The Industrial Employment

(Standing Orders) Act, 1946

Chandan raj

Extent and Application

(1) This act may be called the Industrial Employment (Standing
Orders) Act, 1946.
(2) It extends to the whole of India
(3) It applies to every industrial establishment wherein one hundred
or more workmen are employed, or were employed on any day of the
preceding twelve months:

Provided that the appropriate Government may, after giving not less
than two months notice of its intention so to do, by notification in the
Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to any industrial
establishment employing such number of number of persons less
than one hundred as may be specified in the notification :

Objective

There are many causes of friction

between management and workers in
industrial undertakings due to the
absence of clear cut and precise
conditions of employment.
This act provide for the conditions of
employment and make the said
conditions known to the workers.

Definitions

Appellate Authority means an authority appointed

by the appropriate Government by notification in the
official Gazette to
exercise the functions of an appellate authority
under this Act:
Provided that in relation to an appeal pending
before an Industrial Court or other authority
immediately before the commencement of this Act,
the Court or authority shall be deemed to be the
appellate authority [Section 2 (a)]

Appropriate Government means in respect

of industrial establishments under the
control of Central Government or a Railway
Administration or in a major port, mine or
oilfield,
the Central Government, and
in all other cases, the State Government.
(Section 2(b))

Certifying Officer means a Labour Commissioner or a

Regional Labour Commissioner, and includes any other officer
appointed by the appropriate Government, by notification in
the Official Gazette, to perform all or any of the functions of a
Certifying Officer under this Act (Section 2(c))

Employer means the owner of an individual establishment to

which this act applies and includes
In a factory, any person named as manager of the factory;
In any industrial establishment under the control of any
department of any Government in India, the authority
appointed by such Government in this behalf;
In any other industrial establishment, any person responsible
to the owner for the supervision and control of the industrial
establishment (Section 2(d))

Industrial Establishment meansAn industrial establishment as defined in Section

2(ii) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936,
A factory as defined in section 2(m) of the Factories
Act, 1948,
A railway as defined in Section 2 (4) of the Indian
Railways Act, 1890,
The establishment of a person who, for the purpose
of fulfilling a contract with the owner of any
industrial establishment employs workmen (Section
2 (e))

Workman means any person employed in any

industrial establishment to do any
skilled or unskilled
manual, supervisory,
technical or clerical work
for hire or reward,
whether the terms of employment be expressed or
implied. [Sec. 2(i)]
Standing Orders means rules relating to matters
set out in the schedule [Sec.2(g)]

Procedure for Certification

(Section 3)

With in 6 months from the date on which this Act is

applicable to an industrial establishment :
the employer of an industrial establishment is
required to submit to the certifying officer
five copies of the draft standing orders
proposed to be adopted by him in his industrial
establishment
together with the prescribed particulars of workmen,
employed and name of trade union if any to which
they belong. (Section 3)

On receipt of the draft, the certifying officer shall forward a

copy thereof to the trade union, if any, of the workmen or
to the workmen requiring objections if any, which the workmen
may desire to make to the draft standing orders to be
submitted by him within 15 days from the receipt of the notice.
Then the certifying officer shall decide whether or not any
modification or addition to the draft is necessary to render
it certifiable under the Act and shall make an order in writing.

The Certifying Officer shall there upon certify the draft

standing orders and shall send within 7 days copies of the
certified standing orders to the employer and to the trade
union or representative of the workmen. (Section 5)

Certifying Officers have Powers of

the Civil Court [Section 11]

1.
2.
3.
4.

Every certifying officer shall have all

the powers of a Civil Court
receiving evidence
administering oaths
enforcing the attendance of witness
Compelling the discovery and
production of documents
it shall be deemed to be a Civil Court

Appeals

Any employer, workman, trade union aggrieved by the order

of the certifying officer, may within 30 days appeal to the
appellate authority, whose decision shall be final. (Section 6)

The appellate authority shall within 7 days of its order send

copies to the certifying officer, to the employer and to the trade
union copies of the standing orders as certified by it and
authenticated in the prescribed manner. (Section 6)

The appellate authority has no power to set aside the order of

the Certifying Officer. It can confirm or amend the Standing
Orders.

Date of Operation of Standing

Orders

Standing orders, will unless an appeal

is preferred, come into operation on
the expiry of 30 days from the date on
which the authenticated copies of the
same are sent or where appeal is
preferred, on the expiry of 7 days from
the date on which copies of order of
the appellate authority are sent
(Section 7)

Register of Standing Orders

A copy of all standing orders as finally

certified under this Act shall be filed by
the Certifying Officer in a register in
the prescribed form
It shall furnish a copy of it to any
person on payment of the prescribed
fees. [Section 8]

Pasting of Standing Orders

The text of the standing orders finally certified shall

be prominently pasted by the employer in
English and
in language understood by the majority of the
workmen
on special board to be maintained for that purpose
at or near the entrance through which the majority
of workmen enter the industial establishment
(Section 9)

Duration and Modification of

Standing Orders (Section 10)

Standing orders, finally certified

shall not except on agreement
between the employer and the
workmen,
be liable to modify until the expiry of 6
months from the date on which the
standing orders or last modification
thereof came into operation.

An employer, workmen, trade union or any

representative body of workmen
may apply to the certifying officer to have the
Standing Orders
modified and such applications shall be
accompanied by 5 copies of the modification
proposed to be made and
where such modification are proposed to be made
by agreement between employer and the workmen
a certified copy of that agreement shall be filed
along with the application.

Payment of Subsistence
Allowance (Section 10-A)

Where the employer suspend the workman pending

investigation or inquiry into complaint or charges of
misconduct against the workman the subsistence allowance
shall be payable:
At the rate of 50% of the wages which the workman was
entitled to immediately preceding the date of such suspension
for the first 90 days of suspension; and
At the rate of 75% of such wages for the remaining period of
suspension if the delay in completion of disciplinary
proceedings against such workman is not directly attributable
to the conduct of such workman.
If any dispute arises regarding the subsistence allowance
payable to a workman, it may be referred to the Labour Court
constituted under I.D. Act, 1947.

Interpretation of Standing
Orders (Section 13 A)

If any question arises as to the interpretation of a

Standing Order certified under this Act, any
employer, workman or trade union may refer the
question to any of the
Labour Courts constituted under the Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947, and
specified for the disposal of such proceedings by
the App. Govt. by notification in the Official Gazette
and the L. Court to which is referred to,
shall after giving the parties an opportunity of being
heard, decide the question and such decision shall
be final and binding on the parties. (Section 13 A)

Penalties and Procedure

(Section 13)

An employer who fails to submit draft

standing orders as required by section 3 or
who modifies standing orders otherwise than
in accordance with Sec.10,
shall be punishable with fine which may
extend to 5000 rupees and in case of a
continuing offence with a further fine which
may extend to 200 rupees for every day after
the first, during which the offence continues.

An employer, who does any act in contravention of the

standing orders finally certified under this Act for his industrial
establishment
shall be punishable with fine which may extend to 100 rupees,
in case of continuing offence with a further fine which may
extend to 25 rupees for every day after the first, during which
the offence continues.
No prosecution for an offence punishable under this section
shall be instituted except with the previous sanction of the
appropriate Government.
No Court, inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or
Magistrate of Second Class shall, try any offence under this
Section.

Special Feature of the Act

1.

2.

3.

4.

The employer of every industrial establishment to

which the Act applies is required to frame draft
standing orders and to submit them to the certifying
officer, who is generally the Labour Commissioner;
The definition of workman under this Act includes a
Supervisory Technical Personnel under certain
conditions;
The certifying officer is empowered to modify or
add the draft standing orders so as to render them
certifiable under the Act;
A Group of employers of similar industrial
establishments may submit joint standing order;

5.

6.

7.
8.

The Government set out model standing orders, the

draft standing order framed by an employer should
as far as practicable be in conformity with the Model
Standing Orders.
The Act normally applies to every industrial
establishment wherein 100 or more workmen are
employed.
The certifying officer and appellate authorities shall
have all the powers of a Civil Court
The employers can be penalised for faliure to
submit draft Standing Order for certification or
contravention of any provision of the standing order
finally certified.

9. The appropriate Government may by a

Gazette notification exempt any
establishment or class of establishment
from any of the provisions of the Act.
10. The appropriate Government may after
previous publication by notification in the
Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the
purpose of the Act.

MATTERS TO BE PROVIDED IN
STANDING ORDERS UNDER
1. Classification
THIS
ACT of workmen, e.g., whether
2.
3.
4.
5.

permanent, temporary, apprentices,

probationers, or badlis.
Manner of intimating to workmen periods
and hours of work, holidays, pay-days and
wage rates.
Shift working.
Attendance and late coming.
Conditions of, procedure in applying for, and
the authority which may grant leave and
holidays.

6. Requirement to enter premises by certain gates, an liability to

search.
7. Closing and reporting of sections of the industrial
establishment, temporary stoppages of work and the rights
and liabilities of he employer and workmen arising there from.
8. Termination of employment, and the notice thereof to be
given by employer and workmen.
9. Suspension or dismissal for misconduct, and acts or
omissions which constitute misconduct.
10. Means of redress for workmen against unfair treatment or
wrongful exactions by the employer or his agents or servants.
11. Any other matter which may be prescribed.