Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

The Jackson Co‑operative Credit Society appealed against a Bombay High Court order that directed it to pay bonus to its employees at 20% of total annual earnings for the years 1975‑76, 1976‑77 and 1977‑78. The Society contended that the High Court erred by ignoring deductions permissible under Section 6(d) of the Payme…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Haryana Housing Board (HHB) qualifies as a "local authority" under section 32(iv) of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The Board is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the State Government and whose functions are subject to extensive governmental control, includin…

The appellants, manufacturers of pharmaceutical products, dismissed several medical representatives and the employees sought relief from the appellate authority under the Andhra Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, 1988. The employers contended that the Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976, bein…

The employer, Mis. Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories, terminated 37 workmen alleging an illegal strike, leading to an industrial dispute and an award reinstating 17 workers with 50% back‑wages. The workmen later filed applications under Section 6‑H(l) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act seeking bonus, which the Labour Commis…

The Gujarat Transport Department floated a tender for manpower services with conditions that the salary paid must not be less than the minimum wage and that bids must be fixed, not open‑ended. Three bidders qualified; the Technical Evaluation Committee fixed a minimum‑wage figure of Rs 3,00,92,346, rendering the bids o…

The Tamil Nadu Housing Board was exempted from the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 by two Government Orders issued under Section 36 of the Act (1979 and 1982). Employees of the Board challenged the exemptions, and the Madras High Court set aside the orders, directing the Board to pay statutory bonus from the 1978‑79 account…

Workmen employed by Shri Baidyanath Ayurveda Bhabhan Pvt Ltd were receiving an attendance bonus and claimed that they were also entitled to a bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 for the year 1966-67. The Industrial Tribunal held that the attendance bonus, being a customary payment, was payable in addition to the…

The workmen of the former Binny & Co. Ltd., now employed by the amalgamated Binny Ltd., claimed a 20% bonus for the financial year 1969 based on a separate profit and loss account prepared for their original unit, which showed a substantial profit. The new company paid only a 4% bonus calculated on the consolidated pro…

Gwalior Sugar Co. employed 800 seasonal workers who worked only during the sugar‑cane crushing season. The employer refused to pay them the minimum bonus guaranteed under Section 10 of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, arguing that they were not employed for the whole accounting year. The Industrial Court awarded the min…

The Haryana State Cooperative Land Development Bank (the Apex Bank) conducts its business through several Primary Cooperative Banks, whose staff (except class IV) are drawn from the Apex Bank. A union representing the Primary Bank employees filed a writ petition seeking bonus at the same rate as Apex Bank employees. Th…

The Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh filed four references under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act seeking bonus for workmen of Model Mills, Nagpur for the years 1964‑68, alleging the employer was liable under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The employer contended that a notified order under Section 18A of the Industries…

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had paid bonus to its employees for ten years until 1973‑74, after which it stopped the payments on advice of the Ministry of Law. The employees challenged the stoppage by filing a writ petition, which the Delhi High Court allowed. The Union of India and the DDA appealed to the Sup…

The Central Government Industrial Tribunal awarded a customary bonus to State Bank of India employees, which the bank’s management challenged. While the award was pending, Parliament enacted the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 1984, inserting provisions in the State Bank Act and related statutes that prohibited any bonus…

Two power supply companies and their workmen disputed the bonus payable for the year 1971-72. The workmen claimed a customary bonus of three months' basic wages as on 31 March 1972, while the companies argued for only the statutory minimum bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The parties entered into a settlemen…

A teacher employed by a municipal school sought gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, but the Gujarat High Court held that teachers are not "employees" within the meaning of section 2(e) and dismissed the claim. The Ahmedabad Private Primary Teachers' Association appealed, arguing that the definition of emp…

The Coffee Board, which employs staff for storing, curing and marketing coffee, made an ex‑gratia payment to those employees equal to the minimum bonus payable under the Payment of Bonus Act for the years 1964‑65 to 1968‑69. The payment was made from the surplus "Pool Fund" created under Section 32 of the Coffee Act, 1…

The appellant challenged the applicability of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 to employees of the Canteen Stores Department (India), arguing that the department was not an "establishment" engaged in an industry under a Central Government department and thus should not fall within the exemption of Section 32(iv). The Cou…

The Union of India moved several transfer petitions under Article 139A of the Constitution seeking to shift more than 140 writ petitions, pending in 18 High Courts, that challenge the constitutional validity of the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015. The petitions argued that the amendments – which raised salary th…

The Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) was challenged by two trade unions for allegedly failing to pay statutory bonus to their workmen for the accounting years 1965‑66 to 1969‑70 under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The Industrial Tribunal held that after deducting certain items from gross profits, no allocab…

The workmen of Kettlewell Bullen & Co. claimed a customary bonus for the years 1974‑1977, arguing that the company had been paying a bonus since 1959, at a uniform rate of 10.5% of salary from 1965‑1973, before the Puja festival and irrespective of profits. The Industrial Tribunal held that this long‑standing, uniform,…

The appellant, H.P. State Electricity Board, appealed against the Labour Court and Himachal Pradesh High Court decisions that had granted daily‑wage workers (respondents) a minimum bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The respondents had filed applications under Section 33‑C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 19…

A.P. Foods, a non‑profit public‑sector establishment run by the Andhra Pradesh Nutrition Council, was challenged by its employees who demanded bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The Labour Commissioner held the Act inapplicable, but the employer later paid ex‑gratia and subsequently stopped it, prompting a wri…

The case concerned a seasonal sugar factory that paid a retaining allowance to its workers during the off‑season. The management treated this allowance as part of wages for the Employees' Provident Funds Act but not for the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. An Industrial Court held the allowance could not be counted for bonu…

The Supreme Court entertained a writ petition filed by Mukesh Advani on behalf of bonded labourers from Tamil Nadu working in stone quarries at Raisen, Madhya Pradesh, alleging exploitation through advance payments, piece‑rate wages below minimum, and denial of statutory protections. An investigative report and a Distr…

The Worth Trust, a charitable organization that also runs commercial factories, was challenged by its workers' union for payment of bonus and ex-gratia for the year 1996-97. The union argued that the workers, employed in the Trust's factories, fall within the definition of "workmen" under the Factories Act and are ther…