The government has issued Code on Wages, 2019. It has subsumed four laws — the Minimum Wages Act, the Payment of Bonus Act, the Equal Remuneration Act and the Payment of Wages Act. The Code was introduced in parliament to simplify labour laws and amend them. The idea is to facilitate the ease with which business can be done.

It is to be understood that an employee under the Code in Sect 2 (k) includes managerial and administrative employees. However, the code also defines ‘worker’. In Sec 2 (z), it excludes managerial and administrative staff. The Draft Code has framed rules leading to the conclusion that minimum wages would be fixed for workers who are categorised as skilled, semiskilled and unskilled. There is a category of highly skilled too. A list of jobs has been given which have been put into different skill categories. No mention has been made of managerial and administrative staff. Thus it is obvious that the provisions of fixing minimum wages are not applicable to the category of managerial and administrative staff.

Sect 14 provides for an overtime to an employee who is paid minimum wages by the hour, by the day, or by such a longer wage period as prescribed.

In Schedule E, there is reference to manual and menial nature of work. Thus OT is not paid to managerial and administrative employees under the Code.

Under Section 72 of the Code, wages must be paid to employees within two days from the date of ouster of an employee from the company. There was similar provision under the Factories Act, 1948 and the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. These two have been repealed.

The payment of Bonus Act has a wage limit for Bonus payment. Those who earned up to Rs. 21000 were eligible to receive bonus. The Code has a similar provision.

There is a new definition of wages. It is necessary to consider 50 per cent of gross salary — basic plus DA while ascertaining wages. Sect 2 (Y) of the c

Code defines wages and includes basic plus DA plus retaining allowance. It excludes bonus, conveyance allowance, PF/Pension contribution, special expenses, HRA, remuneration payable under settlement or the order of Tribunal, OT, Commission etc. If the exclusions are more than 50 per cent of gross remuneration, then a percentage of remuneration that is more than 50 per cent will be added to the wages.

The Code provides for coverage of contract labour supplier and a contractor for contract of works.