Are We Obligated to Pay Bonuses and Follow Labor Laws for Long-term Apartment Staff?

We are a registered apartment society since 1987 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. We have 3 employees working for an apartment of 40 flats. We have 2 lady sweepers and 1 man to manage the water supply (morning 2 hours), electricity, and maintenance collection (once a month). The rest of the time, he is a watchman. These 3 people have been working with us for 12 years with a mutual agreement for their salaries without any written agreement or contract. Now, these 3 people have been threatening the society that they will go to the labor court if they are not paid bonuses since their non-contractual agreement with us 12 years back.

We have 1 security guard on a contract with another private firm for nighttime. In total, we pay salaries for 4 people. Our primary concern is for the 3 people employed by the society for the past 12 years.

Bonus Payment Obligations

1) Are we bound to make any bonus payments to these people as a registered society for the apartment?

Working Days Calculation

2) How are their number of working days calculated? They work all days in a month but do take leave when they are needed. The watchman takes a 3-hour lunch break in the afternoon, and sweepers have no work after 4 hours of their morning work.

Termination Procedures

3) Can we remove these people from work immediately, or do we need to follow any procedure?

Minimum Wages Inquiry

4) If possible, can you let me know the minimum wages that these people need to be paid by a society as per Andhra Pradesh labor laws?

Regards,
Jitender
Badruka Apartments

If the apartments are owned and exclusively occupied by the owners, the society cannot be considered an industry as defined under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947.

Thank you for your reply, sir. Further, regarding your reply, I would like to tell you that not all residents of the apartment are owners; half of the residents are renters here.

Also, if you know what the current labor laws in Andhra Pradesh are regarding the minimum salary to be paid for these part-time employees of our apartments, it would really help us to talk to these employees and understand how much we need to increase their salaries. We need to know whether we are currently paying them the required wage or if it is on the lower side.

I appreciate your time and information on my query. Thank you very much.

Just because a flat is rented out by its owner, it cannot be construed as an industry for attracting the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act or as a Commercial Establishment under the State's Shops and Establishment Act unless it is on a large scale. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, no minimum wages have been fixed for domestic workers till today. I have no idea about Andhra Pradesh. However, I remember reading some years ago that the Central Government fixed National Floor Level Wages for any kind of employment not falling under the purview of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Please go through the websites of the Centre and Andhra Pradesh.

Regards