Important Rights of Private Employees

Specific Terms of employment are mentioned in the Agreement and employees are organised in the private sector and they are governed by various laws which will be mentioned in the Article.

Various laws which govern the employment of private sector employees are; Payments of Bonus Act, Equal Remuneration Act,  Payment of Gratuity Act, Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, Employees’ State Insurance Act, Maternity Benefit Act, etc.

Employment Agreement:

These days the basic practice is to enter into an Employment Agreement which mentions employment terms and conditions like compensation, place of work, designation and working hours etc. Rights and obligations of the employer and employee are mentioned in the Agreement.

Maternity Benefit:

Maternity benefit Act 1961, talks about prenatal and postnatal benefits for female employees. The duration of paid leaves for pregnant female employees including 8 weeks of postnatal leaves and total duration of leave which is allowed is for 26 weeks.

Employees are entitled to one month paid leave in case of complicated pregnancy, premature month, medical termination of pregnancy and any other such issue.

In private sector employment, it is the discretion of the Company whether they allow male employees for paternity leaves or not.

Provident Fund:

EPFO is the national organisation which looks after the retirement benefit schemes of the salaried employees. Organisation who has more than 20 employees shall be registered with EPFO. Once the employee is registered under the scheme the employer and the employee contributes 12% each from the salary. The amount can be withdrawn at any time as per will of the employee subject to certain rules and regulations.

Gratuity:

Gratuity is the statutory right of an employee under Payment of Gratuity Act 1972. It is the lump sum payment given as a retirement benefit and a gesture to the employee for their service.

In the event, an employee is guilty of any then he may have to forfeit his right to gratuity.

Timely Salary:

Various laws such as; Equal Remuneration Act, Payment of Wages Act, Indian Constitution provides for equal pay for equal work. In the event an employer fails to provide a fair and timely salary employee can reach out to the Labour Commissioner or can file a civil suit. 

Working Hours: 

Employees working hours are governed by the Factories Act and Shops and Establishments Act. An adult employee is allowed to work for 9 hours per day or 48 hours per week and in case of overtime work, payment shall be made to the employees as normal wages. One weekly holiday and half an hour break in a day is mandatory for all employees.

Right to Leaves: 

Every employee has the right to paid leaves, and out of 240 working days, every employee is entitled to a minimum of 12 days annual leave. An adult employee shall be entitled to get one earned leave for every 20 working days.

There are several other rights of employees as per Indian laws but the basic ones are mentioned above. You can reach out to Lead India for any employment related matters and avail free legal advice from our expert lawyers.