Being exploited by employer? Time to know your rights as an employee

Your shift ends at 9 PM but it’s already passed 10:30 PM and you are still in the office, hitting the keyboard, frantically typing a 100-page project sheet while your phone reads three missed calls and 7 messages from your wife/mom.

You are frustrated, thinking about finding a new job because you are not being paid for those extra hours.

This happens with most employees, especially in private sectors in India. It is sheer exploitation.

People either don’t know or have a very little knowledge about different Labour Laws that protect their rights as an employee.

Here are the few highly important Labour Laws every Indian must know:

The Factories Act, 1948: The Factories Act, 1948 as amended by the Factories (Amendment) Act, 1987 caters to several issues related to the safety, health, efficiency, and well-being of the people working in factories and docks in India. 

The Act specifies working hours of an employee and ensures overtime pay for workers who work extra hours. It also regulate shift timings. As per the law, night shifts should be on a rotational basis.

Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952: Every factory engaged in any industry having 20 or more employees have to provide social security benefits like insurance cover, pension and Provident Fund to its employees.

Employees can use their PF for Retirement, Medical Care, Housing, Family obligation (like marriage expenses) Education of Children, Financing of Insurance Policies.

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: To prevent gender based discrimination, Ministry of Labour and Employment brought the Equal Remuneration Act in 1976.

Under this act, an employer shall not discriminate with its employees based on their gender in the matters of wages, promotion, training and transfer.

The Act ensures equal pay for the man and a woman employees for the same work done.

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972: Every organisation housing 10 or more employees shall have to pay gratuity to its workers who have worked for a year or more.

Gratuity, a retirement benefit paid by the employer is your last drawn salary multiplied by the number of years of service.

If any employer denies paying gratuity, he/she will have to face a jail term up to two years.

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016:

A pregnant woman employee is entitled to avail paid maternity leaves in India. In May this year, the Parliamnet passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which grants women working in the organised sector paid maternity leave of 26 weeks, up from 12 weeks earlier.