Combined Registers Under Various Specified Labour Laws

Combined Registers
Shram Suvidha Portal

New Rules For Maintaining Combined Registers Under Various Specified Labour Laws

Introduction

On 21 February 2017, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India (Ministry) has notified the Ease of Compliance to Maintain Registers under various Specified Labour Laws Rules 2017 (Ease of Compliance Rules). The Ease of Compliance Rules have come into force with effect from the date of its notification in the Official Gazette.

Amendment of Central Rules under certain Labour Laws

The Ease of Compliance Rules enable an employer to maintain 5 (five) types of combined registers under the following labour laws:

1. Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996;
2. Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970;
3. Equal Remuneration Act 1976;
4. Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1979;
5. Mines Act 1952;
6. Minimum Wages Act 1948;
7. Payment of Wages Act 1936;
8. Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act 1976; and
9. Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1955, (collectively referred to as the Specified Labour Laws).
10. The 5 (five) types of combined registers required to be maintained under the Specified Labour Laws, include:
11. Employee Register;
12. Wage Register;
13. Register of Loan / Recoveries;
14. Attendance Register; and
15. Register of Rest Days / Leave account of employees / Leave with Wages.

Accordingly, pursuant to the Ease of Compliance Rules, the relevant central rules enacted under the Specified Labour Laws have been amended to replace existing forms of registers with the combined registers notified under the Ease of Compliance Rules. Consequently, the various different forms of registers required to be maintained under the Specified Labour Laws have been reduced to the combined registers under the Ease of Compliance Rules.

The Ease of Compliance Rules allow an employer to maintain the combined registers in electronic form. It is understood that the Ministry is simultaneously developing a software for these 5 (five) combined registers to enable maintaining such registers in digitised form. After development of the software, it is contemplated that the software will be uploaded on the 'Shram Suvidha Portal' of the Ministry to enable establishments to download such software for free.