Can Employers Deduct House Rent from Minimum Wage in Delhi Restaurants?

My client opened a new restaurant and sweet shop in Delhi, and he pays minimum wages with a house for stay. Can he deduct house rent from staff salary? Kindly suggest me.

As far as the question of deducting the house rent from staff salaries is concerned, you can deduct the amount for the house rent accommodation provided by the employer, subject to the conditions of section 2(d) of the Payment of Wages Act. The section is reproduced below:

2(d) Deductions for house-accommodation supplied by the employer

This includes accommodation provided by the Government or any housing board set up under any law currently in force (whether the Government or the board is the employer or not) or any other authority engaged in the business of subsidizing house-accommodation, which may be specified by the State Government through notification in the Official Gazette.

Housing accommodation is an additional amenity provided by the employer, in addition to the minimum wages set by the State Government; therefore, the employer is empowered to deduct the house rent amount from the staff's salary.

Regards,
R B Rao
Advocate

I have a different perception regarding the exclusion clauses in the definitions of the term "wages" as found in the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Normally, while HRA is explicitly included as a component of wages under the Minimum Wages Act and impliedly under the Payment of Wages Act, the value of any house accommodation is included in the exclusion clauses under both enactments. Therefore, house rent can be deducted only when HRA is paid as an integral component of the minimum wages fixed by the respective government.