Voting Day in Kolkata: Should It Be an Official Holiday for State Elections?

Hi, On the 27th of April, Voting Day will be observed in Kolkata. Should this day be declared an official holiday?

Regards,
Madhumita Roy

As per the Factory Act of 1948, there is no need to announce this day as an official holiday. Please consult your state or local administration office (D.M. Office) to check for any notifications regarding such a holiday. If there is a notification, then you shall have to declare the same.

With regards,

Dear Madhumita,

In my opinion, we are bound to grant a paid holiday to the employees in accordance with section 135B of The Representation of the People Act, 1951. The relevant section is provided below for your reference. Please go through it and finalize the matter accordingly.

[135B. Grant of paid holiday to employees on the day of poll.](http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1695796/)
(1) Every person employed in any business, trade, industrial undertaking, or any other establishment and entitled to vote at an election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State shall, on the day of the poll, be granted a holiday.
(2) No deduction or abatement of the wages of any such person shall be made on account of a holiday having been granted in accordance with subsection (1), and if such a person is employed on the basis that he would not ordinarily receive wages for such a day, he shall nonetheless be paid for such a day the wages he would have drawn had a holiday not been granted to him on that day.
(3) If an employer contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) or subsection (2), then such employer shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.
(4) This section shall not apply to any elector whose absence may cause danger or substantial loss in respect of the employment in which he is engaged.

Comments/opinions submitted as requested.
R.N. KHOLA

Hi Madhumita,

We had the same situation last year in Mumbai. We had sent out an email to employees stating that those who wished to cast their votes could come in 2 hours late to the office. I think this approach worked well, as many of them were in the office before noon and were able to exercise their voting rights. This way, both the office work and voting were taken care of. :)

Please let me know if you need any further assistance.

We have declared a holiday on April 13th (Wednesday) due to the Kerala Assembly Election 2011 because our office is in the "SEZ" area.

Exactly explained, sir. Election day shall be a holiday with wages.

You can refer to the attachment, which should answer your query. I downloaded it from a site, but I do not remember which one. It might be from CiteHR.

Dear Respectives,

I agree with the view of R.N. Khola. But, according to my opinion, if the organization building is located in a place where there are election booths within 500 to 800 meters, then according to the I.P.C. section, no office premises or outlets should be opened where there are chances of gathering of people during elections. For details, you may contact the local administration or the District Magistrate's office in this regard. If a holiday is announced, it must be paid.

If the office is located far from an election booth, then you should open the office on election day. Employees who are casting their votes should be given 2 to 3 hours to come and vote.

Thanks & Best Regards,
Vikas

Thank you, Mr. R.N. Khola, for informing me about the rule stipulating that the election day should be declared a holiday as clearly stated in the Act. I will bring this to the attention of the higher management to consider declaring the election day as a holiday.

Thanks again.

Regards,
Anindyo Chatterjee

Holiday Announcement on Voting Day

Holiday announcement on the day of voting is a statutory requirement as per the applicable Labour Act. If your industry operates as a continuous plant, you can provide them with two hours of leave with wages.

Regards,
GJPANCHAL
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Dear G J PANCHAL, please let us know which labor enactment allows us to take a holiday on the day of voting.

R.N. KHOLA

Holiday Announcement on Voting Day

Dear All, holiday announcement on the day of voting is a statutory requirement as per the applicable labor act. If your industry is a continuous plant, you can give employees two hours of leave with wages.

GJPANCHAL
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]
Regards