Wage Payment Confusion: How Should Contract Workers Be Paid for Holidays Like Election Day?

Wage Payment for Paid Holidays

Principal Employer is registered with the Labour Commissioner under the category of "Construction or Maintenance of Roads." This category is used for many types of contracts given by them. Minimum Rates of Wages are applied and paid as per this category only.

Now, the query is: what is the wage (is it Basic rate only or Basic + VDA) to be paid to contract workers for Paid Holidays (availed holiday and no work) including Election Day, which is also declared as a Paid Holiday. PE insists on all-inclusive payment.

I request the expertise opinion with the applicable clause of the relevant law/act.

Dear Kanthan,
The definition of "wages" under Section 2(vi) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, has been adopted by reference in the CLRA Act, 1970, under Section 2(1)(h) of the latter.

Whatever it is, a paid holiday implies a holiday with normal wages payable for a day. Here, the normal wages payable should be treated only as a single package comprising all the regular components. If you are paying statutory minimum wages at a monthly rate, then you should divide the monthly rate by 26 to arrive at the daily rate; in case it is by a daily rate, the actual wages for a day should be paid as holiday wages.