Labour Law MCQs for Judiciary, Page 3

Correct answer: B. Twenty workers are working, or were working on any day of the preceding twelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried on without the aid of power

Section 2(m) of the Factories Act, 1948 defines a factory using two alternative thresholds depending on whether power is used in the manufacturing process: (1) ten or more workers, where the manufacturing process is carried on with the aid of power; or (2) twenty or more workers, where the manufacturing process is carried on without the aid of power. This dual threshold recognises that power-driven manufacturing processes typically involve greater risks to worker safety and health, justifying a lower numerical threshold for the Act's protective provisions to apply, compared to non-power-driven processes.

Source note: Section 2(m), Factories Act 1948

Correct answer: B. The minimum wage payable to skilled and unskilled workers across different industries

Chapter III of the Factories Act, 1948 (Sections 11-20) addresses health-related provisions for factory workers, covering matters such as cleanliness (Section 11), disposal of wastes and effluents (Section 12), ventilation and temperature (Section 13), dust and fume (Section 14), artificial humidification (Section 15), overcrowding (Section 16), lighting (Section 17), drinking water (Section 18), latrines and urinals (Section 19), and spittoons (Section 20). The minimum wage payable to workers is a matter governed by separate legislation, namely the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and is not addressed within the health provisions of the Factories Act.

Source note: Sections 11-20, Factories Act 1948

Correct answer: B. Section 51 limits weekly working hours to 48, and Section 54 limits daily working hours to 9, subject to specified exceptions and the requirement under Section 56 that the total spread over, including rest intervals, shall not ordinarily exceed 10.5 hours unless extended by the Chief Inspector for specified reasons

The Factories Act, 1948 imposes important limits on working hours to protect worker health and prevent excessive exploitation: Section 51 restricts weekly working hours for adult workers to a maximum of 48 hours, and Section 54 limits daily working hours to a maximum of 9 hours. Section 56 addresses the 'spread over', meaning the total period including rest intervals during which a worker is present at the factory, ordinarily restricting this to 10.5 hours, with the Chief Inspector having limited power to extend this spread over for specified reasons. These provisions reflect the Act's protective purpose in regulating working time to safeguard worker welfare.

Source note: Sections 51, 54, 56, Factories Act 1948

Correct answer: B. Twice his ordinary rate of wages for the overtime hours worked

Section 59 of the Factories Act, 1948 mandates that where a worker works in a factory for more than nine hours in a day or more than forty-eight hours in a week, the worker is entitled to wages at twice the ordinary rate of wages for the overtime hours worked. This provision serves both a compensatory function (ensuring workers are fairly remunerated for extended hours) and a deterrent function (discouraging employers from routinely extending working hours beyond the statutory limits by making it financially costly to do so).

Source note: Section 59, Factories Act 1948

Correct answer: B. One day for every twenty days of work performed by him during the previous calendar year, with proportionate adjustment provisions and carry-forward rules subject to specified limits

Section 79 of the Factories Act, 1948 entitles an adult worker who has worked for at least 240 days during a calendar year to annual leave with wages calculated at the rate of one day for every twenty days of work performed during the previous calendar year. The provision also addresses how this leave may be carried forward (subject to a maximum accumulation limit) if not availed within the relevant period, and provides for proportionate calculation in certain circumstances, reflecting the Act's broader objective of ensuring workers receive adequate rest and recuperation periods as a statutory entitlement tied to their work record.

Source note: Section 79, Factories Act 1948

Correct answer: B. 80 days

Section 5 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 specifies that a woman is entitled to maternity benefit only if she has actually worked in the establishment of the employer from whom she claims maternity benefit for a period of not less than eighty days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery. This qualifying period requirement ensures the benefit is extended to women who have a genuine and substantial employment connection with the establishment, while the inclusion of the term 'actually worked' has been the subject of judicial interpretation regarding what activities count towards satisfying this threshold.

Source note: Section 5, Maternity Benefit Act 1961

Correct answer: B. Twenty-six weeks, with the proviso that the period before the expected date of delivery shall not exceed eight weeks; for a woman who has two or more surviving children, the duration of maternity benefit continues to be twelve weeks, with not more than six weeks preceding the expected delivery date

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 significantly enhanced maternity benefits in India by increasing the maximum duration of paid maternity leave from twelve weeks to twenty-six weeks for women with fewer than two surviving children, with a maximum of eight weeks permissible before the expected date of delivery (and the remainder to be availed after delivery). However, the amendment retained the shorter twelve-week duration (with a maximum of six weeks preceding delivery) for women who already have two or more surviving children, reflecting a population and family planning policy consideration embedded within the maternity benefit framework.

Source note: Section 5, Maternity Benefit Act 1961 (as amended by Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017)

Correct answer: B. A commissioning mother (defined as a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman) and an adopting mother, who in case of legally adopting a child below the age of three months, is entitled to maternity benefit for a period of twelve weeks from the date the child is handed over to the adopting mother, or in the case of a commissioning mother, from the date the child is handed over to her

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 introduced important extensions to recognise evolving family formation methods, providing maternity benefit to a 'commissioning mother' (a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in another woman, in the context of surrogacy arrangements) and to an 'adopting mother' who legally adopts a child below the age of three months. Both categories are entitled to maternity benefit for a period of twelve weeks from the relevant date the child is handed over, reflecting a significant modernisation of the statutory framework to address assisted reproduction and adoption scenarios that were not contemplated by the original 1961 Act.

Source note: Section 5(3), Maternity Benefit Act 1961 (as amended 2017)

Correct answer: B. A creche facility, within such distance as may be prescribed, either separately or along with common facilities, and the employer is required to allow four visits a day to the creche by the woman, which shall also include the interval for rest allowed to her

Section 11A, inserted by the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, requires every establishment having a prescribed number of employees to provide creche facilities within a prescribed distance, either independently or in conjunction with common facilities shared among multiple establishments. The provision further requires the employer to permit the woman four visits a day to the creche, which include the interval for rest otherwise allowed to her, reflecting the legislative recognition that supporting working mothers requires not merely leave entitlements but also practical infrastructure facilitating continued workforce participation alongside childcare responsibilities.

Source note: Section 11A, Maternity Benefit Act 1961 (as inserted 2017)

Correct answer: B. Persons employed in factories, and persons employed upon railways (otherwise than as casual labour) and in industrial or other establishments specified in the Act, with the Act extending coverage to employed persons whose wages do not exceed a wage ceiling prescribed and periodically revised under the Act

The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 is designed to regulate the payment of wages to certain classes of employed persons in establishments specified under the Act, including factories, railways, and other industrial establishments, with the Act's coverage subject to a wage ceiling that has been periodically revised through amendments to extend protection to a wider range of lower and middle-income wage earners. The Act's core purpose is to ensure that wages are paid in a timely manner, without unauthorised deductions, providing a statutory mechanism for employees to claim wages wrongfully withheld or delayed.

Source note: Section 1, Payment of Wages Act 1936

Correct answer: B. The 7th day, in establishments employing less than 1000 persons; in establishments employing 1000 or more persons, wages must be paid before the expiry of the 10th day after the last day of the wage period in respect of which the wages are payable

Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 prescribes specific time limits for the payment of wages depending on the size of the establishment: in establishments employing less than 1000 persons, wages must be paid before the expiry of the 7th day after the last day of the relevant wage period; in larger establishments employing 1000 or more persons, the time limit extends to the 10th day. These time-bound payment requirements protect employees from undue delay in receiving their earned wages, recognising the practical hardship that delayed wage payment can cause to workers dependent on regular income.

Source note: Section 5, Payment of Wages Act 1936

Correct answer: C. An arbitrary deduction imposed by the employer at his sole discretion for any reason not falling within any of the categories specifically enumerated in Section 7

Section 7 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 provides an exhaustive list of permissible deductions from wages, which includes deductions for fines, absence from duty, damage to or loss of goods entrusted to the employee, house accommodation provided by the employer, recovery of advances and loans, income tax, amounts payable under any law, payments to cooperative societies, insurance premiums, and certain other specified categories. Crucially, the Act does not permit an employer to make an arbitrary deduction at his sole discretion for any reason outside this specifically enumerated list, reflecting the protective and exhaustive character of the statutory scheme that prevents unauthorised reduction of an employee's earned wages.

Source note: Section 7, Payment of Wages Act 1936

Correct answer: B. A minimum rate of wages may consist of a basic rate of wages and a special allowance (cost of living allowance) at intervals and in the manner prescribed; or a basic rate of wages with or without the cost of living allowance and the cash value of concessions in respect of supplies of essential commodities at concession rates; or an all-inclusive rate allowing for the basic rate, cost of living allowance, and cash value of concessions, if any

Section 3 read with Section 4 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 provides flexibility in how minimum wage rates may be structured, allowing for: (1) a basic rate plus a special allowance adjusted at prescribed intervals to address cost of living variations (a dearness allowance type structure); (2) a basic rate with or without a cost of living allowance, combined with the cash value of concessions for essential commodities supplied at concessional rates; or (3) an all-inclusive rate incorporating the basic rate, cost of living allowance, and cash value of concessions together. This flexible structure allows the appropriate government to design wage fixation mechanisms suited to the particular scheduled employment and local economic conditions.

Source note: Sections 3-4, Minimum Wages Act 1948

Correct answer: B. Thirty working days

Section 8 of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 entitles every employee to be paid bonus by his employer in respect of an accounting year, provided he has worked in the establishment for not less than thirty working days in that accounting year. This qualifying period ensures that the statutory bonus entitlement, designed as a form of profit-sharing and incentive linked to the employer's allocable surplus, is reserved for employees with a genuine and meaningful employment connection to the establishment during the relevant accounting period, rather than extending to extremely short-term or transient engagements.

Source note: Section 8, Payment of Bonus Act 1965

Correct answer: A. Minimum bonus of 8.33% of salary or wage earned during the accounting year (or a prescribed minimum amount, whichever is higher), and a maximum bonus of 20% of such salary or wage, subject to the available and allocable surplus calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Act

Section 10 of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 mandates a minimum bonus of 8.33% of the salary or wages earned by the employee during the accounting year (or a specified minimum rupee amount, whichever is higher), payable even where the employer has suffered losses in the accounting year, reflecting the legislative recognition that bonus, while linked to profit-sharing, also has a guaranteed minimum statutory floor. Section 11 provides for a maximum bonus of 20% of salary or wages, payable where the available surplus exceeds the amount required for minimum bonus, with the actual percentage between this minimum and maximum determined based on the calculation of allocable surplus under the formula prescribed by the Act.

Source note: Sections 10-11, Payment of Bonus Act 1965

Correct answer: B. Twenty or more persons, as specified in the Schedule to the Act, though the Central Government has the power to extend the Act's application to establishments employing fewer than twenty persons by notification

The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 generally applies to establishments employing twenty or more persons, falling within the categories of industries or classes of establishments specified in Schedule I to the Act, or those to which the Act has otherwise been made applicable by notification. The Central Government retains the power under the Act to extend its application to establishments employing fewer than the standard threshold of twenty persons, allowing for flexible expansion of social security coverage as policy considerations warrant, reflecting the Act's broader purpose of providing retirement and social security benefits to industrial workers.

Source note: Section 1, Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952

Correct answer: B. The Employees' Provident Fund Scheme (providing for retirement savings accumulated through joint employer-employee contributions), the Employees' Pension Scheme (providing pension benefits to employees and their families), and the Employees' Deposit-Linked Insurance Scheme (providing life insurance benefits to the family of an employee who dies while in service)

The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 establishes a framework for three principal and distinct schemes: the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme (the primary retirement savings mechanism funded through mandatory joint contributions from employer and employee), the Employees' Pension Scheme (providing periodic pension benefits to eligible employees upon retirement and to their families in the event of the employee's death), and the Employees' Deposit-Linked Insurance Scheme (providing a life insurance benefit payable to the nominee or family of an employee who dies while still in service). Together, these three schemes form a comprehensive social security architecture addressing retirement savings, pension, and life insurance needs of covered employees.

Source note: Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952 - Schemes

Correct answer: B. Certain benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity, and employment injury, and to provide for certain other matters in relation thereto, through a contributory social insurance scheme funded by contributions from both employers and employees, administered through the Employees' State Insurance Corporation

The Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 establishes a comprehensive social insurance scheme designed to provide specified categories of benefits to covered employees, principally addressing sickness, maternity, and employment injury (including resulting disablement or death), along with certain other related benefits such as medical care for the employee and dependants. The scheme is contributory in nature, funded through periodic contributions from both employers and employees calculated as a percentage of wages, and is administered by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, a statutory body established under the Act, which manages the fund and the network of dispensaries and hospitals providing medical benefits to insured persons and their families.

Source note: Employees State Insurance Act 1948

Correct answer: B. Where the injury does not result in total or partial disablement of the employee for a period exceeding three days; or where the injury is caused by an accident directly attributable to the employee having been at the time of the accident under the influence of drink or drugs, or wilful disobedience of an order expressly given or a rule expressly framed for securing safety, or wilful removal or disregard of a safety device, provided the injury does not result in death or permanent total disablement

Section 3 of the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 establishes the principle of employer liability for compensation for personal injury caused by accidents arising out of and in the course of employment, subject to specified exceptions. These exceptions include: injuries not resulting in disablement for more than three days; and injuries attributable to the employee's intoxication, wilful disobedience of safety-related orders or rules, or wilful disregard of safety devices, though importantly even these latter exceptions do not exempt the employer from liability where the resulting injury leads to death or permanent total disablement, reflecting a policy balance between holding employers accountable for workplace safety and not penalising employers for genuinely employee-caused minor injuries while still providing a backstop of liability in the most serious outcomes.

Source note: Section 3, Employees Compensation Act 1923

Correct answer: B. The Code on Wages, 2019 consolidates and subsumes the Payment of Wages Act, 1936; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

The Code on Wages, 2019 represents part of a broader legislative effort to consolidate and simplify India's labour law framework by merging four previously separate central enactments relating to wages: the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (regulating timely payment and authorised deductions); the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (regulating fixation of minimum wage rates); the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 (regulating statutory bonus entitlements); and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (mandating equal pay for equal work regardless of gender). This consolidation forms part of the broader codification of Indian labour law into four principal labour codes, alongside the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code.

Source note: Code on Wages 2019

Correct answer: B. The Central Government is empowered to fix a 'floor wage' taking into account the minimum living standards of a worker, and the minimum wages fixed by the appropriate governments (whether Central or State) for various scheduled employments cannot be lower than the floor wage, thereby establishing a national wage floor below which no state or category of employment can fix minimum wages

The Code on Wages, 2019 introduces the concept of a 'floor wage' as a significant policy innovation, empowering the Central Government to fix a national floor wage having regard to the minimum living standards of a worker, potentially varying by geographical area to account for regional cost-of-living differences. Crucially, minimum wages fixed by appropriate governments (whether the Central Government or various State Governments) for different scheduled employments cannot be set below this floor wage, establishing a national wage floor that aims to bring greater uniformity and a guaranteed minimum baseline across the country's historically fragmented and variable minimum wage landscape, addressing long-standing concerns about wide and sometimes arbitrary disparities in minimum wage rates across different states and employment categories.

Source note: Code on Wages 2019 - Floor Wage Provisions

Correct answer: B. The same work or work of a similar nature; the Act defines 'same work or work of a similar nature' as work in respect of which the skill, effort, and responsibility required are the same, when performed under similar working conditions, by a man and a woman

Section 4 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 mandates that employers must not discriminate in remuneration between male and female workers performing 'the same work or work of a similar nature'. The Act defines this term to mean work in respect of which the skill, effort, and responsibility required are substantially the same, when performed under similar working conditions, by workers of either gender. This functional, substance-based test, rather than a purely formal comparison of job titles, ensures that the principle of equal pay for equal work cannot be circumvented through superficial differences in designation or job description that do not reflect genuine differences in the underlying skill, effort, or responsibility involved.

Source note: Section 4, Equal Remuneration Act 1976

Correct answer: B. The Act aims to regulate the employment of contract labour in certain establishments and to provide for its abolition in certain circumstances, particularly where the work performed by contract labour is of a perennial nature that could be performed by regular workmen, while also requiring registration of principal employers and licensing of contractors, and ensuring welfare amenities for contract labourers where abolition is not implemented

The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 reflects a dual legislative objective, as captured in its title: regulation and abolition. The regulatory dimension requires registration of establishments employing contract labour (principal employers) and licensing of contractors supplying such labour, along with mandated welfare amenities (such as canteens, rest rooms, and first aid facilities) for contract workers. The abolitionary dimension empowers the appropriate government to prohibit the employment of contract labour in specific processes, operations, or other work in any establishment, particularly where such work is found to be of a perennial nature reasonably performable by regular employees, addressing concerns that the contract labour system can be misused to deny workers the security and benefits associated with regular, direct employment for what is effectively permanent and ongoing work.

Source note: Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970

Correct answer: B. That a notification issued under Section 10 prohibiting employment of contract labour does not automatically result in the absorption of the contract labourers as regular employees of the principal employer; the prohibition merely prevents the future continuation of the contract labour system in respect of the specified process, and any claim to absorption would need to be independently established, overruling the earlier position taken in Air India Statutory Corporation v.

In Steel Authority of India Ltd. v. National Union Waterfront Workers, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court significantly clarified and revised the law regarding the consequence of a Section 10 prohibition notification, holding that such a notification prohibiting the future employment of contract labour in a specified process or operation does not automatically result in the absorption of the existing contract labourers as regular employees of the principal employer. This overruled the earlier position taken in Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour Union, which had suggested automatic absorption flowed from a prohibition notification, and clarified that any claim to regularisation or absorption would need to be independently established through appropriate proceedings rather than being an automatic statutory consequence of the prohibition itself.

Source note: Steel Authority of India Ltd. v. National Union Waterfront Workers; Section 10, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970

Correct answer: B. The Code subsumes legislations including the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952; the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948.

The Code on Social Security, 2020 forms part of the broader labour law codification exercise in India, consolidating numerous previously separate social security related enactments into a single comprehensive code. This includes the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (retirement and pension benefits), the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 (sickness, maternity, and employment injury insurance), the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 (workplace injury compensation), the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (maternity leave and benefits), the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (gratuity on termination of long service), and several other related statutes, reflecting a comprehensive attempt to streamline India's previously fragmented social security legal framework into a unified structure.

Source note: Code on Social Security 2020