Are Apprentices Entitled to Bonuses Under the Payment of Bonus Act? Let's Discuss

Hi Amit,

Are apprentices eligible for a bonus as per the Payment of Bonus Act?

Regards,
Amit

Apprentices registered under the Apprentices Act are in the organization only for on-the-job training. They are not entitled to a bonus.

Regards,
P. Arun Kumar

Hi there!

Apprentices are not covered under any labor laws except the Workmen's Compensation Act. Please correct me if I am wrong.

- Hiten

Dear Hiten,

Apprentices are covered by the Apprentices Act, 1961. They are also covered by the Industrial Disputes Act. No other act is applicable to them.

Regards,
Nilendra

Dear All,

The definition of an employee in the Bonus Act is as follows:

13) "employee" means any person (other than an apprentice) employed on a salary or wage not exceeding ten thousand per mensem in any industry to do any skilled or unskilled manual, supervisory, managerial, administrative, technical, or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment are express or implied.

So, apprentices are outside the definition itself.

With Regards,

V. Sounder Rajan

VS Rajan Associates, Advocates & Notaries

No.27, 1st Floor, Singapore Plaza,

No.164, Linghi Chetty Street,

Chennai - 600 001.

Email: rajanassociates@eth.net

Office: 044-42620864, 044-65874684

Mobile: 98401 42164.

If the trainees are summer interns, then they are not eligible for a bonus. If they are recruits of the company and PF is deducted from their salary/stipend, and their salary/stipend is less than or equal to 10,000, then they are eligible for a bonus if they have served for 30 days in the fiscal year.

Regards,
Nilendra

Nilendra is right.

The basic conditions for ascertaining whether a trainee is covered under the Payment of Bonus are as follows:
a) The trainee should be on the rolls of the Company.
b) The stipend should be less than Rs. 10,000 per month.
c) The trainee should have worked for at least 30 days in the financial year for which the bonus is being paid.
d) Normally, some companies pay a bonus to trainees under the heading of "Special payments" and do not call it a Bonus.
e) Also, some companies follow the rule of mentioning in the notice/letter that payment of bonus/special payment to trainees does not imply that any permanent status is being given to them in the company.

Regards,
P. Arun Kumar

Apprentices under the Apprentices Act are not eligible for a bonus as they are not considered workmen under the Payment of Bonus Act. However, for this, the contract of apprenticeship has to be registered. In the absence of this registration, the status of the apprentice can be subject to dispute.

Regards,
Ranjit J. Pandya

Hi Nilendra,

Any trainee hired under the Apprentice Act is not eligible for Bonus, PF, ESI, etc. If PF is calculated in the case of a trainee/summer trainee, it is based on their basic salary. Bonus is calculated based on the PF basic.

Regards,
Amit

Arun, can you give me some authority for what you have said regarding the payment of bonuses to trainees? How did you come to this conclusion - through a statute or a judgment?