The government has proposed to formalise work from household (WFH) facility for the services sector, but left the manufacturing sector outdoors the ambit of the idea for now. “Subject to conditions of appointment or agreement between employer and workers, employer may allow a worker to work from home for such period or periods as may be determined by the employer,” the labour ministry mentioned in the draft model standing orders for the services sector. However, regulatory parameters for WFH have not been prescribed.
Separately, it has also issued draft model standing orders for the manufacturing and the mining sectors in search of comments from stakeholders.
Model standing orders set requirements for service circumstances and employees’ conduct in an establishment. There are no such requirements for the services sector so far, it is becoming proposed for the initial time. These standing orders will be applicable in organisations possessing 300 or more workers.
For the manufacturing sector, the standing order governing work circumstances was applicable in organisations possessing one hundred or more workers till final year. The threshold has been elevated to 300 workers in the labour code on industrial relations authorized in Parliament late final year.
Labour specialist K R Shyam Sundar mentioned, “Without proper regulations for WFH, employees will be left at the mercy of the employers. Employees’ bargaining power will be reduced. WFH should also figure in the model standing orders for the manufacturing sector. The concept of WFH should be left for the individual establishment to decide, whether it is in the manufacturing or in the services sector.”
Rajiv Kapoor, member, CII national committee on industrial relations, also mentioned, “Manufacturing should also be given the WFH facility, but I would suggest that it should be left to the discretion of an individual organisation, be it in the manufacturing or in the services sector. With the advent of digitisation and technology, lot of jobs in the manufacturing sector can now also be done from specially design and other office works.”
The standing orders for each manufacturing and services sectors prescribe that a worker may well be suspended by the employer pending investigation or enquiry into complaints or charges of misconduct against him. Misconduct contains sleeping on duty and acceptance of gifts from sub-ordinates amongst other individuals. However, such investigation or enquiry, shall be ordinarily completed inside ninety days from the date of suspension. The worker shall be paid subsistence allowance in the course of the period of suspension, supplied the worker does not take any employment elsewhere in the course of the period of suspension.
Wage payment shall be carried out by means of electronic mode and inside the seventh day of the wage period in respect of which wages are payable. A worker can be transferred from one particular state to one more according to the transfer policy and exigencies of work from one particular shop or division to one more or from one particular station to one more or from one particular industrial establishment to one more below the similar employer. The concerned employee need to be provided affordable time to join and be paid travelling allowance which includes the transport charges.
All sets of workers — permanent, short-term, apprentices, probationers, badlis and fixed term employment — will have to put on an identity badge or card bearing his complete name, employee quantity, blood group, mobile quantity, if any, and a current photograph.