No, the appointment agreement should not mention that the salary/ stipend/ fee payment date

will be 10th of every succeeding month as the prevailing laws that are applicable in the present
situation doesn’t allow the same. Section 5 of Payment of Wagers Act, 1936 states that if there
are less than 1000 employees then the salary is payable before the end of 7th day of successive
month and in case there are 1000 or more employees the salary has to be paid before 10th day of
successive month.
Section 5 of reads as, “Time of payment of wages. - (1) The wages of every person employed
upon or in - (a) any railway, factory or 4[industrial or other establishment] upon or in which
less than one thousand persons are employed, shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh
day. (b) any other railway, factory or 1[industrial or other establishment, 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: 2[Provided that in the case of persons employed on a dock, wharf or jetty or in a
mine, the balance of wages found due on completion of the final tonnage account of the ship or
wagons loaded or unloaded, as the case may be, shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh
day from the day of such completion.] (2) Where the employment of any person is terminated by
or on behalf of the employer, the wages earned by him shall be paid before the expiry of the
second working day from the day on which his employment is terminated: 3[Provided that where
the employment of any person in an establishment is terminated due to the closure of the
establishment for any reason other than a weekly or other recognized holiday, the wages earned
by him shall be paid before the expiry of the second day from the day on which his employment
is so terminated.] (3) The 4[ 5[The appropriate Government] may, by general or special order,
exempt, to such extent and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order, the person
responsible for the payment of wages to persons employed upon any, railway (otherwise than in
a factory) 6[or to persons employed as daily daily-rated workers in the Public Works
Department of 7[the appropriate Government] from the operation of this section in respect of
the wages of any such persons or class of such persons: 8[Provided that in the case of persons
employed as daily-rated workers as aforesaid, no such order shall be made except in
consultation with the Central Government;] (4) 9[Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (2),
all payments] of wages shall be made on a working day.”
A code has been passed in the year 2019 called “Code on wages, 2019”. Although this code has
not come into force but once it is enforced the payment of wages act, 1936 will be repealed.
According to section 17 of the new code, the wages have to be paid before the end of 7th day of
successive month. Section 17 of the above said act reads as,” (1) The employer shall pay or
cause to be paid wages to the employees, engaged on— (i) daily basis, at the end of the shift; (ii)
weekly basis, on the last working day of the week, that is to say, before the weekly holiday; (iii)
fortnightly basis, before the end of the second day after the end of the fortnight; (iv) monthly
basis, before the expiry of the seventh day of the succeeding month. (2) Where an employee
has been— (i) removed or dismissed from service; or (ii) retrenched or has resigned from
service, or became unemployed due to closure of the establishment, the wages payable to him
shall be paid within two working days of his removal, dismissal, retrenchment or, as the case
may be, his resignation. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) or sub-
section (2), the appropriate Government may, provide any other time limit for payment of wages
where it considers reasonable having regard to the circumstances under which the wages are to
be paid. (4) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall affect any time limit for
payment of wages provided in any other law for the time being in force.”