Dextrasys

I did not know this!

 

 

I had some learning after a visit
by a labour inspector to our premises on 26-Jan. I thought I should share this
learning with others.

 

All software companies, BPOs and
KPOs should know that we have certain flexibility given to us by TN state
legislations to operate on holidays, so that we support our clients abroad / in
India without any disruptions in our service.

 

Any shop or establishment can
work on a holiday (say on 26-Jan or 15-Aug) as per law (TN Shops and Establishment
Act).  If a shop or establishment wants
to work on a declared holiday, all that they have to do is (a) inform employees
24 hours before (b) inform labour office 24 hours before and (c) pay double the
wages for such holiday work.

 

Now, IT/Software companies are exempted
from point (a) and (b) above. This means IT/Software companies can work on a declared
holiday and there is no requirement (exempted) to inform employees or labour
office in advance.

 

Now, some
legal dose!

 

All companies and establishments in Tamil Nadu are governed by TN
National and Festival Holidays Act 1958.

 

·       
As per section 3 of the Act – Grant of National and Festival
Holidays – Every employee shall be allowed in each calendar year a holiday for
(1) Jan-26 : Republic Day (2) May-1 :  May day (3) Aug-15 : Independence
day (4) Oct-2 : Gandhi Jayanthi and five more holidays for festivals (so
totalling 9 holidays in a calendar year).

 

·       
However, any employee may be required by an employer to work on
any holiday allowed under above section (3) – Section 5 (2)(a).

 

In such cases :

 

·       
Section 5 (2)(a)(i) – give an advance notice to employees, 24
hours before

·       
Section 5 (2)(a)(ii) – give an advance notice to inspector of
labour office,  24 hours before and also display it in the notice board

·       
Section 5 (2)(b) – give twice the wages for employees on such
holidays.

 

·       
IT Companies -  As per TN ICT Policy 2008 and earlier IT
Polies and TN Govt GO Ms No 95 (No II(2)/LE/638/2003), Governor of TN has exempted
Information Technology establishments in TN from the provisions of 
Section (5)(2) (a) (i) and (ii).

 

This means for IT Companies (IT,
ITES, BPO, KPO), there is no need for serving notices to employees and serving
notice to labour office inspector for holiday work, when a IT company decides
to work on any holiday.

 

Please highlight this fact if a labour
office representative says an IT firm cannot work on a  holiday or
should have given advance notice to them.

 

What about Opening and Closing
Hours? Are there any guidelines / restrictions?

 

In general, there are guidelines as to when a
shop or establishment can open and when it should be closed.

 

However, as per TN ICT Policy 2008,  and
GO (Ms) No 316 of Labour and Employment Dated 24-Dec-2004 (Grant of exemption
to Software Industries in Tamil Nadu), IT-ITES companies are exempted from the
provisions of Chapter II and III of the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments
Act, 1947.

 

What does this mean to IT-ITES companies?

 

Chapter III (Sec 13) – Opening
and Closing Hours – IT-ITES companies can open and close any time, they can operate
any time for meeting the needs for customers outside of India / or in India.

 

Chapter III (Sec 14) – Daily and
weekly hours of work – in IT-ITES companies, employees can work / allowed to work
more than 8 hours in a day or 48 hours in a week if required to meet any business
/ client needs.

 

Chapter III (Sec 16) – Holidays – As per
this section ; every person employed in an establishment shall be allowed in
each week a day of holiday of one whole day. IT-ITES companies are
exempted here again, I guess, for meeting any urgent / emergency needs of customers,
go-live situations etc.

 

Note: Law and legal system is something
that always changes and subject to interpretations. For more
clarity please do research yourself and take an experts advice on the granularities
and details.