Are Sundays and Holidays Counted in the 240 Working Days for Gratuity Act 1972?

Greetings to all seniors, I have a query about the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972. Please clarify this as soon as possible. Are Sundays, holidays, and weekly off days counted for calculating the 240 working days as a completed year under the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972? In other words, will "Sundays, weekly offs, and holidays" be counted for calculating the 240 working days to determine a completed year under the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972, or should they not be counted? Please suggest to me. I'm looking for your valuable guidance.

Thanks and regards,
Devendra Mohan Gaur

If these weekly off days and holidays are paid days, then these days are counted for deciding the eligibility for and calculation of Gratuity.

Ref: Payment of Gratuity Act.

Madhu.T.K

Sundays, holidays, and weekly off days are counted for calculating 240 working days as a completed year under the Payment of Gratuity Act.

Thank you.

Clarification on Calculation of 240 Days Under the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972

As far as I think, Sundays or weekly offs are not included in the calculation of 240 days. If these were included, then why are there two definitions given in Section 2a, subsection 2, clause (a)(i) and (a)(ii), which read as follows:

"(i) one hundred and ninety days, in the case of any employee employed below the ground in a mine or in an establishment which works for less than six days in a week; and (ii) two hundred and forty days, in any other case."

In (i), there is no need to add this: "or in an establishment which works for less than six days in a week." It should have been omitted...

Regards,
Dinesh Kumar

In the Gratuity Act of 1972, it is not mentioned how to calculate gratuity based on working days. Therefore, weekends, off days, and paid holidays are typically considered when calculating the total number of days for gratuity.

Dear Dineshkumar,

190 days are calculated for any establishment that has a 5-day workweek instead of a 6-day workweek.

Hi Mr. Dinesh and Saji,

From which sources have you defined 190 days as continuous services relevant to 5 days of work in a week? Kindly confirm and mention the provisions as well. I am not finding this information under the ID Act or Factory Act. Please confirm.

Dear Mr. Dubey,

Kindly refer to the Gratuity Act instead of the ID Act and Factory Act.

Dear Mr. Saji,

This is what I meant to say: if the weekly off (Sunday) is included, then why is the provision set at 190 days for those who work only 5 days a week? It should have been 240 days. If the legislature has mentioned 190 days for those who work 5 days, the intention was solely to exclude the weekly off from the calculation.

Regards,
Dinesh Kumar

Respected Madhu Sir,

Would you please update me on the following:

1. Is it mentioned anywhere in the law that paid Sundays/weekly offs will be considered for 240 days?

2. Secondly, as you have mentioned, "This is relevant for daily-rated employees who are paid only for the days they work." Now, suppose in a 6-day working establishment we hire employees on a daily-rated basis, then only the working days (excluding weekly offs) will be considered for 240 days. Whereas, in the case of monthly-rated employees, all days (including weekly offs) will be considered. In this case, is this not injustice to the daily-rated employees? Monthly-rated employees will soon complete their 240 days in 8 months; on the other hand, the daily-rated employees will complete their 240 days in 9 months (240/26 days).

Please explain why the legislature has mentioned 190 days in the law for those who work for 5 days when the weekly offs are included.

Regards,
Dinesh Kumar

Why do you pay wages for weekly off days?

You pay because they are in your employment. Why don't you pay wages to a daily-rated worker? Because he is hired for a few days, and on the day his service is not required, he is not in your service. Similarly, when a person is on authorized leave, they will be paid a salary because they are in your service. However, if they have taken leave without intimation or have no leave to their credit, resulting in leave without pay, such days will be counted as days on which they are not in your service or as interrupted service. On a legal strike day, the employer is bound to pay wages even though the employee had not worked. Such a day will be counted as a day worked. A layoff day will also be considered a day worked because the employee is paid wages (though not 100%, but 50%).

The concept of 190/240 days

The concept of 190/240 has no relevance to regular workers because, for them, a year means 365 days. They may receive a salary for all 30/31 days in every month, except for a few days of LOP. But for a daily-rated worker, the days physically present are the days counted as service. Their engagement itself is a flexible arrangement. If you need a person to do work that is not regular in nature, you cannot afford to employ one on your permanent rolls and keep the person on the bench whenever there is no work. In such a situation, you can engage workers on a daily-rated basis and pay their wages each day or, for convenience, at the end of each spell. If your establishment works only for 5 days, your daily-rated worker can work only for a maximum of 5 days per week. As such, they will get fewer days compared to another worker engaged by an establishment that works for 6 days a week. When it comes to terminal benefits, there should be some difference in treatment, and accordingly, the law has taken a stand that an establishment that works for 5 days a week should pay its workers gratuity if they have worked for 190 days only.

Special consideration for mine workers

Also, note that the 190 days principle applies to employees in mines who work below the ground. This is because working below the ground is more difficult than working above the ground, and therefore, a differential treatment has been given to them, requiring only 190 days to make their one year continuous.

There is no practice of taking each 190/240 days and putting them one after another. Therefore, completing the 190/240 days in 8 months or 9 months is immaterial. We have to take the date of leaving service first, then take the days backward and ensure that in each year, the employee has worked for 240/190 days in each year of 12 months.