Answer 1: Introduction: Payment of Wages Act, 1936 is based on recommendation of the

Royal Commission on Labour.

Object

Preamble of the Act states “to regulate the payment of wages to certain classes of employed
persons.” The regulation contemplated by the Act is twofold:

The date of payment of wages

The deductions from wages whether as fine or otherwise.
To ensure payment of wages covered by the Act certain provisions have been made in this Act.

Salient Features

Applicable to certain classes of Employed persons: the Act applies in the first instance to
persons employed in a factory, upon any railway or in an industrial or other establishment
specified in Section 2 of the Act [Section 1(4)].
Prescribes certain rule for payment of wages: Wage [Section 2(vi)] means remuneration
payable to a person in respect of his employment. The Act lays down comprehensive
rules for payment of the wages:
Responsibility for payment of wages(Section 3).
Fixation of Wage Period(Section 4).
Time of payment of wage(Section 5).
Mode of payment of wages(Section 6).
Lays down a list of authorised deduction: Explanation of Section 7(1) states that every
payment made by the employed person to the employer shall be deemed to be deductions
from wages.
Prescribe for maintenance of Register and records of the employer [Section 13A].

Provides for adjudication of claims arising out of deductions from wages or delay in
payment of wages: [Section 15] deals with the claims.

Responsibility of Payment of Wages [Section 3].

 Every employer shall be responsible for the payment of all wages to persons employed by
him and in case persons employed-
In factories, if a person has been named as the manager of the factory under clause (f) of
the Factories Act, 1948.
in industrial or other establishment, if there is a person responsible to the employer for its
supervision or control
upon railway if the employer is the railway administration and the railway administration
has nominated a person in this behalf for the local area concerned;
in the case of a contractor, a person designated by such contractor who is directly under
his charge; and
in any other case, a person designated by the employer as a person responsible for
complying with the provisions of the Act,
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), it shall be the responsibility of the
employer to make payment of all wages required to be made under this Act in case the
contractor or person designated by the employer fails to make such payment.
Case: Agarwala P.C. v. Payment of Wages Inspector, M.P. , (2005)
Fact: Jiyajirao Cotton Mills owed to its workmen wages for certain periods. Payment of Wages
Inspector initiated action under Section 15 of the Act against Directors of the Company.
Held: Directors were held personally liable to pay the wages.

Conclusion
Therefore, Section 3 of the Act deals with Responsibility of Payment of Wages under the Act.

Answer 2: Introduction: Employees Compensation Act 1923 is one of the earliest measures
adopted to benefit labourers. Earlier this Act was known as Workmen Compensation Act, 1923.
Object: Its object was to make provisions for payment of compensation by certain class of
employers to their employees for injury by accident.

Method of Calculating Wages under the Act

The term Compensation is defined in Section 2(1)(c). The lump sum compensation in case of
permanent disablement and half monthly payments in the case of temporary disablement is paid
according to the wage group to which the employee concerned belongs.
Monthly wages means any wages due to an employee in a month.

The monthly wages would be calculated as follows [Section 5]

Where the injured employee has been in service of an employer during a continuous
period of not less than twelve months previous to the accident the monthly wages of the
employee shall be one-twelfth of total wages which have fallen due for payment to him
by employer in the last twelve months of that period.
If the injured employee has been in continuous service of an employer for less than one
month, then monthly wages of that employee shall be the average monthly amount which
during twelve months immediately preceding the accident was being earned by an
employee employed on the same work. If there was no such employee, the average
monthly amount which was being earned by an employee employed on similar work in
the same locality will be monthly wages of the injured employee.
In other cases including those in which it’s not possible for want of necessary information
to calculate the monthly wages earned in respect of last continuous period of service
immediately preceding the accident divided by number of days comprising such period.
Case: Smt. Sayamma v. Shabbir Ahmad A. Rehman, (1984).
Held: The monthly wages of a worker is determined by multiplying the daily wage by 30.
A period of service shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be continuous which
hasn’t been interrupted by a period of absence from work exceeding 14 days.

Compensation not to be assigned attached or charged [Section 9]

This section is mainly designed to give protection to an employee, who has been granted lump
sum or half-monthly payment, from being deprived of benefit of compensation. Compensation
granted to an employee can’t be assigned, charged or attached by any process of law. It can’t be
passed to any other person by operation of law and is also not liable to set off against any law.
Case: Case v. Colonial Wharves
Held: An employer who has been found liable to pay compensation by way of weekly payments
under the Act to an employee isn’t entitled to set off against those payments a sum awarded to
him as costs against an employee in an application for the diminution of the weekly payments.

Conclusion:
Section 5 of the Act therefore lays down the method for calculation of wages under ECA, 1923.

UNIT-III
Question 3: a) bonded debt
Answer 3: a) Bonded Debt is defined under Section 2(d) of Bonded Labour System (Abolition)
Act, 1976.
It means an advance obtained, or presumed to have been obtained, by a bonded labourer under,
or in pursuance of, the bonded labour system.
While Bonded labourer [Section 2(e)] means a labour who incurs, or has, or is presumed to have,
incurred in a bonded debt.
Bonded Labour System [Section 2(g)] means “the system of forced labour under which a debtor
enters into an agreement with the creditor that he would render service to him either by himself
or through any member of his family or any person dependent on him, for a specified or
unspecified period, either without wages or for nominal wages, in consideration of loan or any
other economic consideration obtained by him or any of his ascendants, or in pursuance of any
social obligation, or in pursuance of any obligation devolving on him by succession”.
Question 3: b) Medical Examination
Answer 3: b) It is under Section 11 of the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923.
An employee who is injured and has given notice of an accident to the employer shall
submit himself for medical examination if offered by the employer.
Any such offer made by the employer must be free of charge and made within 3 days
from the time at which service of the notice has been effected. So also any employee who
receives half monthly payment shall submit himself for medical examination if and when
required by the employer.
If an employee refuses to submit himself for examination as required either by employer
or Commissioner, his right to compensation shall be suspended for the period of refusal
or obstruction.
Case: Amarshi Jeram v. Hazarat and Co. (1961)
Held: The onus lies upon the employer to prove that he had offered services of medical
practitioner free of charge to the employee.