Shop & Office Act and Wages Board Ordinance

For,
All shop & Office employees - Shop and Office Act No.19 of 1954
Trade & Industries - Separate Wages Board

  

Area	Shop & Office Act	Wages Board
Normal working Hours	Max 8h (excluding break) Max 45h for a week	Max 8h (excluding break) Max working hours are decided by the relevant wages board
Working days/weeks	5 ½ days	5 days and a short working day
break for rest/meal	½ h after 4h working meal break can be reduced on mutual consent.	1/2h after 4h working
Over Time	Beyond normal working hours or 8h per day. Beyond 45h for a week. Not for Executives & sales canvassers.	Beyond normal working hours or  8h a day.
Over Time Rate	(Monthly salary / 240) x 1.5 [8h x 30days = 240]	As per the decision of the relevant wages board e.g. (monthly salary/200) x 1.5
Weekly Holidays	1 ½ days per week, if worked for 3 ½ days or 28 h a week. To be given in the same week or the following week. Not necessarily on Saturday/Sunday, but on any day.	One unpaid holiday per week, as per the decision of the relevant wages board
Working on a weekly holiday	O.T. for number of hours worked and a lieu holiday(1/2 day for sat. and 1day for sun) to be allowed within next 6 days	O.T.  for number of hours worked. ( O.T. rate as per the W.B decision.)and a day off without pay within 6 days.
Annual Leaving Entitlement	From the 1st Jan of the next year based on the period worked in the year joined. 1st Jan – 31st Mar – 14 days 1st April – 30th Jun – 10 days 1st Jul– 30th Sep  – 7 days 1st Oct – 31st Dec – 4 days In addition in the last year of employment 1day for each month completed should be added. If this period is 10 months or more, 14 days should be given	Only after a period of 1 year from the 1st of the month employment commenced, and the no of days will be calculated according to the formula of the relevant W.B.
Availing Annual Leave	With mutual consent. 7days must be taken consecutively. Cannot carry forward. On leaving annual leave should be allowed to take. Payment is possible only when both parties agree.	With mutual consent. 7days must be taken consecutively. Cannot carry forward. On leaving annual leave should be allowed to take. Payment is possible only when both parties agree. But max. days for annual leave are restricted to 21 days.
Casual Leave	For sickness/ private matters 1 day for each to months completed during first year up to 31st Dec. Thereafter 7 days from 1st Jan- 31st Dec. cannot carry forward.	No entitlements
Medical Leave, Short Leave	No prescribed	No prescribed
Poya day	holiday	holiday
Working on a poya day	One half day wages irrespective of no. of hours worked. No O.T.	1 ½ days wages irrespective of no. of hours worked. No O.T.
Statutory holiday	8 days per year.	Decision of the respective wages board. 8 days or less than 8days.
Working on a Statutory Holiday	Two times of one day wage or a lieu holiday before 31st Dec. Only 8h work. Approval of the Labour Dept. is to be obtained.	No approval is required. Either two days wages for 8h work or a lieu holiday. Work beyond 8h are paid at enhanced O.T. rate as per the Wages Board decision
Maternity Benefits	Under shop & Office Act	Under Maternity Benefits Ordinance
Upto two living children	84 working days	84 days
3rd living child	42 working days	42 days
still birth	42working days	42 days
test for 'viable foetus'	28 weeks of gestation period/ length of 12 inches/ weight of 2 lbs.	Same
Nursing interval	No prescribed	2h a day until the child is one year old.

Shop & Office Act 

Extra facts:

Working Hours

• In hotel trade, catering trade, hostel of educational establishment or long distance drivers in the motor transport trade employees could be allowed to work up to maximum of 12 hours, with which they shall be allowed a break continuously for 4 hours for rest/meal.
• Female cannot be employed in a shop or office before 6.00 a.m. or after 8.00 p.m. except as on over time. But employees work in hotel/restaurant between 8.00 p.m. - 10.p.m. , A ground hostess of Airline at a airport or receptionist, attendant of a ladies 'cloak room, ladies's linen room, ladies's lavatory' in a residential hotel.
• Traveling salesman, canvasser  sales representatives is not bounded by maximum working period.

Over Time

• Sales canvassers are bot paid overtime for working beyond the normal working hours, because they receive commission according to the work they do.
• Young persons (below 14 years) and female in shop/office cannot be employed beyond 9 hours (including rest/break) even on over time basis. Young persons between 14-18 can be employed for 1h Over Time on 5 week days.
• Refusal to work reasonable overtime when conditions require may amount to misconduct, unless valid reason are given.

Leave

• Annual  Leave
• Annual leave should be allowed to take if the employee requests.
• If both the employer & employee agree, payment could be made at the normal daily rate of pay. One party alone cannot insist payment instead of availing leave.
• If the employee does not give sufficient notice as stipulated in the contract of employment, to avail annual leave him/her self, he/she cannot demand payment in lieu of unauthorized annual leave.
• if the employer terminates the services of the employee, then the employer must pay for the unauthorized annual leave.

Wages Board Ordinance 

Extra Facts :

• Employees are required to work 5 normal working days and short working days which is usually 6 hours or 6 1/2 hours.
• If an employee absent on short working day, it considers as a full day absence.
• one day weekly holiday is not a paid holiday.

Thanks to IPM lecturer, Mr.Athula Amarasena.

Sri Lankan Labour Law

Today Sri Lankan Labour Law consists of more than forty Acts of parliament.

1) Terms and conditions of employment

•          The Shop and Office Employees Act
•          Wages Board Ordinance

2) Social Security

•          Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
•          Employees Trust Fund (ETF)
•          Payment of Gratuity

3) Industrial safety

•          Factories Ordinance
•          Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance

4) Industrial Relations

•          Industrial Dispute Act
•          Termination of Employment Act
•          Trade Union Act

5) Employment of Women and Children

•          Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act
•         Maternity Benefits Ordinance

  To Whom does all the legislation apply ?

 The law makes a distinction between a contract of service and a contract for service. Basically, a contract of service applies to an employee-employer relationship while a contract for service applies in the case of an independent sub-contractor. This distinction is most important as protection of employment legislation does not apply to independent sub-contractor.

 Contract  of servvice

• Employer -employee relationship
• Usually continuous relationship
• A duty of care is owed to employees as the employer
• The employer is generally liable for the vicarious act of employees
• Protective legislation applies to the contract

 Contract for service

• Employer - independent contractor relationship exists
• A relationship organized around the completion of once - off work.
• A duty of care, arising from occupation liability
• The company is generally not liable for the vicarious acts of independent contractors.

History of Labour Law

Earliest labour law

When we consider about remote past most varied parts of the world, European writers, Asian scholars, Latin American authors tried to emphasize the importance of properly formed labour laws. None of these can be regarded as more than an expectation and had limited influence to the development. Industrial labour law born due to the industrial revolution of 18^th century and onwards. It developed rather slowly, chiefly in the more industrialized countries of Western Europe, during the 19^th century and attained its present importance, relative maturity and worldwide acceptance only during the 20^th century.

Regularizing labour and the industrial revolution

1802- First landmark of modern labour law was the British Health and Morals of Apprentices act of 1802, sponsored by the elder Sir Robert Peel.

1815 - Protection of young was adopted in Zurich in 1815 and France in 1841.

1848 – The first legal limitation of the working hours of adults was adopted by the Landsgemeinde (citizen’s assembly) of the Swiss canton of Glarus

1883-1884 – Sickness insurance and workmen’s compensation.

1890 - Compulsory arbitration in industrial dispute was introduced in New Zealand

The progress of the labour legislation outside the western Europe, Australia , New Zealand t was slow until after World War 1.

1917 – There was no labour legislation in Russia prior to the October  Revolution of 1917.

1881 - In India children between 7 – 12 years limited to 9 hours  of work per day.

1911 – In india Adult males in textile mills can work upto 10 hours per day.

1922- Factory Act to give effect to conventions adopted at the first session of International Labour Conference at Washington.

Countries like Japan, Latin America , Africa focused on labour legislations in 19^th century.

North America , the trend became general only with the impact of the great depression. In Africa the progress of labour legislation became significant only from the 1940s onwards .

In Sri Lanka the history of state intervention in industrial relations through law commences from 1832 with the ‘Colebrook - Cameron’ reforms and the growth of coffee and especially tea plantation industry in Sri Lanka. Prior to that, there was no employer – employee relationship. The necessity of cheap, mobile and unskilled workers for the successful  operation of plantation, combined with the labour crisis of 1846, resulted in laws being introduced to promote State-sponsored immigration from South India. This caused in the development of the country’s first controlled labour force.

In the view of the growing labour unrest during the early years of the Second World War, along with  the expansion of the regimented workforce, as a result of the State and the private sector turning out to be employment generators, it became necessary for the government to introduce an industrialized relation framework. As a result in 1950 the government introduced Industrial Disputes Act and eventually they introduced Labour Tribunals.

Our current labour laws regime is essentially what existed prior to 1977 when our industry was heavily protected through stringent import substitutiom measures. Although the open economy was introduced after 1977 leaving behind those stagnant inward  oriented economic policies of the past, our lbour laws have remained largerly unchanged.

Due to political changes, rapid development, expansion of world scale, difficult to predict future, it is important to have flexible labour laws.