West Bengal Payment Of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1969

No: 38 Dated: Feb, 07 1970

THE WEST BENGAL PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE ACT, 1969

West Bengal Act XXXVIII of 1969

    An Act to provide for payment of subsistence allowance to employees in certain establishments during the period of suspension.

    Whereas it is expedient to provide for payment of subsistence allowance to employees in certain establishments during the period of suspension and for matters connected therewith;

    It is hereby enacted as follows:-

1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1969.

(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.

(3) It shall come info force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, -

(a) "employee" means any person employed in or in connection with the work of any establishment to do skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled manual, supervisory, technical, clerical or any other kind of work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied; but does not include any such person who is employed mainly in a managerial or an administrative capacity or as an out-worker, that is to say, a person to whom any articles or materials are given out by or on behalf of the employer to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, repaired, adapted or otherwise processed by such out-worker in any place not under the control and management of the employer;

(b) "employer" means the owner of an establishment and includes any person responsible to the owner for supervision and control of the establishment;

(c) "establishment" means any place where any industry, trade, business, undertaking, manufacture, occupation or service is carried on but does not include any office or department of any Government or any establishment of any railway, major port, mine or oil-field;

(d) "period of suspension", in a case where express permission of the authority under sub-section (1) of section 33 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, is necessary before the employment of an employee can be validly terminated, includes the period until such permission is obtained and termination of service is effected;

(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(f) "suspension" means an interim decision of an employer as a result of which an employee is debarred temporarily from attending his office and performing his functions in the establishment where he is employed, such restriction being imposed on the employee on the ground either that a disciplinary proceeding has already been, or is shortly to be, instituted against him or that a criminal proceeding in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by him is under investigation or trial;

(g) "wages" shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (rr) of section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

3. Payment of subsistence allowance. - (1) An employee who is placed under suspension shall, during the period of such suspension, be entitled to receive payment from the employer as subsistence allowance an amount equal to fifty per centum of the wages which the employee was drawing immediately before such suspension:

Provided that where the period of suspension exceeds 90 days the amount of subsistence allowance shall be increased after the expiry of 90 days to seventy-five per centum of the wages which the employee was drawing immediately before such suspension:

Provided further that an employee shall not be entitled to any subsistence allowance if he accepts employment during the period of suspension in any place other than the establishment where he had been working-immediately before his suspension,

(2) An employee shall not in any event be liable to refund or forfeit any part of the subsistence allowance admissible to him under sub-section (1) but when an employee is exonerated of the charge which caused his suspension, the subsistence allowance paid to him for any period shall be adjusted against the full wages admissible to him for the same period.

4. Recovery of money due from an employer. - Where any money is due to an employee from an employer under this Act, the employee himself or any other person authorised by him in this behalf, or, in the case of the death of the employee, his legal representative may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, make an application to the State Government in such manner as may be prescribed for the recovery of money due to him, and if the State Government, after giving the employer an opportunity of being heard, in such manner as may be prescribed, is satisfied that any money is so due, it shall issue a certificate for that amount to the Collector who shall proceed to recover the same in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue:

Provided that every such application shall be made within one year from the date on which the money became due to the employee from the employer:

Provided further that any such application may be entertained after the expiry of the said period of one year, if the State Government is satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not making the application within the said period.

5. Saving of certain rights and privileges. - Nothing in this Act shall affect any right or privilege to which any employee is entitled on the date of commencement of this Act under any law for the time being in force or under any contract, custom or usage which is more favourable to him than any right or privilege conferred upon him by this Act.