Section 23 in The Punjab Minimum Wages Rules, 1950
23. [ Weekly day of rest. - (1) Subject to the provisions of this rule, an employee in a scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, shall be allowed a day of rest every week (hereinafter referred to as "the rest day") which shall ordinarily be Sunday, but the employer may fix any other day of the week as the rest day for any employee or class of employees in that scheduled employment :
Provided that the employee has worked in the scheduled employment under the same employer for a continuous period of not less than six days :Provided further that the employee shall be [given adequate notice, of the day fixed as the rest day and of any subsequent change in the rest day before the change is effected, by display of a notice to that effect in the place of employment at the place specified by the Inspector in this behalf] [Substituted by Punjab Government Notification No. 6561-4-Lab-II-61/16512, dated 15.6.1961.] :[Provided further that nothing in this rule shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 or any other Act for the time being in force] [Inserted by Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 149/C.A. 11/48/S.30/Amd./74, dated 10.12.1974.].[Explanation. - For the purpose of computation of the continuous period of not less than six days specified in the first proviso to this sub-rule, -(a)any day on which an employee is required to attend for work but is given only an allowance for attendance and is not provided with work;(b)any day on which an employee is laid off on payment of compensation under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; and(c)any day on which the employee was on leave which was a holiday, with or without pay granted by the employer during the period of six days immediately preceding the rest day.shall be deemed to be a day on which the employee has worked].(2)Any such employee shall not be required or allowed to work in a scheduled employment on the rest day unless he has or will have a substituted rest day for a whole day on one of the [three days] [Substituted by Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 149/C.A.11/48/S.30/Amd./74, dated 10.12.1974.], immediately before or after the rest day :Provided that no substitution shall be made which will result in the employee working for more than ten days consecutively without a rest day for a whole day.(3)Where in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this rule, any employee works on a rest day and has been given a substituted rest day on any one of the five days before or after the rest day the rest day shall, for the purpose of calculating the weekly hours of work be included in the week in which the substituted rest day occurs.(4)An employee shall be granted for the rest day wages calculated at the rate applicable to the next preceding day and in case he works on the rest day and has been given a substituted rest day he shall be paid wages for the rest day on which he worked at the overtime rate and wages for the substituted rest day at the rate applicable to the next preceding day:Provided that where the minimum daily rate of wages of the employee as notified under the Act has been worked out by dividing the minimum monthly rate of wages by twenty-six or where the actual daily rate of wages of the employee has been worked out by dividing the monthly rate of wages by twenty- six and such actual daily rate of wages is not less than notified minimum daily rate of wages of the employee, no wages for the rest day shall be payable and in case the employee works on the rest day, he shall be paid only for the rest day on which he worked, an amount equal to the wages payable to him at the overtime rate, and if any dispute arises whether the daily rate of wages has been worked out as aforesaid, the Labour Commissioner may, on application made to him in this behalf decide the same after giving an opportunity to the parties concerned to make written representations :Provided further that in the case of any employee governed by a piece rate scheme, the wages for the rest day or as the case may be, the rest day and the substituted rest day, shall be such as the Punjab Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, prescribe having regard to the minimum rate of wages fixed under the Act in respect of the scheduled employment.Explanation. - In this sub-rule "next preceding day" means the last day on which the employee has worked, which precedes the rest day or the substituted rest day, as the case may be, and where the substituted rest day falls on a day immediately after the rest day, the next preceding day means the last day on which the employee has worked, which precedes the rest day.(5)[ - ] [Sub-rule 5, omitted vide Punjab Government Notification No. GSR 149/C.A.11/48/S.30/Amd./74, dated 10.12.1974.](6)The provisions of this rule shall not operate to the prejudice of more favourable terms, if any, to which an employee may be entitled under any other law or under the terms of any award, agreement or contract of service, and in such a case, the employee shall be entitled only to the more favourable terms aforesaid.Explanation. - For the purpose of this rule, "Week" shall mean a period of seven days beginning at midnight on Saturday night.]
