Anonymous
1.What is the actual meaning of Wages in Payement and wages act.
2.Definition of wages for Sales Promotion Employee in Payment and wages act.
3.I seek clarification on Wages definition.for example any Sales Promotion Employee who is getting Gross Salary/month Rs..32000/- in different heads like (A)Basic-13000/-.(B)House Rent Allowance-3900/- .(C) Special allowance(Medical reimbursement+L.T.A.+Lunch Allowance +Liason Allowance+Conveyance Allowance +Personal Allowance+Bonus)-Rs.14900/- .As per the above salary structure of SPE can file legal case in Payement and wages act against the employer due to withholding the salary.if yes kindly define the heads which calculated in the assessment of wages heads to file the case in Payement and wages act 1936.
4.Employer has deducted Provident Fund Contribution and calculation of Gratuity are made on the basis of Basic salary.
5.If there is any case law kindly provide the details.

From India, Kanpur
Dear Friend,
It would be better if you answer the following queries:
1) the exact break-up of the Special allowance of Rs.14900-00.
2) Whether the medcl reimbursement is a fixed sum payable every month without bills?
3) Same query in respect of L.T.A
4) Whether Lunch allowance is paid only to SPE'S during tour or always and to all employees in the Company?
5) What is meant by liason allowance?
6) Whether the Personal Allowance is common to all or only for SPEs?
7) Is the monthly bonus paid under the PB Act,1965? or part of the remuneration payable as per the contract of employment?
8) Whether the SPEs are paid the actual travel expenses like bus/train fare, taxi fare and daily allowance for the boarding and lodging separately for the business tours undertaken by them in addition to the monthly conveyance allowance?
9) In case of authorized leave, whether the entire salary is paid or proportionate deductions are made in respect of all the Special Allowances?

From India, Salem
D/Sir,
Thanks for answering my post.You have asked certain clarifications which are as under-
1.Break up of Special Allowance-
A.Till 1998 all SPE were getting Bonus yealrly afterwards it was converted in Personal allowance of Rs.1250/-/month later on it merged into Special Allowance.
B.Before 2002 Lunch allowance was 400/-/month
C.Liason Allowance-Rs.2450/-/month
D.Bonus-1250/-/month
E.In the year2015-Medical Allowance-Rs.6600/-/year
F.Good Conduct Allowance-Rs.6000/-/year
G.L.T.A-Rs.4200/-/year
2.Before 2015 medical bills submission were mandatory for the claim of medical allowance.
3.For the L.T.A. Claim-Travel tickets were mandatory.
4.Lunch allowance was fixed for all SPE of the Company.
5.Liason Allowance was also fixed for all SPE to enhance sales of the Company by obliging the customers-after 2002 Lunch allowance and Liason allowance was merged with Special Allowance.
6.Conveyance Allowance was separate head later on merge with Special Allowance.
7.Daily Allowance,Ex-Station,Out Station allowances,Travel expenses are paid separately thru Expense Statement on monthly basis which was not having any connection with Monthly Salary.
8.calculation of Priveledge Leave encashment was made on the basis of Basic salary only.

From India, Kanpur
Dear Alokst,
After carefully analyzing the inputs relating to the wage/salary structure furnished in the thread, I think that the queries posted by you initially are -
(1) What is the meaning of the term " wages " as defined under the Payment of Wages Act,1936? and
(2) Whether an employee, particularly, a Sales Promotion Employee so defined under the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service ) Act,1976, can file a claim against the employer under the P.W Act,1936 for with holding of his salary though his monthly salary exceeds the ceiling prescribed because of the inclusion of certain allowances in the salary/wage structure?
However, sorry to state that your subsequent clarifications seem to increase my confusion only. If the monthly gross salary of Rs.32000-00 comprises of a Basic of Rs.13000-00, HRA of Rs.3900-00 and Spl.Allowances of Rs.14900-00, just I asked you the break-up of the spl.allowances under various heads,if any. Of course though the various heads of allowances are mentioned, your description about their apportionments and merger makes me doubtful whether the particulars are C.T.C based and thus renders my understanding all the more difficult. For instance, you have mentioned that the yearly bonus, monthly allowances of liason, lunch and conveyance allowances were subsequently converted as monthly payable and merged with the monthly Special Allowance while the other allowances of medical, good conduct and leave travel are still yearly payable. Therefore, for all purposes, the monthly Gross salary/wages of an SPE employed in your company comprises of only three components viz., Basic, H.R.A and Special Allowance which works out to Rs.32000-00 as mentioned at the outset.
Whether my presumption is correct?

From India, Salem
Sir. Your presumption is correct but one thing I want to add that in 2015 company had converted spe's yearly allowances (medical,good cunduct,and L.T.A ) into monthly payments and merged into special allowance . At present my gross salary is rs.32000/p.m. including all allowances.
From India, Kanpur
I would say that all fixed allowances as per terms of contract of employment or settlement should form part of wages/ salary for all purposes including deciding the contribution towards PF, calculation of gratuity etc. There are views expressed by Courts that special allowance which is paid to all the employees will be part of salary. At the same time if a particular employee or a category of employees are paid allowances considering the nature of their work, say, risk involved in their work or the skill required to do the work, then that can be excluded from the salary. This was the view expresses by the Apex Court in Bridges & Roofs (India) ltd's case. Therefore, in my opinion, all allowances which are paid monthly if the employee is on employment or leave with wages should be considered as part of wages/ salary.
With regard to Bonus paid monthly, there is again a mis interpretation of law from the employer side. Therefore, if monthly paid, it cannot be treated as Bonus. Again, as per Payment of Bonus Act, an employee whose salary exceeds Rs 21000 is not eligible to get bonus and as such you may not be eligible to get any bonus. But if others who are otherwise eligible to bonus are paid bonus calculated on the basic wages as per your structure, the same should be questioned. If the gross salary is the base for making the employees out of bonus cover, then for calculation of amount of bonus also the same principle should be applied. This should be the base for other statutory payments like payment of gratuity also.
When the issue is something relating to non payment of salary, I think you have other options available in the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act itself. Since you were not having managerial powers, you can raise it as an industrial dispute.
Madhu T K

From India, Kannur
Thank you very much, Mr.Madhu, for your prompt response to my request. Ever since the late 1980s when I was working as an Inspector of Labor, I've been witnessing the never ending battle between the Pharma Companies and their Medical Representatives . If we analyse the spate of cases both decided and undecided so far, we can easily come to the conclusion that both the Pharma Companies and the SPE's are more interested in establishing their rights rather than finding any amicable solution that would facilitate serving their mutual interests in the long run. Since the SPEs employed in Pharma Companies are academically highly qualified young people and their jobs involve more stress and strain, even the slightest provocation from superiors creates a negative impact in their minds resulting in a sense of non-belongingness to the organization and a feeling of being victimised as a class in the organizational hierarchy. The managements are also bent upon scrapping the cadre of SPEs by being very fastidious and fault-finding and resort to unethical and uncompliable transfers like from one corner of the country to the other. In such a situation, the concerned SPEs question the validity of the orders of transfer and raise disputes u/s 2(k) of the ID Act,1947 without obeying the orders and demand wages/salary for the period of non-compliance of the orders of transfer. I think that this is the circumstances leading to the present thread.
At times, it remains unanswereable why the SPEs of a particular Company or their union do not raise any objections when the management unilaterally brings about changes in the structure of their salary though by virtue of S,6 of the SPE Act,1976, the application of the ID Act,1947 to such disputes are made available.
Coming to my response to your comments and my final answer to the poster, let me take some time.

From India, Salem
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