Minimum Wages Dilemma: Which Law Applies for Employees Working Across Haryana and Delhi?

All senior experts share your views with justification, if any, on the following points.

Which Minimum Wages Act (Haryana or Delhi) will be applicable for the employee who has been appointed in a firm registered in Faridabad, Haryana but deputed to work in another company registered in Delhi.

Jurisdiction Under Labor Jurisprudence

Only the place of work decides jurisdiction under labor jurisprudence. The creation of the concept of "Appropriate Government" under certain central labor laws is to ensure simultaneous enforcement of such laws by both the central and state governments, as labor is a subject matter in the Concurrent List of our Constitution. The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, is a central labor legislation providing for the appropriate government for the purposes of the Act. Therefore, though the company and the employee may have their origins in terms of registration and administration and appointment respectively in the State of Haryana, the place of work being Delhi means that the minimum rates of wages fixed by the Delhi State Government under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, would be applicable to the employee as long as he continues to work in Delhi.

Thank you, Mr. Umakantham.

What if an employee was in Delhi for 2 months where the minimum wage is higher, then he was deputed to Haryana again where the minimum wage is lower. What strategy should be followed as the nature of the job is transferable, temporary, or contractual for a smaller period?

When the nature of jobs is such that the incumbents could be transferred on a pan-India basis, it would be ideal to have the wage structure designed on the higher side. For employees who have to be deputed elsewhere for short spells of one or two months, i.e., required to work for more than a single wage period, my personal view is that they can be paid at the prevailing rates of the State to which their jobs normally belong. This is because it is only a temporary arrangement necessitated by work exigencies, and they would certainly be paid Travel Allowance (T.A.) and Daily Allowance for the duration outside their headquarters.

On the contrary, if the deputation is for a longer duration which disentitles such employees to their D.A. beyond a certain period, it has to be treated as a transfer only. In this case, they have to be paid at the higher rates prevailing in their actual place of work.

Kind regards,
[Your Name]