It is based on profits or based on production. The Payment of Bonus Act came into force on September 25, 1965. Since then, it has undergone numerous amendments. This Act applies to the whole of India.
The Act was created to lay down a statutory obligation on an employer of every establishment covered by the Act to pay a bonus to employees in the establishment, provide for payment of minimum and maximum bonuses and lay down principles and formulas for the calculation of bonuses.
Did you know? This Act of bonus is intended to provide for the payment of bonuses to individuals employed in particular establishments.
Bonus Act Applicability
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 provides for a minimum bonus of 8.33 % of wages. Unless provided otherwise, the payment of bonus act shall apply to every:
(a) factory worker and
(b) a worker from other establishments in which 20 or more individuals are employed.
(c) the appropriate Government may also apply the provisions of this Act with effect from such accounting year as notified to any establishment or categories of establishments that employ persons more than 10 in number but not more than 20
(d) The provision of this Act shall also apply to certain public sector establishments.
A part-time employee is also considered as an employee to calculate the number of employees, i.e., 20 or more.
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Who Does Not Come Under The Bonus Act?
The following are the categories of employees who are not included in the operation of the Act:
- Those employees employed by LIC of India
- Employees under Merchant Shipping Act, of 1958
- Employees registered under the Dock Workers Act, 1948 and employed by registered employers
- Employees that an organisation employs under the department of the Central Government or a State Government, or a local authority
- Employees that are employed by-
- The Indian Red Cross Society or any other organisations of similar nature (including its branches)
- Educational institutions
- Institutions established not for purposes of profit
- Employees employed by the Reserve Bank of India
- Employees employed by financial and other institutions, such as
- The Industrial Finance Corporation of India
- The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
- The Unit Trust of India
- The Industrial Development Bank of India
- The National Housing Bank
- Employees of inland water transport organisations.
Eligibility of Bonus Act
Every employee shall be entitled to be paid by his employer an accounting year bonus, by the provisions of this Act, provided he has worked in the establishment for not less than 30 working days in that year.
Payment of Bonus by the Employer to the Employee
The bonus paid by the employer to the employee can be classified as the following:
Minimum Bonus
Every employer must pay to every employee in respect of the accounting year ever since the year 1979 and every consecutive accounting year, a minimum bonus which shall be
(i) Set at a percentage of 8.33 of the total salary or wage that the employee earns during the said accounting year or
(ii) One hundred rupees, either is higher, irrespective of whether the employer has any allocable surplus in the accounting year.
It is also to be noted that where an employee has not completed 15 years of age during the initial accounting year, the provisions of this section shall have an effecting relation to such employee. As for the words “one hundred rupees”, the words “sixty rupees” will be replaced.
Maximum Bonus
Where in any accounting year, the allocable surplus crosses the amount of minimum bonus that is payable to the employees under that particular section. An amount in proportion to the salary or wage earned by the employee during the accounting year.
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Time Limit of Payment of Bonus
All payments to an eligible employee by way of a bonus under this Act will be paid in cash by the employer.
(a) when there is a dispute in regards to the payment of a bonus that is pending before any authority, if the issue is not resolved within a month from the date, then it will be enforceable, or the settlement comes into operation in respect of the such dispute
(b) in any other case, within eight months from the close of the accounting year. Provided that the Government or such authority as the appropriate may specify, upon an application made to it by the employer and for satisfactory reasons, by order, extend the said period of eight months to such further period as it thinks fit. However, the total period so extended shall not exceed two years.
Duties of an Employer
- Every employee must get either a minimum or maximum bonus from their employer.
- In Maharashtra, the bonus payments must be prepared in the form of an account payee check or by transferring the bonus amount to the employee's bank account.
- The employer must pay the employees bonus within 8 months of the ending of an accounting year unless the appropriate government or authority extends the period
- Every employer must also keep the following records/registers:
- A register of allocable surplus,
- A register denoting the allocable surplus that can be set on and set off under Section 15 and
- A register detailing the bonus paid and the deductions made under Sections 17 and 18.
Disqualification for Bonus
An employee will not be qualified to get a bonus under this Act if he is involved in any of the following:
(a) fraudulent activity or
(b) aggressive behavior while on the workplace premises or
(c) burglary and misappropriation of assets from workplace settings.
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Penalty
If any person-
(a) breaches any of the provisions of this Act or any rule or
(b) a person to whom a direction is given under this Act fails to comply with such direction,
shall be punishable with either prison time for a period of up to half a year or with a penalty amounting to one thousand rupees, or with both.
Conclusion
In workplace backgrounds, a bonus comes under the compensation an employer gives to an employee in addition to their base pay or salary. The Payment of Bonus Act 1965 makes the bonus payments made by employers to employees in factories and establishments. Bonus payments are made from available surplus or allocable surplus in that particular accounting year.
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