THE PUNJAB
HOME-BASED WORKERS ACT 2023
(Act V of 2023)
C O N T E N T S
Section Heading
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Prohibition
on employment.
4. Rights and entitlement.
5. Establishment of Fund.
6. Contribution to the Fund.
7. Registration.
8. Committees.
9. Powers and functions of settlement
committees.
10. Appeal.
11. Maintenance of record.
12. Power to make rules.
13. Power to frame regulations.
14. Removal of difficulties.
APPENDIX
[1]THE PUNJAB HOME-BASED WORKERS ACT 2023
(ACT V OF 2023)
[17th February 2023]
An Act to provide for protection of rights of home-based workers.
It is necessary to make provisions for protection of rights of home-based
workers for encouraging home-based workers as important stakeholders in the
labour market and for the ancillary matters.
Be it enacted by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows:
1. Short title, extent and commencement. (1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Home-based Workers Act 2023.
(2) This Act extends to
whole of the Punjab.
(3) This Act shall come into
force at once.
2. Definitions. In this Act:
(a)
contractor means a person, natural or legal, who agrees to carry out
an assignment for economic profit or for the benefit of hirer and includes a
sub-contractor or agent;
(b)
contribution means the sum of money payable by an employer in respect
of a secured home-based worker and by a secured home-based worker to the Fund;
(c)
commercial establishment means an establishment as defined in the
Punjab Shops and Establishments Ordinance, 1969 (VIII of 1969);
(d)
Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Employees Social Security
Institution as appointed under section 18 of the Provincial Employees Social
Security Institution Ordinance, 1965 (X of 1965);
(e)
disablement means a condition or injury, caused to a home-based worker
during the course of an employment having an impact of reducing his earning
capacity permanently, certified by a medical practitioner authorized for the
purpose in such manner as may be prescribed by the regulations;
Explanation: Loss of
earning capacity less than twenty per centum shall be minor disablement; the
loss of earning capacity ranging from twenty one per centum to sixty six per
centum shall be "partial"; and, shall be "total" where the
loss of earning capacity exceeds sixty six per centum;
(f)
employer means any person, establishment, office, firm, factory,
society, undertaking, company, shop or enterprise, whether incorporated or not,
which employs home-based worker, directly or indirectly through a contractor or
intermediary, under a contract of employment, in writing;
(g)
employment injury means a personal injury to a home-based worker
caused by an accident or by such occupational diseases as may be prescribed,
arising out of and in the course of his home-based employment;
(h)
establishment means an establishment as defined in the Punjab Shops
and Establishments Ordinance, 1969 (VIII of 1969);
(i)
family in relation to a home-based worker means his spouse, a child
below the age of 18 years and includes a child with disability of fifty percent
or more who is above the age of 18 years;
(j)
Fund means Home-based Workers Welfare Fund constituted under the Act;
(k)
Government means Government of the Punjab;
(l)
Governing Body has the same meaning as under section 5 of the
Provincial Employees Social Security Ordinance, 1965 (X of 1965);
(m)
home means the place of temporary or permanent residence of the
home-based worker where he resides along with his family;
(n)
home-based work means production of goods or rendering of services by
a person in his home or in other premises of his choice other than the
workplace of the employer, for wages, under a contract of employment in writing
either directly with the employer or indirectly through a contractor or
intermediary subject to limitations mentioned under this Act:
provided that any work performed by a person, registered as an employee
or worker under any other law, shall not be deemed as a home-based work by
working occasionally at home rather than at his usual workplace;
(o)
home-based worker means a person who performs home-based work but does
not include a worker engaged in explosives, toxic or noxious chemicals and
related substances;
(p)
Intermediary means a person or a legal entity or a body corporate that
contracts with a contractor for economic gain pursuant to a home base work, or
a part thereof the contractor has agreed to perform, for the benefit of hirer,
and includes any person, natural or legal, who enters into a contract with a
contractor regardless of number of stages of any sub-contracts;
(q)
prescribed means prescribed by the rules or the regulations;
(r)
regulations means the regulations framed under this Act;
(s)
rules means the rules made under this Act;
(t)
secured home-based worker means a person who performs home-based work
in respect of whom contributions are or were payable under the Act but does not
include a person performing home-based work on wages exceeding the wage limits
determined by the Government;
(u)
settlement means the settlement of a dispute or any other matter
relating thereto between an employer and a home-based worker;
(v)
shop means a shop as defined in the Punjab Shops and Establishments
Ordinance, 1969 (VIII of 1969); and
(w)
wages means the remuneration in terms of money or anything in kind, as
expressed in the contract of employment in writing, payable to a home-based
worker by an employer but does not include:
(i)
any contribution paid by the employer in respect of the secured home-based worker under any
scheme of social insurance or to a pension fund or provident fund;
(ii)
any traveling allowance or the value of any traveling concession;
(iii)
any sum paid to the home-based worker to defray special expenses
incurred by him in respect of his employment;
(iv)
any sum paid as annual bonus;
(v)
any gratuity payable on discharge; and
(vi)
gift:
provided that where the mode of payment of wages, whether in cash or in
kind, makes it difficult to determine the amount of wages for computing the
contribution, the Commissioner may subject to regulations and in consultation with
the representatives of employers and home-based workers, determine such wages.
3. Prohibition on employment. (1) No employer shall
employ a person who has not attained the age of fifteen years as a home-based
worker.
(2) No employer shall employ
a person who has attained the age of fifteen years but has not attained the age
of eighteen years in an employment prohibited under the Punjab Restriction on
Employment of Children Act 2016 (L of 2016).
4. Rights and entitlement. (1) A home-based worker shall not be forced to work in a manner
inconsistent with the contract of his employment.
(2) A secured home-based
worker shall be entitled to sickness benefits, maternity benefits, medical care
during sickness and maternity, medical care of family, employment injury
benefit, disablement pension and survivors pension in such manner as may be
prescribed.
(3) A home-based worker
shall not be discriminated in recruitment, continuance of employment and
determination of wages on the grounds of religion, race, caste, creed, gender,
ethnic background or place of birth.
(4) Every employer shall
enter into a written contract of employment with a home-based worker in
accordance with Appendix of this Act.
(5) Every employer including
a contractor and intermediary shall be responsible for the payment of wages to
the home-based worker employed under the contract of employment under this Act.
5. Establishment of Fund. (1) The Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette,
establish a Fund to be called the Punjab Home-based Workers Welfare Fund.
(2) The Fund shall consist
of:
(a)
an initial contribution to be made by the Government;
(b)
such moneys as may be paid by the employers and secured home-based
workers on such rate of wage limits as may be prescribed by the rules;
(c)
voluntary contributions in the shape of money, building, land,
equipment, tools or other property made from time to time by the Government, an
organization or a person;
(d)
grants, donations and gifts from any Government, donor, multilateral
organization, local government, general public or any other person; and
(e)
proceeds of loan raised by the Governing Body.
(3) The Fund shall be
applied to:
(a)
finance projects connected with the welfare of home-based workers;
(b)
meet expenditures in respect of the cost of management and
administration of the Fund;
(c)
maintain a register of home-based workers;
(d)
repay loans raised by the Governing Body;
(e)
invest in securities as may be approved by the Government; and
(f)
provide benefits to the secured home-based workers.
(4) All claims and
entitlements for benefits under this Act shall be entertained by the Governing
Body within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed by the
regulations.
(5) The Governing Body shall
lay down the procedure for prioritization and allocation of the Fund in such
manner as may be prescribed by the regulations.
(6) The Governing Body may,
by a notification in the official Gazette, for the reasons of efficient
management of the Fund and under such limitations as deemed appropriate,
delegate any of its powers to the Commissioner.
6. Contribution to the Fund. (1) The contribution shall
be payable in respect of every secured home-based worker by the employer and
the secured home-based worker himself to the Fund in such manner, at such rate
and on such conditions as may be prescribed by the regulations.
(2) Non-payment of
contribution by:
(a)
a secured home-based worker for a continuous period of one year shall
lead to suspension of his benefits under this Act unless he pays the entire
contribution which is due to him in such manner as may be prescribed by the
regulations; and
(b)
an employer shall make him liable for payment of the amount due to him
as arrears of land revenue.
7. Registration. The Governing Body shall lay down the procedure of registration of
employers and home-based workers in such mode and manner as may be prescribed
through regulations.
8. Committees. (1) The Governing Body shall, by notification in the official Gazette,
constitute such number of committees including settlement committees, for such
number of areas, having such composition and for such purposes as may be
determined by the Governing Body.
(2) The Governing Body may
assign the function of settlement committees to the District Vigilance
Committees constituted under the Punjab Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act,
1992 (III of 1992) on such conditions as may be determined by it.
9. Powers and functions of settlement committees. The settlement committee shall:
(a)
receive written complaints in the event of a dispute between the
employer and the home-based worker either referred to it by the employer,
home-based worker or the District Vigilance Committee;
(b)
inquire into the issue raised in written complaint;
(c)
maintain record of all its proceedings;
(d)
call for the appearance of any person or production of any document;
(e)
decide the dispute through an award, in writing; and
(f)
exercise such other powers and perform such other functions as may be prescribed
under the regulations.
10. Appeal. Any person aggrieved by the award announced by a settlement committee,
may, within thirty days of such award, file an appeal to the Labour Court
established under the Punjab Industrial Relations Act, 2010 and the decision of
Labour Court on such appeal shall be final.
11. Maintenance of record. Every employer, contractor or intermediary, as the case may be, shall
maintain such records, and submit it to the Governing Body or the committee, as
the case may be, at such times and in such form as may be prescribed.
12. Power to make rules. The Government may, by notification in the
official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
13. Power to frame regulations. Subject to this Act and the rules, the Governing Body may, by
notification in the official Gazette, frame regulations to carry out the
purposes of the Act.
14. Removal of difficulties. If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the provisions of
the Act, the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make such
order, consistent with the Act, as it may deem necessary for the purposes of
removing such difficulty.
Appendix
[See section 4 (4)]
HOME-BASED EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
This home-based employment
contract is hereby made on
day of
, 20
. at
.
between
M/s
. having CNIC No/ National Tax No.
.., business address
and mobile contact number
. (hereinafter referred
to as the employer)
AND
Mr./ Ms.
..
s/o, d/o, w/o
. having CNIC No.
.., date of birth
...
, mobile
contact number
..
.. and Home Address
(hereinafter
referred to as the home-based worker).
Both parties agree as follows:
1.
WORK ASSIGNMENT AND WAGES:
1.1 The employer hereby engages
the home-based worker, and the home-based worker agrees to work for the
employer in the capacity of
. at
at the wage rate of Rs.
.. per hour/ day/ month.
1.2 (In case of wage earned
on an hourly basis or piece rate, the total monthly wage shall not be less than
Rs.
...
1.3 In case the home-based
worker receives any special allowance(s), the amount and date of payment of
such special allowance(s) must be stated clearly together with the date of
payment of regular wage of the home-based worker.)
1.4 (In case the wage is to
be paid to the home-based worker in kind, the details shall be specified
below including the nature and quantity of such kind as well as the date of
payment of such kind.)
.
.
1.5 (In case of payment of
wage in kind, the monetary value of such kind on monthly basis shall be
calculated and specified below.)
Rs.
per month
(as monetized).
2.
DURATION OF HOME-BASED WORK CONTRACT AND DECLARATION OF WORKPLACE:
2.1 The duration of the contract of home-based work shall be
for
month(s) / year(s) starting from
till
, and the
workplace for such home-based work shall be
.
.
(WRITE complete address of the workplace in detail).
2.2 Extension in
the contract of home-based work shall be made on such conditions as mutually
agreed between the employer and the home-based worker, and shall be recorded in
writing.
3.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE HOME-BASED WORK CONTRACT:
3.1 The parties to this
contract agree that:
(please
clearly write the express terms and conditions of the home-based work contract
in detail and also mention any implied terms to avoid any dispute in future.)
4.
WORKING HOURS:
4.1 The working hours of
home-based work shall be
hours per day/ per week on the threshold of six
days per week.
5.
HOLIDAYS AND LEAVE:
5.1 The employer shall
arrange for the home-based Worker
day(s) off weekly with regular wages. The
employer shall arrange for the home-based Worker
.. days off per year on
local official holidays with regular wages. Annual leave of
days shall be
allowed to the home-based worker on completion of one year of employment on
regular wages.
6.
SAFETY AT WORKPLACE:
6.1 The home-based Worker
shall keep the workplace premises safe and hygienic.
6.2 The employer shall provide
possible support and technical guidance enabling the home-based Worker to
ensure occupational safety and hygiene at the workplace.
7.
MEDICAL TREATMENT:
7.1 In event of illness of or
injury to the home-based Worker caused by home-based work during the period of
contract the employer shall arrange for his necessary medical treatment free of
charge and in the meantime pay regular wages and compensation to the home-based
worker under the law.
7.2 A secured home-based
Worker as defined under section 2 of the Punjab home-based workers Act 2021,
shall be entitled to receive such treatment, free of cost, in a medical
facility established under the Punjab Employees Social Security Institution
(PESSI).
7.3 The family of a secured
home-based Worker shall also be entitled to medical care as determined by the
Governing Body of PESSI.
8.
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION:
8.1 The employer shall pay
for the cost of travel of the home-based Worker as required under the terms of
the contract.
9.
OBLIGATION:
9.1 The home-based worker
shall abide by the rules and regulations of the employers company stipulated
in conformity with the law.
9.2 The home-based worker
shall not engage in any unlawful activities.
10.
DISPUTE AND TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT:
10.1 In case of a dispute
between the employer and the home-based worker, the dispute shall be settled in
accordance with the Act, the rules and regulations made thereunder, and the
terms and conditions of this contract.
10.2 In case the employer
intends to terminate this contract, he shall give one months prior notice in
writing to the home-based worker or pay one months wages in lieu thereof.
10.3 In case the home-based
worker intends to terminate this contract, the home-based worker shall give one
months prior notice in writing to the employer.
11.
MISCELLANEOUS:
11.1 The employer and the
home-based worker shall be bound by any condition which may not be mentioned in
this contract but may be applicable to them under any other law for the time
being in force.
11.2 In case the employer fails
to implement any of the conditions of this contract, the employer shall
compensate the home-based Worker for the loss so incurred.
In witness whereof, the undersigned having fully understood the contents
of this contract stated herein, have signed this contract.
Signature:
employer Signature: home-based worker
(
.) (
.)
CNIC No.
CNIC
No.
Signature: Witness 1 Signature: Witness
2
(
.) (
.)
Name:
.. Name:
.
s/o, d/o
. s/o,
d/o
CNIC No.
. CNIC
No.
Mobile No.
... Mobile
No.
.
[1]This Act was passed by Provincial Assembly
of the Punjab on 09 January 2023; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 23
January 2023; and was published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 17
February 2023, Pages: 3861-67.