One of our clients is insisting on maintaining manual handwritten registers. We have been preparing computer printouts and keeping the same.
Request for Circulars or Amendments
Experts, could you please share any circulars or amendments on this issue?
Regards.
From India, Bangalore
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2Request for Circulars or Amendments
Experts, could you please share any circulars or amendments on this issue?
Regards.
From India, Bangalore
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Yes There is no restriction on this. However, for attendance, you must take prior approval from the labour commissioners office.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Taking your location into consideration, it comes under Sec. 25 D of the Karnataka S&E Act that permission is granted to maintain all these registers in a computerized format in soft copy. Many organizations follow the same practice, and it should be in a downloadable format.
From India, Bangalore
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From India, Bangalore
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It is permissible. However, to be on the safer side, you need to take out a hard copy/printout and get it endorsed/validated by your area Labour Inspector at least once every six months. During this process, he will sign and acknowledge that he has verified it during his inspection. This will also assist you in filing returns under the Act periodically.
From India, Chennai
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From India, Chennai
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Dear Experts, Can we maintain the Muster Roll Cum Wage Register (Form 11) in soft copy? We will take printouts of the same after filing the required data and also will take the signatures. But is it acceptable by the Labour Inspector? We are registered under the Bombay Shop & Establishment Act. Kindly suggest.
From India, Nagpur
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From India, Nagpur
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When you take the printouts, they become hard copies. Preparing in soft copy and then printing it out is not a problem, especially if it is in the prescribed format. Even if you intend to collect signatures from employees, I do not see any issue with it. Keeping it in soft copy only requires permission.
Thank you.
Regards,
From India, New Delhi
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Thank you.
Regards,
From India, New Delhi
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Dear Mr. Nair,
I have made several attempts but have been unable to locate the amended section 25 D in the Karnataka Shops and Establishment Act. Has it been recently amended? If you have the text of the section, could you kindly reproduce it here for the benefit of the community?
Regards,
From India, New Delhi
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I have made several attempts but have been unable to locate the amended section 25 D in the Karnataka Shops and Establishment Act. Has it been recently amended? If you have the text of the section, could you kindly reproduce it here for the benefit of the community?
Regards,
From India, New Delhi
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I am entering into this debate late as I was not active on the site when you posted it. As it happens, this is a regular discussion in many of our client offices during audits.
First, I do not know why your client will be deciding or bothering about how you maintain your registers unless you are a contractor covered under the Contract Labour Act. In that case, you need to follow the requirements of the Contract Labour Act and not the Shop and Establishment Act.
All labor laws in India provide for the maintenance of registers. Though not specifically defined, it is understood that registers are manual and bound (sticker and bound actually) books in which the records are to be maintained. At the time when the rules were made, computers were not an option. The rules have not been modified since then, unfortunately, and still apply as they were.
Only Karnataka and AP have modified the rules to provide for automatic approval for electronic records. But you still need to inform the concerned authorities. In all other states, you need to take specific approvals.
Different Ways to Comply
1. Maintain the records in manual registers with manual writing.
2. Maintain records in electronic form with the approval of the department. Please note that approval for electronic records is approval to maintain in software that is tamper-proof and has a detailed audit trail. Therefore, records in Excel do not qualify or meet the requirements. It's a sure and direct non-compliance. Courts will not accept those records as they can be tampered with at any time by anyone. Some will tell you that Sec 4 of the Information Technology Act 2000 allows electronic records. That's a fallacy. Sec 4 specifies that you can maintain electronic copies of any record that is required by law to be maintained in hard copy. So, it means you can keep PDF/a copies of your records (PDF/a is a tamper-proof encrypted copy).
3. Take a print of all records every month, bind them as a set, and keep them as the hard copy records of the registers. That will be allowed by the authorities. It does not say in the act that it needs to be written in pen. However, wage registers, etc., which need to be signed must be signed in the original bound copies.
4. Where none of the above work, you have the option of taking prints of the records and pasting them in the register. That is followed by many companies. It has the advantage of being non-tamperable and still saves manpower by the use of electronic records.
From India, Mumbai
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First, I do not know why your client will be deciding or bothering about how you maintain your registers unless you are a contractor covered under the Contract Labour Act. In that case, you need to follow the requirements of the Contract Labour Act and not the Shop and Establishment Act.
All labor laws in India provide for the maintenance of registers. Though not specifically defined, it is understood that registers are manual and bound (sticker and bound actually) books in which the records are to be maintained. At the time when the rules were made, computers were not an option. The rules have not been modified since then, unfortunately, and still apply as they were.
Only Karnataka and AP have modified the rules to provide for automatic approval for electronic records. But you still need to inform the concerned authorities. In all other states, you need to take specific approvals.
Different Ways to Comply
1. Maintain the records in manual registers with manual writing.
2. Maintain records in electronic form with the approval of the department. Please note that approval for electronic records is approval to maintain in software that is tamper-proof and has a detailed audit trail. Therefore, records in Excel do not qualify or meet the requirements. It's a sure and direct non-compliance. Courts will not accept those records as they can be tampered with at any time by anyone. Some will tell you that Sec 4 of the Information Technology Act 2000 allows electronic records. That's a fallacy. Sec 4 specifies that you can maintain electronic copies of any record that is required by law to be maintained in hard copy. So, it means you can keep PDF/a copies of your records (PDF/a is a tamper-proof encrypted copy).
3. Take a print of all records every month, bind them as a set, and keep them as the hard copy records of the registers. That will be allowed by the authorities. It does not say in the act that it needs to be written in pen. However, wage registers, etc., which need to be signed must be signed in the original bound copies.
4. Where none of the above work, you have the option of taking prints of the records and pasting them in the register. That is followed by many companies. It has the advantage of being non-tamperable and still saves manpower by the use of electronic records.
From India, Mumbai
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Subject: Re: Can we maintain computer printed records instead of Manual Registers
Hi Mahesh, can you please share the details related to Section 25-D of the Karnataka S&CE Act 1963?
Regards,
Vivekanand Chandel
Sr. Executive HR & Compliance
From India, Delhi
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Hi Mahesh, can you please share the details related to Section 25-D of the Karnataka S&CE Act 1963?
Regards,
Vivekanand Chandel
Sr. Executive HR & Compliance
From India, Delhi
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Hi,
In a Haryana-based manufacturing company, we wish to maintain computerized printed records (All Legal registers under the Factories Act).
How can we request the desired approval from the labor department? Is there any format to apply for the same? Please share your views and expertise.
Thanks,
Abhishek
dixit.msw@gmail.com
From India, Delhi
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In a Haryana-based manufacturing company, we wish to maintain computerized printed records (All Legal registers under the Factories Act).
How can we request the desired approval from the labor department? Is there any format to apply for the same? Please share your views and expertise.
Thanks,
Abhishek
dixit.msw@gmail.com
From India, Delhi
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