with other obligations under the Act. They aim to ensure that the intent of the Minimum Wages Act to protect workers from being paid wages below the statutory minimum is effectively carried out at the State level.
Applicability:
The Minimum Wages Act and Rules applies to the employees, employed in an employment as specified under Part I or Part II of the Schedule and in an employment added to either part by notification under section 27
Compliances Under the Rules in Accordance With the Act
Minimum rate of wages fixed or revised w.r.t scheduled employments may consists of a:-
(i) basic rate of wages and a special allowance at a rate to be adjusted, at such intervals and in such manner as the appropriate Government may direct, to accord as nearly as practicable with the variation in the cost of living index number applicable to such workers ( referred to as the “cost of living allowance”) or
(ii) a basic rate of wages with or without the cost of living allowance, and the cash value of the concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rates, where so authorised; or
(iii) an all-inclusive rate allowing for the basic rate, the cost of living allowance and the cash value of the concessions, if any
Minimum wages payable under this Act shall be paid in cash. Where it has been the custom to pay wages wholly or partly in kind, the appropriate Government being of the opinion that it is necessary in the circumstances of the case may, by notification in the Official Gazette, authorise the payment of minimum wages either wholly or partly in kind.
The retail prices at the nearest market shall be taken into account in computing the cash value of wages paid in kind and of essential commodities supplied at concession rates. This computation shall be made in accordance’s as may be issued by the Government from time to time.
The cash value of concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rates to employees working in employments in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under the Act shall be equal to the difference between the retail price of such commodities at the nearest market and the price charged by the employer to such employees”
The wage period with respect to any scheduled employment for which wages are liable to be fixed shall not exceed one month, and the wages of a worker employed in any such employment in which an employer has employed less than one thousand persons, shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh day
The wage period with respect to any scheduled employment for which wages are liable to be fixed shall not exceed one month, and the wages of a worker employed in any such employment in which employer has employed one thousand or more than one thousand shall be paid before the expiry of the tenth day after the last day of the wage period in respect of which the wages are payable.
Where the employment of any person is terminated by or on behalf of the employer, or due to the acceptance of the employee’s resignation, the wages earned by him shall be paid before the expiry of the second working day after the day on which his employment is terminated.
The wages of an employed person shall be paid to him without deductions of any kind except those authorized by or under these rules.
Deductions which can be made from wages of a person employed in scheduled employment are prescribed in Rule 22(2) of Karnataka Minimum Wages Rules, 1958
The employer shall display in conspicuous place at or near the main entrance of the establishment a notice in English and in the language of the majority of the persons employed therein, specifying the dates on which wages will ordinarily be paid, the dates so specified being not earlier than the expiry of two months from the date on which such notice is displayed.
The amount of fine or deduction for damages or loss mentioned in sub-rule (3) shall be subject to such limits as may be specified by the State Government in this behalf. All such fines imposed and deduction made shall be recorded in the case of factories and other Industrial Establishments in Form 1 of the Karnataka Payment of Wages Rules, 1963 and in all other cases in the Registers maintained in Forms I and II respectively and in respect of others and combined Muster Roll-cum-Register of Wages in Form ‘I’ prescribed under sub-rule (9-B) of Rule 24 of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Rules, 1963 as the case may be. These Registers shall be kept at the work spot and maintained up-to-date. Where no fine or deduction has been imposed or made on or from any employee in a wage period, a “”nil”” entry shall be made in the relevant Register at the end of the wage period.
A Return in Form III and in case of establishments other than Factories in Form ‘U’ prescribed under sub-rule (9-C) of Rule 24 of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Rules, 1963 shall be submitted annually by the employer to the Inspector of the area within a period of one month after the expiry of the year to which the Return relates
Where a worker in a schedule employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under the Act, has worked in the scheduled employment under the same employer for a continuous period of not less than six days, he shall subject to the provisions of this rule, be allowed a day of rest every week (here-in-after referred to as “rest day”) which shall ordinarily be Sunday
Any such employee shall not be required or allowed to work in a scheduled employment on the rest day unless
(a) he has or will have a substituted rest day for a whole day on one of the three days immediately before or after the rest day; and
(b) prior intimation is given by the employer to the employee of his intention to require the employee to work on the rest day and also of the day which is to be substituted: Provided that no substitution shall be made which will result in the employee working for more than 10 days consecutively without a rest day for a whole day.
Where in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Rule, any employee works on a rest day and has been given a substituted rest day on any of the three days before or after the rest day the said rest day, shall for the purposes of calculating the weekly hours of work, be included in the week in which the substituted rest occurs.
The provisions of this Rule shall apply to the employees in scheduled employments other than agricultural employments.
An employee shall be granted for the rest day wages equal to the average daily wages during the preceding week; and in case he works on the rest day and has been given a substituted rest day, the employee shall be paid, in addition to the wages payable for the rest day on which he has worked, wages for the substituted rest day, equal to the average daily wages during the preceding week
(1) The number of hours which shall constitute a normal working day shall be
(a) in the case of an adult, nine hours;
(b) in the case of a child, four and a half hours:
Provided that in the case of a child employed in a Plantation the number of hours which shall constitute normal working day shall be six and two-thirds hours:
Provided further, that in respect of employments in Public Motor Transport and Plantations no adult woman shall be required or allowed to work for more than fifty-four hours in any week
Nothing in this Rule shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948.
The period of work of an adult worker each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed five hours and that no worker shall work for more than five hours before he has had an interval for rest of at least half an hour:
Provided that the Government or subject to the control of the Government, the Commissioner of Labour may, by written orders and for reasons specified therein allow any worker in a scheduled employment to work for more than five hours without an interval for rest so however that the total number of hours worked by the worker without an interval does not exceed six.
Nothing in this Rule shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948.
The periods of work of an adult worker shall be so arranged that inclusive of his intervals for rest under sub-rule (2) he shall not spread over more than twelve hours in any day in respect of employments in Public Motor Transport and Plantations and ten and a half hours in any day in respect of any other scheduled employment:
Nothing in this Rule shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948.”
Where a worker in a scheduled employment works on a shift which extends beyond the midnight,
(a) a holiday for the whole day for the purpose of Rule 24 shall in his case means a period of twenty-four consecutive hours beginning from the time when his shift ends; and
(b) the following day in such a case shall be deemed to be the period of twenty-four hours beginning from the time when such shift ends, and the hours after midnight during which such worker was engaged in work shall be counted towards the previous days.
When a worker works in an employment for more than nine hours on any day or more than forty-eight hours in any week or more than the hours of work notified under sub-rule (6) of Rule 25, as the case may be, he shall in respect of overtime work be entitled to wages at double the ordinary rate of wages.
A register of overtime shall be maintained by every employer in Form IV [or in respect of any commercial establishment employer shall maintain the combined Muster Roll-cum-Register of Wages in Form ‘T’ prescribed under sub-rule (9-B) of Rule 24 of the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Rules, 1963] in which entries under the columns specified therein shall be made as and when overtime is worked in any establishment. The register shall be kept at the work spot and maintained up-to-date. Where no overtime has been worked, in any wage period, a “Nil” entry shall be made in the register at the end of the wage period.
Nothing in this Rule shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948.
(1) The following shall be the cases and circumstances in which an employee employed for a period of less than the requisite number of hours constituting the normal working day shall not be entitled to receive wages for a full normal working day:
(a) Tempest, fire, rain, breakdown of machinery or stoppage of or any cut in the supply of power, epidemic, civil commotion or other cause beyond the control of the employer;
(b) Refusal to work;
(c) Strike or stay-in-strike;
(d)Where an employee works for any period not exceeding four hours a day;
(2) In the case of interruptions brought about by tempest, fire, rain, breakdown of machinery, epidemic, civil commotion or other natural causes beyond the control of the employer, the employee who has already started the work for the day shall be paid the wages at half the minimum rates of wages fixed for a normal working day if the interruption occurs at any time before the interval for mid-day rest. If the interruption occurs after the interval for midday rest he shall be paid wages for a full normal working day.
(3) If by reason of stoppage of or any cut in the supply of power, effected by the Government, an employer if prevented on any working day from giving work to his employees for a full normal working day, the employee shall receive wages for such day in the proportion the number of hours he worked bears to the number of hours constituting the normal working day.
(4) If any employee works for any period not exceeding four hours a day, he shall receive wages for such day in the proportion the number of hours he worked bears to the number of hours constituting the normal working day.
Where an employee does two or more classes of work to each of which a different minimum rate of wages is applicable, the employer shall pay to such employee in respect of the time respectively occupied in each such class of work, wages at not less than the minimum rate in force in respect of each such class.
Where an employee is employed on piece work for which minimum time rate and not a minimum piece rate has been fixed under this Act, the employer shall pay to such employee wages at not less than the minimum time rate.
Every employer must maintain a Wage Register in Form V. However, this is not required if a similar register is kept under the Payment of Wages Act, Factories Act, or in Form ‘T’ as per Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Rules, 1963. (Rule 29 (1), (3), (4))
Wage slips in Form VI shall be issued by every employer to every person employed by him at least a day prior to the disbursement of wages. (Rule 29 (2), (3), (4))
A muster-roll shall be maintained by every employer and kept in Form VII: Provided that the muster-roll may not be maintained by an employer who maintains a like roll under the Factories Act, 1948 or the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act. (Rule 29 (5))
If the registers to be maintained under these rules are maintained in any language other than English or Kannada a true translation thereof in English shall also be maintained. (Rule 29(6))
A Register required to be maintained under sub-rule (4) of Rule 22, sub-rule (2) of Rule 28 or sub-rule (1) of Rule 29 shall be preserved for a period of three years after the date of last entry.
In lieu of the Forms of Registers and records required to be maintained under Rule 29 the employer may maintain such registers and forms which are specified under Rule 29 in computerized formats either in hard copy or in soft copy by adopting proper disaster recovery mechanism to store the data
(1) Every employer shall maintain a bound inspection book and shall provide it when so required by the Inspector.
(2) The inspection book shall contain at least 120 pages, every second page thereof shall be consecutively numbered and the unnumbered page between each two consecutively numbered pages shall have vertically perforated straight line on the margin side.
Where employees in a Scheduled Employment are employed there shall be exhibited or displayed in such factory, workshop or, place where the work is allocated, and in the case of outworkers, at the place where duties are assigned to such outworkers notices in Form XIII giving the following particulars, namely:
1. Weekly holidays.
29 .Place where Registers/records/notices are kept (Rule 31)
The registers, records and notices maintained as exhibited under the provisions of these rules shall always be available at or as near as practicable, to the site of employment and shall be produced or caused to be produced for inspection, at all reasonable hours by any inspector having jurisdiction over the establishment
All amounts payable by an employer to an employee as the amount of minimum wages of the employee under this Act or otherwise due to the employee under this Act or any rule or order made thereunder shall, if such amounts could not or cannot
be paid to the employee on account of his death before payment or on account of his whereabouts not being known, be deposited with the prescribed authority who shall deal with the money so deposited in such manner as may be prescribed.
Any contract or agreement, whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, whereby an employee either relinquishes or reduces his right to a minimum rate of wages or any privilege or concession accruing to him under this Act shall be null and void in so far as it purports to reduce the minimum rate of wages fixed under this Act
Penalties & Punishments
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