Entitlement of Temporary Employees to Wages on Weekly Holidays
Your query is whether a temporary employee paid on a monthly basis is entitled to wages on a weekly holiday. I am not going into the issue of whether they are entitled to a weekly holiday, as it is an admitted fact.
In my view, a temporary worker paid on a monthly basis is entitled to wages on a weekly holiday. In this context, I refer to Sec. 54 of the Factories Act, which states that no worker shall be allowed to work for more than 48 hours per week, which works out to 8 hours per day for six days in a week. A week, as per Sec. 2(g), means seven days starting from Sunday. It therefore means if a worker puts in 48 hours in six days, they are deemed to have worked for seven days and accordingly need to be paid on the seventh day also. Thus, Sec. 52 contains an inherent 'deeming' clause, casting an obligation on the employer to pay wages to a worker on a weekly holiday.
This view finds support from the provisions of another section, namely section 59 of the Factories Act. Sec. 59 states that if a worker works for more than 48 hours a week, they shall be entitled to overtime at the rate of twice the ordinary wages, i.e., 1 normal wage + 1 extra wage. Thus, if you require a temporary worker to work on a Sunday, which thus exceeds 48 hours a week, you need to pay them overtime at the rate of twice the ordinary wages. If no wages are payable to a worker on a weekly holiday, they should have been paid a single wage only for working on a weekly holiday as in the case of any other working day. But you have to pay double the ordinary wage.
This apart, a worker may very well want to work for all seven days in a week and earn wages for all seven days. By not paying them wages on a weekly holiday and at the same time not allowing them to work on the said day, the employer will be forcibly depriving them of their livelihood in violation of Article 20 of the Constitution, thus rendering their action amounting to a layoff for which wages become payable under the Industrial Disputes Act also. Thus, the payment of wages is envisaged under labor laws where the employee is rested at the instance of the employer.
The concept of a weekly holiday is incorporated in the Factories Act and the Shops Act as a welfare measure to enable a worker who toils with a hammer and sickle for six days, needs rest at least for one day to recuperate and be ready for another six days of strain. The reason for paying them wages on a weekly holiday is to prevent them from going to work again for earning wages, as their means of livelihood is too frugal to sustain them and their family. Thus, how can a welfare legislation like the Factories Act deny payment of wages to a poor worker on a weekly holiday?
Therefore, a conjoint reading of the above sections and the welfare nature of the Factories Act affirms that a temporary worker who is paid wages on a monthly basis is entitled to a paid weekly holiday under Sec. 52 of the Act. The weekly holidays shall also be paid holidays for the same reasons under the Shops Act.
Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai