AN ANALYSIS OF THE PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, 1936

AUTHOR – SHAGUN TIWARI* & MS. ASTHA SRIVASTAVA**, STUDENT* & ASSISTANT PROFESSOR** AT AMITY LAW SCHOOL

BEST CITATION – SHAGUN TIWARI & MS. ASTHA SRIVASTAVA, AN ANALYSIS OF THE PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, 1936, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (1) OF 2025, PG. 1021-1029, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

In 1936, the Payment of Wages Act was passed under the British Empire’s colonial administration in India. This includes the social, economic, political, and legal elements that contributed to the need for the Act and the legislation itself. Given the poor working conditions that still exist after many years of independence, it is necessary to study the historical perspective in order to understand the background of the Act, the mischief it sought to address, its scope and object, and the deductions made—both authorised and unauthorised in order to help improve its implementation. From the start of the twentieth century, it became clear that worker incomes needed to be protected. There has always been abuse of these labourers, Workers did not get adequate compensation prior to the 1936 amendment, nor did they receive monetary compensation. However, several laws and regulations were implemented to help the workers following the revision of the Payment of Wages Act. Employers were compelled to pay salaries in cash, and employees were controlled to get equal compensation for equal effort. In 1925, a private measure called the weekly payment bill was introduced in the legislature. However, the administration reassured them that the issue was being thought over, therefore the bill was abandoned. In the past, it was typical for employers to penalise workers by taking twice their salary for missed work.

KEYWORDS: monetary compensation, workers, deductions, legislature, penalise