Companies have got a breather as the Bombay High Court has given a stay on the retrospective aspect of the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 which was introduced in the Lok Sabha by minister of
Companies have got a breather as the Bombay High Court has given a stay on the retrospective aspect of the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Bill, 2015 which was introduced in the Lok Sabha by minister of state for labour and employment Bandaru Dattatreya, on December 7, 2015.
The amendment provided for payment of bonus with retrospective effect and also mandates payment of bonus to employees’ whose salary is up to Rs 10,000 per month. It also seeks to increase this eligibility limit to Rs 21,000 per month and seeks to raise the calculation ceiling to Rs 7,000 per month or the minimum wage notified for the employment under the Minimum Wages Act (whichever is higher) from the present Rs 3,500 pm.
This amendment was challenged by Tech Mahindra which said the retrospective operation of the amendment with effect from April 1, 2014 and the amendment introduced vide Section 3 of the amendment are illegal and unconstitutional and hence liable to be struck down.”
Mr Raj Panchmatia of Khaitan and Co, said that the Bombay High Court had passed an ad interim order on Monday staying “the retrospective operation of the amendment and further that the Union of India should not take any coercive measures against our clients, pending the hearing and disposal of the petition.”
Speaking to this newspaper, he said they had not yet received the court order so he could not say whether the stay applied to his client or to all companies.
