Minimum Wages Act

Definitions and Terminology in Minimum Wages Act

• The Minimum Wages Act defines key terms related to employment and wages.
• An adolescent is a person between the ages of 14 and 18, while an adult is someone who is 18 or older.
• The appropriate government is the Central or State government responsible for regulating minimum wages in a particular industry.
• A child is anyone under the age of 14.
• The competent authority is the government-appointed entity responsible for determining the cost of living index number for employees in a scheduled employment.
• The cost of living index number is the index number used to determine the minimum rate of wages for employees in a scheduled employment.
• An employer is anyone who employs one or more workers in a scheduled employment for which minimum wages have been set.
• Wages include all forms of compensation that can be expressed in monetary terms, except for certain exclusions such as housing, medical benefits, and travel allowances.
• An employee is anyone who is hired to work in a scheduled employment for which minimum wages have been set, including out-workers who work from home.
• The Act excludes members of the Armed Forces of the Union from its definition of employee.
• The Act applies to both skilled and unskilled workers, as well as manual and clerical workers.
• The Act also covers any process or branch of work that is part of a scheduled employment.