Understanding Minimum Wages in Hyderabad: How to Calculate and Schedule Payments?

Dear All,

My query is with regard to Minimum Wages. I am based in Hyderabad and working for a company that manufactures wood laminates.

Minimum Wages Schedule

1. Under which schedule do we fall to pay the Minimum Wages?

Payment Duration for Minimum Wages

2. Do Minimum Wages have to be paid for 26 days or for the total days in a month?

Calculation of Wages for Varying Working Days

3. If it is for 26 days, how should the calculation be made in a month with varying working days like 27 or 23?

I request the fraternity to please provide your responses with any supporting documentation.

Thank you.

Factory Registration and Minimum Wages

A. In case you are a factory registered as per the Factories Act 1948, you would be covered under item no. 1, i.e., any manufacturing process carried out in any factory as defined in Section 2(m) or Section 85 of the Factories Act, other than those notified under Part-I or Part-II of the Schedule of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

If you are not a factory, then probably item no. 60, i.e., Wood Working Establishment including furniture excluding timbering operation, would apply.

Monthly and Daily Minimum Wages

B & C. The notification includes both monthly and daily minimum wages. So, if the employee has worked all days, they should receive the notified wages for the whole month. Any deductions should be based on the notified daily wage. The standard month consists of 26 working days, and the daily wage is calculated by dividing the monthly wage by 26.

The notification itself serves as proof of this.

Minimum Wages Notification

The minimum wages notification issued by the relevant authority serves as the basic reference for deciding wages according to the scheduled employments list provided in the notification.

Determining the Applicable Category

The type of business that falls under the scheduled employment category must be chosen to apply minimum wages. If the business is not listed in the scheduled list, you may apply minimum wages under the Factories Act if it is a factory. If it is not a factory, then the Shops and Establishments Act can be applied.

Understanding Company Category for Minimum Wage

Regarding the category under which a firm falls, I find it confusing. Can you guide me on how to determine which category a company belongs to? As you mentioned, if it is a factory, then the Manufacturing Process category should be chosen. However, the other options also seem like manufacturing categories. For example, Slate Factories, Steel Mills, Powerloom Industry, Metal & General Engineering, Jute Industry, etc., are all manufacturing companies. So, how do I decide which category to choose for setting a company's minimum wage?

Wage Structure and Leave Policy

My previous factory followed a monthly wage system but calculated the salary based on the formula: (Wage * present days) / total working days in that month. For example, if there were 2 days absent in February, then the salary would be calculated as (Wage * 22) / 24. Salary deductions were made after providing 8 national holidays and 15 earned leaves. No other leaves such as casual leave or sick leave were provided. Is this wage structure and leave policy correct? The factory claims that no other leaves are provided according to the factory act.

Government Schedules for Minimum Wages

The government has notified 65 schedules under which most companies fall. If a company does not fall under 64 categories, and if it is a factory, it will fall under Schedule 1, which covers any manufacturing process. If a company is manufacturing engineering products, it will fall under the general engineering and metal foundries schedule category. If a company is manufacturing jute products, it will fall under a specific category. The government has set minimum wages for these 65 schedules, which will be revised every six months. It is essential to follow these guidelines.

Wage Calculation and Leave Entitlement

According to the law, wage calculation for minimum wages is based on 26 days only. If the working days are 24 or 27, the minimum wage should still be calculated based on 26 days and paid accordingly. Additionally, one earned leave should be provided for every 20 working days.

Please correct me if I am wrong and provide any suggestions.

Regards,
HR

Hi Hanu Rao, I am not very sure about your answers and have raised some doubts. I kindly request the knowledgeable professionals on this forum to help clarify these doubts for us. Thank you.

Repeating my queries:

Regarding the category under which a firm falls, it is confusing to me. Can you guide me on how to determine which category a company belongs to? You mentioned that if it is a factory, then the Manufacturing Process carried out category should be selected. However, the other options also seem like manufacturing categories, such as Slate Factories, Steel Mills, Powerloom Industry, Metal & General Engineering, Jute Industry, etc. All of these are manufacturing companies. So, which category should be chosen to fix a company's minimum wage?

Next query,

My previous factory followed a monthly wage system but deducted salary (if no leaves were left) based on this formula: (Wage * present days) / total working days in that month. For example, if 2 days were absent in February, then the salary would be (Wage * 22) / 24.

Salary deductions were made after providing 8 national holidays and 15 Earned Leaves (EL). No other leaves like Casual Leave (CL) or Sick Leave (SL) were provided. Is the wage structure and leave policy correct? The factory states that no other leaves are provided according to the factory act.

Thank you.

Minimum Wages Query for LPG Gas Industry in Coimbatore

My query is regarding Minimum Wages. I am based in Coimbatore and work for an LPG gas industry.

1. Under which schedule do we fall to pay the Minimum Wages?
2. Should Minimum Wages be paid for 26 days or for the entire month?
3. Also, how do I calculate the monthly pay including ESI, PF, 1/6 of relieving charges, and 4% service charges? I request the detailed breakup of the payment along with any supporting documents.

Thank you.