The Government of Karnataka, vide notification No. LD 285 LET 2021, dated 04th Apr 2022, has published the draft rules of the Code on ‘The Social Security (Karnataka) Rules, 2021’. It has been directed that all suggestions or objections related to the said draft rules are to be submitted within 45 days to the official email IDs secy-labour@karnataka.gov.in and labour.commissioner42@gmail.com.
This shall come into effect from the date of final publication in the Official Gazette.
Highlights on Draft Social Security (Karnataka) Rules 2021:
Payment of Gratuity
- The nomination shall be in Form I (earlier Form F) to be submitted to the Employer and the Employer need to give an acknowledgment of the same. Form I nomination can be sent electronically by the employee. On commencement of these Rules, the existing employees to submit it within 90 days & new employees on completion of 1 year within 30 days to submit the Nomination Form.
- Gratuity Application to be filed by the employee in form II (earlier Form I) within 30 days from the date the gratuity became payable.
- Notice for Gratuity payment to be issued by the Employer in Form III (earlier Form L)
- Gratuity payment should be either through Bank transfer or through Demand Draft.
- Competent Authority will be appointed by the State Government, not below the rank of Labour Officer of the State Labour Department.
Employee’s Compensation
- The Employer shall deposit a sum not less than Rs. 25000/- with the competent authority towards the expenditure of the funeral of the deceased employee which shall be paid to the eldest of surviving dependent or where the employee did not have a dependent or was not living with his dependent at the time of his death, to a person who actually incurred such expenditure.
- A notice book in Form VIII shall be maintained in all establishments having 500 or more workmen
- Employers statement regarding Fatal accident to be filed in Form XI.
- The Register of Memorandum shall be maintained in Form XD.
Cess in respect of BOCW
- Every employer who intends to prefer an appeal of the Code shall pay a fee equivalent to 0.5% of the amount specified in the order of assessment.
Compliance and Recovery
- The employer of every establishment in which women are engaged shall prepare and maintain a register of women employees in Form XIV.
- Records kept under the Gratuity Chapter shall be preserved for a period of 2 years.
- An employer covered under the Gratuity Chapter of the Code shall submit a unified consolidated annual return in Form XV through online before the last day of February each year.
- If the employer sells, abandons or discontinues the working of the establishment, then, he shall, within one month of the date of such sale or abandonment or four months of the date of such discontinuance, as the case may be, upload a further unified Form XV in respect of the period between the end of the preceding year and the date of sale, abandonment or discontinuance.
Offences and Penalties
- The application for the compounding of offences of the Code shall be made in Part I of Form XVI & Composition Certificate shall be issued in Part II of Form XVI.
Miscellaneous
- The Forms or Registers prescribed by the Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2020 may mutatis mutandis be adopted by every employer, employee or authority where such Forms or Registers are not specifically provided under these Rules.