Industrial Disputes Act: Section 25C Lay-off Compensation Explained

The question asks about the specific compensation amount payable to a workman who is laid off, according to Section 25C of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This section provides certain protections and compensation for workers facing temporary cessation of work.

Conditions for Compensation under Section 25C

For a workman to be eligible for compensation under this section, two main conditions must be met:

• The workman must have been laid off. Lay-off typically means the failure, refusal, or inability of an employer on account of shortage of power or to the natural calamity, or to any occurrence beyond the control of the employer to continue to provide work for any workman whose name appears on the muster roll of his industrial establishment within the meaning of the explanation (which does not involve retrenchment as defined in clause (oo) of section 25-B).
• The workman must have completed at least one year of continuous service with the employer immediately preceding the date of the lay-off.

Calculating Lay-off Compensation

When a workman meets the conditions mentioned above, the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 mandates the compensation they must receive. Specifically, Section 25C states that every workman employed in an industrial establishment who is laid off will receive compensation equivalent to:

50% of the total of the basic wages and dearness allowance payable to the workman on the day he was laid off.

This can be represented using the formula:

$ \text{Lay-off Compensation} = \frac{1}{2} \times (\text{Basic Wages} + \text{Dearness Allowance}) $

This ensures that workers facing temporary unemployment due to reasons beyond their control receive financial support during the period of lay-off.