How Employment Laws Evolved in Last Decade

While penning this 25th article for BM, it is intriguing to reflect on the changes in employment laws since 2016. Revisiting these developments will not only refresh our memories but will also enhance our understanding of the evolving employment law landscape. So, from 2016 to till date, leaving aside the Labour Codes which are yet to be made effective, there were few changes piecemeal, which we can say has some consequences for industry and workmen/ employees as well. One major change is ‘The Bonus Amendment Act 2015’, enacted with retrospective effect, (published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary on January 1, 2016) raised the eligibility threshold from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 21,000 and adjusted the calculation threshold to Rs. 7,000 or the minimum wage for scheduled employment, whichever is higher. The insertion of ‘minimum wage’ and ‘whichever is higher’ in the amendment has made a substantial difference, affecting the payouts across industries. Another significant amendment is the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act of 2017. This act...