Understanding Weekly Holidays Act: Do We Need to Pay Drivers for Sundays?

Weekly Holidays Act, 1942

No deduction or abatement to be made from wages.

No deduction or abatement of the wages of any person employed in an establishment to which this Act applies shall be made on account of any day or part of a day on which the establishment has remained closed or a holiday has been allowed in accordance with sections 3, 4, and 5. If such a person is employed on the basis that he would not ordinarily receive wages for such a day or a part of a day, he shall nonetheless be paid for such day or part of a day the wages he would have drawn had the establishment not remained closed or the holiday not been allowed on that day or part of a day.

What is the meaning of the paragraph above?

We are hiring drivers on an outsourcing basis and paying a monthly salary based on 26 days/month, not paying salary for 4 Sundays/month. Should we have to pay for the 4 Sundays as per this paragraph since salary is paid on a monthly basis? Please advise.

You have quoted section 6, which contains references to sections 3, 4, 5, etc. Why did you not quote those sections as well?

Applicability of the Act

The cited Act was enacted to protect the interests of employees employed in certain shops and restaurants. Though this Act is a Central Act, the applicability of this Act is limited only to states that notify its applicability.

Significance of the Act

With the passing of the Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, the significance of this Act seems to have been lost.

Minimum Wages and Weekly Off Day

The Minimum Wages notified by the State following the Minimum Wages Act provide for a daily rate of wages as well as monthly rated wages. The daily rate is arrived at by dividing the monthly rate of wages by 26, implying that the wages for the weekly off day are included in the daily rate. Hence, a holiday after 6 days of work is mandatory, and it is not necessary to pay for that day. In the case of monthly rated employees, payment is made for 30/31 days, whereas for daily rated employees, the daily rate itself contains an element of weekly off day payment, as the monthly rate is divided by 26 to get the daily rate.

It seems it is mandatory to pay for a weekly day off if one works for 6 consecutive days.