BBA V Semester (HR Spl.

Labour Legislation

Faculty
Ritu Bali
 Chapter 1

INDUSTRIAL JURISPRUDENCE
 Jurisprudence - Overview
Jurisprudence owes its origin to the Latin word
“Jurisprudentia”. It is a combination of “juris” meaning
law and “prudentia” meaning knowledge. Thus
jurisprudence means knowledge of law.

According to Oxford Dictionary: Jurisprudence means the

science or philosophy of human law. It deals with
structure, uses and functions of law and legal concepts.

Prof. Allen views it as a scientific synthesis of the essential

principles of law.
 Jurisprudence - Overview
According to Dias, the term jurisprudence is used to describe
legal connections of any body of knowledge. He points out
that under the French Law, la jurisprudence is the term
applied to the body of law built up by the decisions of
particular courts.

1. It is science as it deals with systematized body of

knowledge
2. Jurisprudence is one of the social sciences. Social
sciences deals with the relations of men, one to another,
living together in an organized society. The concepts like
possession, ownership, liability, negligence etc. form part of
jurisprudence, hence it is also a subject to jurisprudence.
 Industrial Jurisprudence
Industrial Jurisprudence includes “some customs and rules by which
relationships between the employers and the employees or the master
and servant are governed”.
According to Casselman’s labour dictionary, “industrial jurisprudence is
the code dealing with the employer and employee relations established
through various precedents.”
According to L. J. Smith, “it is a code which consist of various precedents
established by decisions made in settling employees’ problems and
grievances.

1. Deals with rights and duties of tribunals and other quasi-judicial bodies
2. It is inter-disciplinary in nature and is closely linked with economics,
ethics, psychology, sociology, political sciences etc.
3. It is based on three sources: the constitution, Legislative Enactments
and Judge made law or judicial decisions.
 Basis of Industrial Jurisprudence
• Constitution: the constitution represents the choice of
values made by a society and sets its goals as the
achievement of those to which all processes in society
must be attuned and geared. Indian constitution is the
primary source of jurisprudence in India. Every
legislative act of the state must by in harmony with
the constitutional values and it must be intended to
achieve the constitutional goals.

Chapter IV of the Constitution deals with the

Directive Principles of State Policy. These are the
directions given to the legislature and the executives
to show in what manner they are to exercise the
legislative and executive powers vested in them.
 Basis of Industrial Jurisprudence
• Legislative Enactments: Consistent with the constitutional
mandate, the Parliament and other state legislatures have framed
large number of labour laws whose purpose is to carry out the
constitutional directives as indicated in the Directive principles of
State Policy in Chapter III and IV.
The basic purpose is to ensure:
• Minimum wages
• To guarantee just and humane conditions of work to foster trade
unions and collective bargaining
• to foster trade unions and collective bargaining to ensure terminal
and retirement benefits
• To control and abolish, if necessary, contract labour
• To adjudicate on industrial disputes
The total number of laws both labour and industrial in the statue
book, both Central and State is about 150.Total laws on
 Basis of Industrial Jurisprudence
• Judge Made Law or Judicial Decisions:

The third and the richest source of industrial jurisprudence is

judicial decisions given by judges of Industrial Tribunals,
Labour Courts, High Courts and Supreme Courts.

Among all the courts, decisions given by

Supreme Courts are the most important, as it is the apex court
and decisions given by Supreme Court are binding on all the
courts by virtue of Article 341 of the Constitution.
 Principles of Industrial Jurisprudence
Justice: Justice is derived from Latin word Jus which means
law. It implies something which is not only right to do and
wrong not to do, but which some individual person can claim
as his moral right.

It follows that benefits and responsibilities should be

proportionate to the worth and ability of those who receive
them.

• Social Justice
• Natural Justice
• Equity
• National Economy
 Principles of Industrial Jurisprudence
• Social Justice
Social Justice is concerned with the distribution of
benefits and burdens throughout a society. It is
concerned with such matters as the regulation of
wages and profits, the protection of a person’s right
through the legal system and the allocation of
housing, medicine and welfare benefits.

The concept of social justice as is specified in

Constitution of India (Chaper IV, Directive Principles
of State Policy) and according to Supreme Court
includes: -
 Principles of Industrial Jurisprudence
1. Hours of Work
2. Weekly rest
3. Safety
4. Working conditions
5. Protection against sickness of injury
6. Maternity or child health
7. Protection of women and children against exploitation
8. Fixation of minimum wages and award of fair wages
9. Guarantees against unequal payments and discrimination on the basis of
sex
10. Payment of retrenchment compensation
11. Notice pay for ensuring job security
12. Provision of old security through payment of gratuity and pension.
13. Adequate means of livelihoo, work equal opportunity
14. Opportunities for proper growth and development
 Principles of Industrial Jurisprudence
However, the concept of social justice is not narrow or one sided but it is
comprehensive. It is founded on the concept of socio economic equality
and aims at removing disparities and inequalities.

While settling industrial disputes, It adopts a realistic approach and endeavors

to resolve the competing claims of employers and employees by fining a
solution which is just and fair to both parties with the object of
establishing harmony between capital and labour and good relationship.
 Natural Justice
These are the set of rules laid down by courts for the
minimum protection of the rights of an individual
against any arbitrary procedure adopted or decision
arrived by judicial or quasi judicial bodies. It is
ensuring fair play, impartiality and natural sense of
what is right and what is wrong.

Two basic rules of Natural justice: -

1. No one should be judge in his own cause (arec nemo
debet esse judex in propria causa)
2. Hear the other side (Audi alteram partem)
 Natural Justice
A judge is also disqualified to act as a judge,
1. If he is a party to the dispute
2. If he has any interest whatsoever in the dispute before
him
3. If he is interested in the result of the dispute
4. If he imparts his knowledge into the decision i.e. he
cannot be a judge and eye-witness at the same time.
5. If he does not act according to his own judgment or if
he acts at the dictation of others.
 Natural Justice
Rules of Natural justice, while holding enquiry against employees: -
1. No one should be condemned behind his back
2. The charge-sheeted employee should know what is alleged against him
3. He should have reasonable opportunity and time to defend himself
4. All the documents and evidences against the charge-sheeted employee
should be recorded in his presence and no material should be relied on
against him without giving him an opportunity to explain it
5. employee should have opportunity to cross examine witnesses against
him
6. His should have an opportunity to present his evidence for defence
7. The tribunal should act in good faith
 Equity
According to Salmond, Equity is honesty, uprightness and
morality.

Six maxims of equity includes: -

1. Equity follows the law
2. He who seeks equity must do equity
3. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands
4. Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy
5. Equity is equality and equality is equity
6. Delay defeat equality or equality aids the vigilant and not the
indolent
 National Economy
The scope of principal of national economy is concerned with
wages, bonus, gratuity and Provident Fund. Its basic objective
is:
1. Ensuring the normal growth of industry for the benefit of the
national as a whole especially in India where productivity is low
and the per capita income, too is low
2. To satisfy basic and intellectual needs for the growth of
industrial efficiency
3. To adjust the wage system with a view to increasing the
productivity and prosperity of the workers
Conditions to be satisfied: -
1. Region cum industry basis
2. Capacity to pay
3. Payment made in a comparable concern