Yes, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 is applicable to a company which is registered under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. Section 8 of the Companies Act defines a section 8 company as a company formed for charitable or religious purposes. However, the Payment of Bonus Act does not make any distinction between different types of companies. Therefore, all companies, including section 8 companies, are required to pay bonus to their employees as per the provisions of the Act.
The relevant provisions of the Payment of Bonus Act are:
Section 2(b) defines "employee" to include any person employed by the company, whether directly or through a contractor, but does not include any person who is employed merely for the purpose of training or probation.
Section 3(1) provides that every company which has paid to its employees in the preceding accounting year wages or salaries exceeding `21,000 (excluding dearness allowance and other allowances) per month to an average of 20 employees or more during that year, is required to pay bonus to its employees.
Section 8 provides that every employee shall be entitled to be paid by his employer in an accounting year, bonus, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, provided he has worked in the establishment for not less than thirty working days in that year.