THE INDUSTRIAL

EMPLOYMENT STANDING
ORDERS ACT, 1946

NIDHI SHUKLA
XISS
 Sections
• 1. Short title, extent and application
• 2. Interpretation
• 2A. Application of model standing orders to every
industrial establishment
• 3. Submission of Draft Standing Orders
• 4. Conditions for certification of Standing Orders
• 5. Certification of Standing Orders
• 6. Appeals
• 7. Date of operation of Standing Orders
• 8. Register of Standing Orders
• 9. Posting of Standing Orders
• 10. Duration and modification of Standing Orders
• 10A. Payment of subsistence allowance
• 11. Certifying officer and appellate to have
powers of Civil Court
• 12. Oral evidence In contradiction of Standing
Orders not admissible
• 12A. Temporary application of Model Standing
Orders
• 13. Penalties and procedure
• 13A. Interpretation, etc. of Standing Orders
• 13B. Act not to apply to certain Industrial
establishments
• 14. Power to exempt
• 14A. Delegation of powers
• 15. Power to make rules
• THE SCHEDULE
 Importance
• No uniform practice governing the conditions
of service of workers
• No clarity of rights and obligations of the
employer
• in respect of terms of employment,
friction/dispute between management and
worker
• Demand for statutory service conditions
raised by Bombay Cotton Textile workers in
1927-28
• The Bombay Industrial Disputes Act of 1938
for the first time provided for statutory
standing orders.
• The Labour Investigation Committee
emphasized the workers’ right to know the
terms & conditions of employment
 Object of the Act
• To require employers to define the
conditions of work
• To bring about uniformity in terms and
conditions of employment
• To minimize industrial conflicts
• To foster harmonious relations between
employers and employees.
• To provide statutory sanctity and
importance to standing orders
 Scope and Application
Section 1
• Extends to the whole of India
• To every establishment wherein 100 or
more workmen are employed
• On any day during preceding twelve
months
• Once applicable to the establishment then
it continuous if the no. of workmen
employed gets reduced to less than 100
• Provided that the app. Govt may, after
giving two month’s notice apply the
provisions of the act to any industrial
establishment employing less than 100
persons by notification in the off.gaz
 Exemptions
• Nothing in this Act shall apply to
i) Any industry to which the provisions
of chapter VII of the Bombay
Industrial Relations Act, 1946 apply
ii) Any industrial establishment to
which the Madhya Pradesh
Industrial employment (standing
orders) Act 1961 apply
Section 14 : the appropriate Govt. may
by not. In the off.gaz exempt ,
conditionally on unconditionally, any
Indust. Est. or class of IE from all or
any of the provisions of the Act.
 Section 13-B
• Act not to apply to certain IEs if to
workmen employed therein , the
Fundamental and Supplementary
Rules, or other Civil Services
Rules apply
 Important Definitions
Section 2
• Appropriate Government: State
Government, Central Government.
• Certifying Officer: means Labour
Commissioner/Regional Labour
Commissioner and includes any
other officer appointed by the
appropriate Government, by
notification in the Official Gazette to
perform such duties.
• Employer: owner of the
establishment
Industrial Establishment-2(e)
• A factory defined in Section-2 (m) of
the Factories Act, 1948
• A railway defined in Railways Act,
1939
• Establishment defined in the
Payment of Wages Act, 1936
Standing Orders
• The term ‘Standing Orders’ means
rules relating to matters set out in
the Schedule of the Act.
 Submission of Draft Standing Orders
Section 3
• Obligatory on the part of an employer or a group
of employers to furnish 5 copies of the draft
standing orders
• Within 6 months of the application of the Act the
employer shall submit the draft standing orders
• Copies to be given to the certifying officer
• Draft has to enclose the prescribed particulars of
the workmen
• The status and name of the trade unions to be
given.
• It has to take all matters set out in the Schedule.
• Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed,
a group of employers in similar IEs may submit a
joint draft of SOs
 Conditions for certification
of SO
Certifiable if:-
Section 4
a) Provision is made therein for every matter set
out in the schedule which is applicable to the IE
b) The SO are otherwise in conformity with the
provisions of this Act
Section 4, as amended by Act 36 of 1956, entrusted
the authorities under the Act with the duty to
adjudicate upon the fairness and reasonableness
of the SO
Therefore now,
1) SO should now be in consonance with the model
SO , and,
2) They should be fair and reasonable( the
workmen, therefore can raise an objection
 Schedule
Matters to be contained in the Standing Orders
• Classification of the workmen : temporary, casual,
apprentices
• Manner of intimating to workmen
• Shift working
• Attendance and late coming
• Conditions of, procedure in applying for, and the authority
which may grant leave and holidays
• Requirements to enter premises by certain gates and
liability to search
• Closing and reopening of sections of the establishments,
temporary stoppages
• Suspension or dismissal for misconduct
• Acts and omissions which constitute misconduct
• Means of redress for workmen against unfair treatment
and wrongful exactions
• Any other matter specified by the app. govt
Procedure for Certification of Standing
Orders
Section 5
• Copy of draft standing orders to be sent to
trade union/workmen
• Opportunity of hearing to trade
union/workmen to be provided
• Certification
• Certified standing orders have the force of
law and on the violation of any provision shall
be taken action
• Standing orders to be applicable to all
present and future workmen
• Standing orders must confirm the model
standing orders
 Section 6- Appeal

Appeal
• Any employer, workman, trade union aggrieved by the
order of the certifying officer as per section 5(2) may,
within 30 days from the date on which copies of the
certified standing orders sent to them, appeal to the
Appellate Authority who makes an order in writing to either
confirm or modify and render the SO certifiable
• The AO within 7 days of its order being made, shall send
copies thereof to CO , to the employer and to the TU

Date of Operation of the Act (Section

7)
On the expiry of 30 days of the certification given by
certifying officer
Or
After the expiry of 7 days of the decision given by appellate
authority.
 Section 8 & 9
• 8:- Register of SO : a copy of all SO s
certified under the Act shall be filed by
the CO in a register in the prescribed
form which shall be furnished on
applying therefor, on payment of
prescribed fee.
• 9: Posting of SO : the text of certified SO
shall be prominently posted by the
employer in English and in the language
understood by the majority of his
workmen on special boards maintained
for the purpose, at or near the entrance
and in all departments where the
workmen are employed.
 Section 10- duration and
modification
1)SO, finally certified, shall not, except on
agreement b/w the employer and the
workmen/TU/other representative body of
workmen, be liable to modification, until the
expiry of six months from the date on which
the SO or the last modification thereof came
into operation
2) Modifications to be made only on
agreement application along with the
agreement to be made to the CO
3) Process of modification same as process of
certification
4) For IE to which the app. Govts are the govts
of Gujarat & Maharastra the provisions of
SS(2) shall not apply
 Payment of Subsistence
allowance
Section 10-A
• Payment of subsistence
allowance by an employer to a
workman who has been
suspended by the employer and
his investigation is pending
• the allowance shall be at the rate
of 50% of the wage for the first 90
days of suspension
• The allowance shall be 75% of the
wage after 90 days if the
investigation is delayed due to
employer
 Section 10-A explanation
1)Payment of SA by employer pending
inquiry-
a) 50%(first 90 days)
b) 75% for the rest of the period if the
delay is not directly attributable to
the conduct of such workman
2)Dispute regarding SA can be taken
to a Labour Court under ID Act 1947
3) If SA under any other law in any
State are more beneficial then such
law shall be applicable
 Section 11
1)Every CO and appellate authority
to have powers of a Civil Court
2)Clerical, arithmetic mistakes or
errors made by Off or authority
can be corrected by concerned
off or auth or by successor
 Section 12
No oral evidence having the effect
of adding to or otherwise varying
or contradicting SO as finally
certified under this Act shall be
admitted in any Court
12-A
1) temporary application of Model
Standing Orders
2) Ss 1) not to apply in case of
states of Gujarat and Maharastra
 Section 13
Penalties & Procedure:
1) An employer who fails to submit draft
SO or modifies his SO otherwise than in
accordance with section 10 – fine up to
5000/- ; continuing offence, up to 200/-
for every day
2) Any act in contravention with the SO
finally certified, 100/-; continuing
offence- 25/- for every day
3) Prosecution for offence under sec 13
with the previous sanction of the app.
Govt.
4) No court inferior to that of a
Metropolitan Magistrate to try an
offence under this section
 Section 13-A
• Interpretation of SO
Reference of any question arising as to the
application or interpretation of the
certified SO can be referred to the Lab.
Court constituted under ID Act 1947, by
the employer, workman or a TU
-parties given opportunity to be heard
- Question decided by LC
- Decision final and binding on the parties
- 13-B – non applicability to IEs in which
persons employed are governed by Civil
Services Rules
 Section 14, 14-A
• 14- exemption by the app. Govt of
any IE or class of IEs from all or
any of provisions of the Act
• 14-A – Delegation of powers to any
such officer or authority
subordinate to the app. Govt
(Central or State as the case may
be) by the app. Govt. by
notification in the off. Gaz. Any
power exercisable by it under this
Act and Rules made thereunder.
 Section 15
• Power to make Rules:
1) App govt , after previous publication, by
notification in the off. Gaz.
2) Rules about;
a) Addl matters to be included in the schedule
& procedure to be followed in modifying the
SO
b) Set out model SO
c) Prescribe procedure for appt of CO and
appellate auth.
d) Prescribe fee charged for issue of copies of
SO
e) Provide for any other matter
Provided that for cl a) representatives of
both employers and workmen shall be
consulted
• The Government of India has amended the
schedule under the Industrial Employment
(Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and various
provisions towards the Industrial Employment
(Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946.
Notification to this effect is published in the
official gazette dated 16th March 2018.
 Amendments
• Amendment to
• Schedule I Item 1 of the Industrial Employment
(Standing Order) Act, 1946 (the Act)•
• Schedule I, lists matters to be provided in the Standing
Order of an employer It lists 11 matters that needs to
be elaborated in a standing order, the first one being
classification of workman. The amendment adds Fixed
Term Employment as one more classification of
workmen. The word “fixed term employment
workmen in apparel manufacturing sector” (Feb 2017)
has been substituted by the word “fixed term
employment” Thus, with this amendment the
classification of fixed term employment workmen is
extended to all sectors covered under the Act.
Safeguard to Permanent Workmen:No
conversion of Permanent to FTE
• Amendment to the Rule 1
• Consequent of introduction of Fixed Term
Employment, the amendment introduces a
safeguard against using the concept to exploit
the workers
• Therefore, Rule 3 requires non conversion of
permanent workers already employed to fixed
term employment.
• Fixed Term Employment. “A fixed term
employment workman is a workman who has
been engaged on the basis of a written
contract of employment for a fixed period”
• As per the amendment “Fixed Term
Employment” has now been introduced
irrespective of the industry of work. The
amendment also directs that no employer of
an industrial establishment shall convert the
posts of the permanent workmen existing in
his industrial establishment on the date of
commencement of the Industrial Employment
(Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules,
2018 as fixed term employment thereafter.
• The hours of work, wages, allowances shall
not be less than that of permanent workman
and all statutory benefits available to a
permanent workman proportionately
according to the period of service rendered by
him even if his period of employment does
not extend to the qualifying period of
employment required in the statute.