Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
Draft · 24 November 2023
Not in force yet

What are Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu's rules under the Code on Wages, 2019?

Jurisdiction: Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu state rules under the Code on Wages, 2019.

The Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu published the draft Code on Wages (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) Rules, 2023 on 24 November 2023 under section 67 of the Code on Wages, 2019, inviting objections within thirty days. The draft sets minimum-wage methodology, working hours, deductions, bonus, the State Advisory Board, registers and enforcement. This page synthesizes the gazette; the verbatim rule-by-rule text is on the linked /states page and the source PDF is available below.

Enabling: Code on Wages, 2019
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Key facts

Parent code
Code on Wages, 2019
Jurisdiction
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (state rules)
Published
24 November 2023
Gazette reference
Notification No. LE/LI/DMN/WR-R/387/2023/568, dated 24 November 2023, UT Administration of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Department of Labour & Employment, Daman, published in draft under section 67 of the Code on Wages, 2019 for a thirty-day objection period
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Wages Rules

Key obligations

Scope, commencement and draft status

Source: Rule 1, rule 53 and the notification header

The rules are titled the Code on Wages (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) Rules, 2023, extend to the whole Union Territory, and were published in draft for public objection.

  • These rules may be called the Code on Wages (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) Rules, 2023 and extend to the whole Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (rule 1(1) to (2)).
  • They come into force after their final publication in the Official Gazette and from the date on which the Code on Wages, 2019 itself comes into force (rule 1(3)); as published they are draft rules issued under section 67(1) of the Code for a thirty-day objection period, not final notified rules (notification header).
  • The draft repeals the Dadra & Nagar Haveli Minimum Wages Rules, 1970, the Dadra & Nagar Haveli Payment of Wages Rules, 1977, the Goa, Daman & Diu Payment of Wages Rules, 1964 and the Goa, Daman & Diu Minimum Wages Rules, 1975, saving anything already done under them (rule 53); the parsed gazette repeats a second rule 53 heading also repealing the Payment of Wages Rules, 1937 and the Minimum Wages Rules, 1950, an apparent OCR duplication in the source.

Minimum wages and working-hour norms

Source: Rules 3 to 10 (Chapter II)

Chapter II sets the minimum-wage calculation method, area and skill classification, dearness allowance revision and the norms for the working day and weekly rest.

  • Minimum wages are fixed on a day basis for a standard working-class family of three adult consumption units, using a net intake of 2,700 calories per day per unit, 66 metres of cloth per year, and set allocations for housing rent (10 per cent of food and clothing spend), fuel, electricity and miscellaneous items (20 per cent of the minimum wage) and children's education, medical, recreation and contingencies (25 per cent); the day rate divided by eight gives the hourly rate and multiplied by twenty-six the monthly rate (rule 3).
  • For fixation the concerned area is divided into urban and rural categories, and a technical committee chaired by the Secretary (Labour) advises on categorizing occupations into unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled by reference to Schedule A; workers in hotels, restaurants, domestic work and similar occupations who are provided meals, tea and lodging are paid set amounts below their category minimum (rule 4).
  • The cost-of-living allowance is to be computed once before 1 April and again before 1 October each year to revise the dearness allowance payable on the minimum wages (rule 5).
  • The normal working day is eight hours, and the working day inclusive of rest intervals must not spread over more than twelve hours (rule 6); employees are entitled to a weekly rest day, ordinarily Sunday, with substitution capped so no employee works more than ten consecutive days without a rest day (rule 7).
  • Shifts extending beyond midnight are counted under specified rules, and employees in emergency, intermittent, preparatory or nature-dependent work are subject to a spread-over limit of sixteen hours and actual working hours of nine hours in a day (rules 8 to 9); the longer wage period for minimum-rate purposes, including for agricultural labour, is the month (rule 10).

Payment of wages, deductions and bonus

Source: Rules 11 to 19 (Chapters III and IV)

Chapters III and IV cap deductions and advance recovery, set the fine and damage procedure, and leave bonus set-on and set-off computation to the Central Government.

  • Where authorized deductions exceed fifty per cent of an employee's wages in a wage period, the excess is carried forward and recovered from succeeding wage periods, so the recovery in any month does not exceed fifty per cent of that month's wages (rule 11).
  • Before imposing a fine the employer must submit the list of fineable acts and omissions for approval and give the employee an opportunity to show cause, before the Grievance Redressal Committee where applicable and otherwise before the employer (rule 14); a deduction for damage or loss requires the employer to explain the loss in writing, allow the employee to respond, and intimate any deduction within fifteen days of making it (rule 16).
  • Recovery of advances made after employment begins or of wages not yet earned is capped at fifty per cent of the employee's wages in a wage period and recorded in Form I (rule 17); deductions to recover approved house-building or other loans and interest are regulated by UT Administration direction (rule 18).
  • Calculation of set-on and set-off of bonus for the sixth and seventh accounting years, computation of gross profits under section 32 and further deductions under section 34, and the manner of carrying forward, are as prescribed by the Central Government (rule 19).

State Advisory Board

Source: Rules 20 to 36 (Chapter V)

Chapter V constitutes the Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Advisory Board and governs its meetings, quorum, voting, tenure and disqualifications.

  • The Advisory Board has five members representing employers and five representing employees, together with independent members headed by the Secretary (Labour) as Chairperson and the Deputy or Joint Commissioner (Labour) as Member Secretary, with independent members not exceeding one-third of the Board and one-third of the Board being women (rule 20).
  • The Chairperson may call a meeting at any time and must call one within thirty days of a written requisition by not less than half the members, giving at least fifteen days' written notice, reduced to seven days for an emergent meeting (rules 21 to 22).
  • Quorum is at least one-third of members including at least one employer and one employee representative; a meeting short of quorum is adjourned to within seven days and may then transact business regardless of numbers (rule 24), and business is decided by majority with the Chairperson holding a casting vote, or by circulation supported by a two-thirds majority (rule 25).
  • The term of the Chairperson or a member is normally two years, continuing until a successor is appointed and held during the pleasure of the UT Administration (rule 30); members draw travelling and halting allowance at the rate applicable to a Group A officer of the Administration (rule 31).
  • A member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings without prior intimation to the Chairperson ceases to be a member (rule 35), and a person of unsound mind, an undischarged insolvent or one convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude is disqualified from membership (rule 36).

Dues, registers, inspection and offences

Source: Rules 37 to 53 (Chapters VI to X)

The closing chapters govern undisbursed dues, registers and wage slips, the inspection scheme, contractor liability and compounding of offences.

  • Wages due to a deceased or untraceable employee that stay unpaid for three months are deposited with the notified officer, who disburses to the nominee within two months (rule 37); wholly undisbursed dues are deposited within fifteen days after the six-month mark (rule 38), held for three years and then moved to the Labour Welfare Fund, with amounts unclaimed for seven years lapsing to the UT Labour Welfare Board (rule 39).
  • Fines and deductions are recorded in Form I and the general registers under section 50 are kept in Form I and Form IV, electronically or otherwise, preserved for five years (rule 43), and wage slips are issued in Form V on or before payment of wages (rule 44); annual returns and wage, bonus and payment statistics are filed electronically to the UT Administration and the Labour Bureau (rules 45 to 46).
  • The Labour Commissioner formulates an inspection scheme with UT approval specifying a number of inspections for each Inspector-cum-Facilitator and establishment (rule 47), and an Inspector-cum-Facilitator may enter premises at reasonable hours, examine registers and persons, seize records and supervise wage payment (rule 48).
  • Where employees are engaged through a contractor, the contractor must disburse wages before the due date and comply with related obligations, and on the contractor's failure or short payment the principal employer is liable to pay wages in full under section 55 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (rule 52); an accused may apply in Form VI to compound an offence for a sum of fifty per cent of the maximum fine before the notified Gazetted Officer (rule 50), and rule 51 provides a further compounding application in Form VII, referring in the parsed text to the "Code on Wages, Rules, 2022" though the title rule reads 2023.

Frequently asked questions

Official gazette PDF

Notification No. LE/LI/DMN/WR-R/387/2023/568, dated 24 November 2023, UT Administration of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Department of Labour & Employment, Daman, published in draft under section 67 of the Code on Wages, 2019 for a thirty-day objection period

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