Can I Digitally Maintain Statutory Registers for 2500+ Workers? Seeking Advice on Legal Acceptance

Dear Professionals,

I am Ratnakar, working as a Sr. Executive IR with a construction company where they have 2500 plus laborers deployed on-site. Can I maintain the statutory registers for all these workers on the computer? Is this acceptable to the Commissioner of Labor? According to the Information Technology Act Section 7, is it possible? Does this act relate to the CLRT Act as well?

You have to maintain site-wise registers under CLRA because the minimum wage may vary according to various zones. Additionally, the site-wise register will be an easy reference for the DCIF if he comes for an inspection, as RC, license, and site-wise strength should sync.

Dear Friend,

Thank you for your response. Actually, I do not have a problem with maintaining the registers. My query is, "Can I maintain the data through a computer-generated Excel sheet, or is handwritten mandatory?"

Please let me know your thoughts on this.

Thank you.

You should maintain the computer-generated format only after obtaining prior approval from the relevant authority.

Dear Ratnakar,

As per the Act, there are certain formats/registers prescribed by the government (such as CLRA, Factory Act, Shops and Establishment Act, BOC Act, etc.) that need to be complied with. You can maintain the data, but please make sure the format complies with the requirements of the Labour Laws related to the site. The sites may be in different states, with different clients and legal entities.

Steps to Ensure Compliance with Labour Laws

So, please first thoroughly check the required basic points (Format-Registers) before implementing the maintenance of the Statutory Data. I would suggest noting some basic points first (Designation, DOB, DOJ, Local Address, Permanent Address, Actual days in the month, No. of days Worked, Salary Structure, Deduction Detail, Net Salary, PF No., ESI No., OT Days, OT Payments, PT, etc.).

You can maintain the data in a "MASTER FILE" according to your format. Later, you can shift the data to the required format of each site.

Furnishing Returns Under the Factory Act

Please note that under the Factory Act, Labour Licence, etc., we need to furnish Returns (Half Yearly, Annual) to the government office, so take care of the points accordingly. Although this is indeed a good idea to maintain month-wise data. This will also help your management in MIS and decision-making for future planning.

Good luck

Regards