The Payment of Wages (Procedure) Rules, 1937

The Payment of Wages (Procedure) Rules, 1937 has been enforced in accordance with the powers conferred by the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. The rules are applicable for the entire jurisdiction of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. This article deals with the rules stipulated under this provision.

Form of Application of Appeal

Applications under sub-section (2) of section 15 for the purpose of appeals under section 17 shall be filed in duplicate in Form A, Form B or Form C.  The application can be filed by the employed person, a group of employed persons or someone representing them. A copy of the same must bear a court fee as prescribed.

Authorization

A person may act on behalf of another employed person if he/she is issued a certificate in Form D. The certificate so issued must be presented to the authority hearing the application, which shall then form a part of the record.

Furthermore, any person desirous of availing the permission of the authority to act on behalf of another must furnish a written statement in brief that substantiates his/her interest in the matter. The concerned authority will record an order on the statement, which is then incorporated in the record.

Submission of Documents

Applications or other documents relevant for this purpose must be submitted by the applicant to the concerned authorities either at a time scheduled by the concerned authority for this purpose or through registered post. Upon receipt of the application, the authority would endorse the date of receipt on each of the documents submitted.

Non-acceptance of Application

The concerned authority is entitled to refuse the acceptance of the application presented under rule 6 on the basis of the following:

• The applicant is prohibited from presenting any applications.
• The application is disqualified for reasons associated with Section 15(2) of the Act.
• The application is devoid of causes for making a direction under section 15.

Also, the concerned authority has grounds to refuse the acceptance of an application which is inadequately stamped or incomplete. The application is then sent back to the applicant for the rectification of defects.

Appearance of Parties

If an application is accepted, the Authority would issue a notice in Form E notifying the applicant to appear for a hearing on a scheduled date. If the employee or his/her assistant doesn’t make an appearance on this date, the Authority may go on to hear the application ex parte or may dismiss the application. On the other hand, the authority may consider setting aside the application, and re-hear the same within one month of the date of issue of notice of the hearing.

Record of Proceedings

The concerned authority is tasked with entering the particulars provided in Form F, as well as sign and date the form at the time of issuing the orders. No further records are necessitated in the absence of an appeal. In the existence of an appeal, the Authority needs to record the substance of the evidence and append it under his/her signature to the record of order of direction.

Requirement of Signature for Other Purposes

The authority may delegate the signing of any other forms (other than the record of order or direction) to any officer subordinate to him/her. An intimation of the same must be made in writing.

Discharge of Powers

While discharging the powers of a Civil Court, the authority will be guided in terms of the procedure by relevant orders of the first schedule of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The guidance will be extended in accordance with the express provisions of the Act or the relevant rules.

Appeals

The appeal for these provisions must be preferred in duplicate in the form of a memorandum. A copy of it must bear the prescribed court fee.

The memorandum for this purpose must include details of the issue vouched against, along with a certified copy of the order.

While filing an appeal, the respondent must be issued a notice in Section G. After further inquiries and hearing; the Court may confirm, modify or set aside the order or discretion from which the appeal is preferred.

Verification of Documents

Employees, employers, the representatives of any employer, or any person authorized to apply for a direction may inspect any application, memorandum of appeal or any other document filed with the Authority or the Court. He/she may also obtain the copies of the payment of the fee prescribed.

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Payment of Wages