Cut gratuity period to one year:

Cut gratuity period to one year:

panel  ‘Extend it to all kinds of employees’

04/08/2020

The Parliamentary Committee on Labour has, in its latest report, recommended that the eligibility period for gratuity payable to an employee on termination of his employment should be reduced to one year from the present provision of five years.

The Committee made this recommendation in its report on Social Security Code, which has been evolved subsuming nine Central Labour laws. This comes in the wake of extensive retrenchment in all sectors in COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic slowdown.

The committee, which is headed by Biju Janta Dal MP Bharatruhari Mahtab, submitted the report to Speaker Om Birla on Friday.

“Keeping in view the nature of India’s Labour Market where most employees are employed for a short duration period only, making them ineligible for gratuity as per extant norms, the Committee desires that the time limit of five years as provided for in the Code for payment of gratuity be reduced to continuous service of one year,” the report says.

It has also recommended that this facility be extended to all kinds of employees, including contract labourers, seasonal workers, piece rate workers, fixed term employees and daily/monthly wage workers.

The committee has stressed that there should be a robust redressal mechanism in case an employer does not pay up the dues.