Kerala Government has decided to implement “e-payment of wages” scheme which aims at providing wages to employees electronically.
WPS – means an IT enabled system provided by the labour commissionerate to ensure payment of minimum wages to all or any class of employees employed. Initially this was promulgated through a notification in the year 2015, subsequently this was enforced through an amendment in the Kerala Minimum Wages Act.
Objective of the enactment is to make sure that there is transparency in the dealings between the employer and the employee and Minimum Wages is ensured to all employees, also enabling the Labour Dept Officials to effectively monitor salary payments of employees.
As per the said system, wage details of the employees need to be updated 3 days prior to disbursement of their salary. For registering under the system, bank details of the company have to submitted to the labour officer and a NOC to the bank. The companies have to open an account in the attached banks through which the salary to the employees has to be transferred.
For non-compliance there are punitive damages.
All employers who are defined under the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishment Act are covered under the new scheme. This means almost all employers are liable to comply with the regulations.
The Labour department has now started enforcement of this legislation by way of issuing notices to various companies. Many companies have approached the High Court and have obtained stay order against this legislation. There is no blanket order and the stay order is applicable only when companies approach the Court for relief as individual applicants.
It is also advisable to get a stay before the receipt of notice from the labor department
