Section 21 in The Punjab Minimum Wages Rules, 1950
21. Time and conditions of payment of wages and the deductions permissible from wages.
(1)(i)The wages period with respect to any scheduled employment for which wages have been fixed shall not exceed one month and the wages of a worker in such employment shall be paid :-(a)in the case of establishment in which less than one thousand persons are employed before the expiry of the seventh day; and(b)in the case of other establishment before the expiry of the tenth day, after the last day of the wage period in respect of which the wages are payable.(ii)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 after the day on which his employment is terminated :Provided that the Government, on receipt of a representation in respect of any scheduled employment or class or classes of employees in such employment may, after inviting public comments, notify any other wage periods or time limits for payments, which shall then apply to all or any class or classes of employees in such employment.(iii)The wages of an employed person shall be paid to him without deduction of any kind except those authorised by or under these rules.[Explanation I] [Explanation inserted, vide Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 149/C.A. 11/48/S.30/Amd./74, dated 10.12.1974.] - Every payment made by the employed person to the employer or his agent shall for the purposes of these rules, be deemed to be a deduction from wages.[Explanation II] [Explanation inserted, vide Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 149/C.A. 11/48/S.30/Amd./74, dated 10.12.1974.] - Any loss of wages resulting from the imposition for good and sufficient cause, upon an employed person of any of the following penalties, namely:-(i)the withholding of increment or promotion (including the stoppage of increment at an efficiency bar)(ii)the reduction to a lower post or time scale or to a lower stage in a time scale; or(iii)Suspension shall not be deemed to be deduction from wages in any case where the rules framed by the employer for the imposition of any such penalty are in conformity with the requirements, if any, which may be specified in this behalf by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette.].(2)Deduction from the wages of a person employed in a scheduled employment shall be of one or more of the following kinds, namely :-(i)[ Fines which may be imposed on any of the following grounds :-(a)Absence from duty without leave, without sufficient cause [fine may be imposed only as an alternative to the deduction permissible under clause (ii) of sub-rule (2) of Rule 21].(b)Negligence in work or neglect of work.(c)Smoking on the premises of the work place, except in places where smoking is permitted.(d)Entering or leaving or attempting to enter or leave the premises except by the gate provided for the purpose.(e)Absence without leave or without sufficient cause from appointed work in the establishment.(f)Breach of any rules or instructions for the maintenance and running of any department and maintaining its cleanliness.(g)Damage to work in process or to any other property of the employer.(h)Interference with any safety devices installed on the premises.(i)Distributing or exhibiting on the premises hand bills, pamphlets or posters without previous sanction of the employer.(j)Misconduct (fine may be imposed only as an alternative to a heavier permissible punishment)].(ii)deductions for absence from duty.(iii)deductions for damage to or loss of goods expressly entrusted to the employed person for custody or for loss of money for which he is required to account where such damage or loss is directly attributable to his neglect or default.(iv)deductions for house accommodation supplied by the employer [or by a State Government or any authority constituted by a State Government for providing housing accommodation] [Added by Punjab Government Notification No. 961/616-C-S-IV-Lab(ii)58/86313, dated 29.10.1958.].(v)deductions for such amenities and services supplied by the employer as the Government may by general or special order, authorise.Explanation. - The words "amenities and services" in this clause do not include the supply of tools and protectives required for the purpose of employment.(vi)[ deductions for recovery of advances or for adjustment of over-payments of wages.] [Substituted by Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 149/C.A. 11/48/S.30/Amd./74, dated 10.12.1974.](vii)deductions of income-tax payable by the employed person.(viii)deductions required to be made by order of a court or other competent authority.(ix)deductions for subscriptions to and for repayment of advances from any provident fund to which the Provident Fund Act, 1952, applied or any recognised provident fund as defined in section 58-A of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, or any provident fund approved in this behalf by the Government during the continuance of such approval.(x)deductions for payment to co-operative society or to a Scheme of insurance approved by the Government.(xi)[ deductions made with the written authorisation of the employed persons (which may be given once generally and not necessarily every time a deduction is made), for the purchase of the securities of the Government of India or of any State Government or for being deposited in any Post Office Savings Bank in furtherance of any savings scheme of any such Government.] [Added, vide Notification No. 101-4-Lab-62/668, dated 6.1.1962.](xii)[ deductions for rent of accommodation for cattle sheds and storage supplied by the employers] [Added, vide Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 308/CA/11/48/S.30/Amd.(1)/62, dated 14.12.1962.].(xiii)[ deductions made with the written authorisation of - [Inserted, vide Punjab Government Notification No. GSR CA/11/48/S.30/63, dated November, 1964.](a)the employed person, or(b)the President or Secretary of the registered union of which the employed person is a member on such conditions as may be prescribed;for contribution to the National Defence Fund or to any Defence Savings Scheme approved by the Central Government or the State Government].(xiv)[ deduction for recovery of loan made from any fund constituted for the Welfare of Labour in accordance with the rules approved by the State Government and the interest due in respect thereof; [Added, vide Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 149/C.A. 11/48/S.30/Amd./74, dated 10.12.1974.](xv)deductions for recovery of loans granted for house building or other purposes approved by the State Government and the interest due in respect thereof;(xvi)deduction for payment of insurance premium on "Fidelity Guarantee Bond"].(3)Any person desiring to impose a fine on an employed person or to make a deduction for damage or loss caused by him shall explain to him personally and also in writing the act of omission or damage or loss, in respect of which the fine or deduction is proposed to be imposed or made and give him an opportunity to offer any explanation in the presence of another person. The amount of the said fine or deduction shall also be intimated to him.(4)[(i) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, the total amount of deduction which may be made under sub-rule (2) in any wage period from the wages of an employed person shall not exceed, -(a)in cases where such deductions are wholly or partly made for payments to co-operative societies under clause (x) of sub-rule (2) seventy- five per cent of such wages, and(b)in any other fifty per cent of such wages.(ii)Nothing contained in these rules shall be construed as precluding the employer from recovering from the wages of the employed persons or otherwise any amount payable by such persons under any law for the time being in force other than the Indian Railways Act, 1890.(iii)(a)No fine shall be imposed on any employed person save as provided in clause (i) of sub-rule (2).(b)A notice specifying such act and omissions shall be exhibited in, at or near the main entrance of the establishments in Punjabi with a translation thereof in Hindi.(c)The total amount of fine which may be imposed in any one wage period on any employed person shall not exceed in amount equal to three paise in a rupee of the wages payable to him in respect of such wage period.(d)No fine shall be imposed on any employed person who is under the age of fifteen years.(e)No fine imposed on any employed person shall be recovered from him by instalments on or after the expiry of sixty days from the day on which it was imposed.(f)Every fine shall be deemed to have been imposed on the day of the act or omission in respect of which it was imposed.(g)No fine may be imposed by any person other than employer, as defined in clause (e) of section 2 of the Act.(h)All fine realised may be credited to a common fund maintained for the staff as a whole, provided that the fund shall be applied only for the welfare of the employees of the establishment from which the fine has been realised.(iv)(a)Deductions under clause (ii) of sub-rule (2) may be made only on account of the absence of any employed person from the place or places where, by the terms of his employment, he is required to work, such absence being for the whole or any part of the period during which he is so required to work;(b)The amount of such deductions shall, in no case, bear to the wages payable to the employed persons in respect of wage period for which the deductions are made a larger proportion than the period for which he is absent bears to the total period within such wage period during which, by the terms of his employment, he was required to work :Provided that, if ten or more employed persons acting in concert absent themselves without due notice (that is to say without giving notice which is required under the terms of their contract of employment) and without reasonable cause such deduction from any such persons may include such amount not exceeding his wages for eight days as may by any such terms, be due to the employer in lieu of due notice.Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause an employed person shall be deemed to be absent from the place where he is required to work if, although present in such place, he refuses in pursuance of a stay-in-strike or for any other cause which is not reasonable in the circumstances, to carry out his work.(c)No deduction for breach of contract shall be made from the wages of an employed person who is under the age of fifteen years or is a woman.(d)No deduction for breach of contract shall be made from the wages of an employed person unless -(i)there is no provision in writing forming part of the terms of contract of employment requiring him to give notice of the termination of his employment;(ii)the period of his notice does not exceed one month or the wage period whichever is less;(iii)the period of notice does not exceed the period of notice which the employer is required to give for the termination of that employment;(iv)this rule has been displayed in Punjabi and Hindi at or near the main entrance of the establishment and has been so displayed for not less than one month before the commencement of the absence in respect of which the deduction is made; and(v)a notice has been displayed at or near the main entrance of the establishment giving the names of the persons from whom the deduction is proposed to be made, the number of days in respect of which the wages are to be deducted and the conditions (if any) on which the deductions will be remitted :Provided that where deduction is proposed to be made from all the persons employed in any department or section of the establishment, it shall be sufficient, in lieu of giving the names of the persons in such department, or section to specify the departments or sections affected.(e)No deduction for breach of contract shall exceed the wages of the persons employed for the period by which the notice of termination of service falls short of the period of such notice required by the contract of employment.(f)If any conditions have been specified in the notice displayed under sub- clause (d) (v), no deduction for breach for contract shall be made from any person who has complied with these conditions.(v)Deductions under clause (iii) of sub-rule (2) shall not exceed the amount of the damage or loss caused to the employer by the neglect or default of the employed person.(vi)A deduction under clauses (iv) and (v) of sub-rule (2) shall not be made from the wages of the employed persons unless the house accommodation amenity or service has been accepted by him as a term of employment or otherwise and such deduction shall not exceed an amount equivalent to the value of the house accommodation amenity or service supplied.(vii)Deduction under clause (vi) of sub-rule (2) shall be subject to the following conditions, namely :-(a)recovery of an advance of money given before the employment began shall be made from the first payment of wages in respect of a complete wage period, but no recovery shall be made of such advance given for travelling expenses;(b)an advance of wages not already earned shall not without the previous permission of an Inspector, exceed an amount equivalent to the wages earned by the employed person during the preceding two calender months, or if he has not been employed for that period, twice the wages he is likely to earn during the two subsequent calendar months;(c)the advance may be recovered in instalments by deductions from wages. No instalment shall exceed one third or where the wages for any wage period are not more than twenty rupees one fourth of the wages for the wage periods in respect of which deduction is made.(viii)All such fines imposed and deductions made and advances given shall be recorded in the registers maintained in Forms I, II and 11-A, respectively. These registers shall be kept at the workspot and maintained upto date. Where no fine has been imposed or no deduction has been made from an employed person in any wage period, a "nil" entry shall be made in the relevant register at the end of the wage period, indicating also and in precise terms the wage period to which the "nil" entry relates.].(4-A) Every employer shall send annually a return in Form III showing the deductions from wages so as to reach the Inspector not later than the 1st February following the end of the year to which it relates.(5)The amount of fine imposed under sub-rule (3) shall be utilized only for such purposes beneficial to the employees as are approved by the State Government.(6)Nothing in this rule shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.
