Labor law in Bangladesh

With a population of 169, million people, Bangladesh has a big cheap workforce of
about 90 million. Consisting od 60 million agricultural jobs (growing 1 percent per year)
and 30 million non-agricultural jobs (growing 6 percent per annum). The industrial jobs
fall mostly within non-agricultural work, all employers are required to follow federal labor
laws that prescribe conditions of employment, working hours, salary levels, leaves
policies, health conditions and insurance for injured workers. Bangladesh constitution
guarantees freedom of association and the right to join unions in its jurisdiction of
employee rights and labor law in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh labor act 2006 -A complete Overview of Employee rights & Labor law
in Bangladesh

The 2006 Bangladesh Labor act is relatively sweeping and progressive. The act
consolidates and replaces the existing acts. The comprehensive nature of the law can
immediately be gleaned from its coverage – conditions of service and employment,
youth employment, maternity benefits, health hygiene, safety welfare, working hours
and leave, wages and payment, workers, compensation for injury, trade unions and
industrial relations, disputes, labor court, workers participation in companies’ profits,
regulation of employment and safety of dock workers, provident funds. Apprenticeship,
penalty and procedure, administration inspection etc.

Annual leaves

The topic of leaves and holidays in labor law is relevant and also fundamental. Every
employee usually with a holiday is entitled to the following leaves:

*Weekly holyday

*Personal leave

*Sick leave

*Festival leave
*Annual leave and

*Maternity leaves with full pay as per the Maternity benefit act.

Sick Leave in Bangladesh

With lieu of medical certificate sick leave is usually used. Under Section 116 of the
Labor act, 2006 No such leave shall be allowed unless a registered medical practitioner
appointed by the employer or, unless such medical practitioner appointed by the
employer, after review, any other registered medical practitioner is appointed by the
employer, after review, any other registered medical practitioner certifies that the
workers is ill and needs sick leave for cure or care for such time as may be specified by
the employer. This leave shall not accumulate and be carried forward into the next year.
Over fourteen days in a calendar year, any worker other than a newspaper worker shall
be entitled to sick leave with full wages.

The factories act, 1965 sub- section 2 of section 80 provides as follows:

Every worker shall be entitled to fourteen days ‘sick leave on half average wages in
year.

Again, section 16 of the shops and establishments acts 1965 says that every worker
shall be entitled to sick leave with full wages for a total period of fourteen days in a year;
if such leave not availed of by any worker during a calendar year may be carried
forward, but the total accumulation pf suck leave shall not exceed twenty-eight days at
any on time.

Casual leave in Bangladesh

Casual leave eligibility is created by circumstances such as sudden illness, minor

accidents, urgent purposes. It should be obtained on prior application unless the
urgency prevents such application from being made. section 115 of the labor act, 2006
allows for causal leave. It is given for ten days a year with maximum wages and will not
be carried forward into the next year.

Annual leave with wages in Bangladesh

Labor act 2006 section 117 deals with annual leave. A worker who completes one year
of continuous service at an institution is usually allowed to leave with wages for a
number of days measured at a certain rate during the corresponding span of twelve
months. The rate for adults usually is:

a) In case of a shop or commercial or industrial establishment or factory or road

transport service, for every eighteen days of work.
b) In the case of tea plantation, for every twenty-two days of works;
c) In case of’ a newspaper worker, for every eleven days of work, performed by him
during previous period of twelve months.

Working hours:

Within the provisions of Bangladesh's Employee Rights and Labour Law, a worker's
working hours are brought up, such as:

 Daily Working Hour: According to section 100 and 108, the daily work limit is 8
hours, but it does not exceed 10 hours

 Interval: Shifts of more than 6 hours require a 1-hour rest, shifts of 5 hours require 30
minutes, and shifts of 8 hours require two 30-minute intervals or 1-hour interval

 Weekly Work Hours: An adult worker can work for more than 48 hours in a week.

 Overtime: Up to 10 hours a day and 60 hours a week are possible. On average, I

work 56 hours a week. 150 hours of overtime a year for transport staff. In any scenario,
he would be paid OT at double the average of his basic pay.

 Night Shift: A full-day holiday is needed, implying a 24-hour break in each night shift.
 Women's Worker Restrictions: No shifts from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. without the
consent of the female employee.

Punishment for Conviction & Misconduct

For any misconduct of an employee, they may face punishment as consequences. The
consequences can be:

* Dismissed or removal

* Warning

* Reduction to lower post, stoppages of promotion, withholding raise but not more than
1 year

* Suspension from work for up to 7 days without wages. A worker's employer is required
to pay him a subsistence allowance equivalent to half of his average earnings during the
suspension period.

But there are some norms for the punishing any employee. These are:

* The allegation must be in written

* Suspected one must be given more than 7 days for proving him right

* After that, a commission would be formed to conduct the investigation Within 60 days,
the panel will conclude its investigation. If he does some crime, he will be found guilty in
an investigation.
* This kind of decision can be taken by only manager

Termination

Under sections 26 and 27, either the employer or the employee may terminate an
employee's job. If an employer terminates an employee's job with warning, the employer
must provide a 120-day written notice to monthly employees and a 60-day written notice
to other employees.
If a permanent worker wishes to end his or her job with warning, he must give the
employer 60 days' written notice. If a probationary employee wishes to terminate his or
her job, the employer must be given 14 days' notice. (Mistake of Fact or Law as Legal
Defenses to a Crime, n.d.)
Payment & Provident Fund

Retrenchment, suspension, discharge, or termination of a worker who is a part of a

Provident Fund is prohibited under section 29.
Section 30 requires the authorizing authority to allocate a worker's dues within 30 days
of his termination. (Employee Rights & Labour Law in Bangladesh | Employment Law
BD, n.d.)
Service Benefit

In a given period of time, the amount of pension benefit ensued by a worker by working
actively in a certain time period is called service benefit.
According to Section 14 and 27, when a permanent employee is ended 5 years of
constant service or more but less than 10 years, then, he/she will be paid at a rate of 14
days’ wages for every whole year of service. Again, if he has finished 10 years of
continual service or more, then he/she shall be paid at the rate of 30 days’ wages for
every complete year of service. Such plans necessitate employers to capitalize or raise
funds to make services to their employees in the future after they have given up work.
reference

Tahmidur Rahman. 2021. Employee Rights & Labour Law in Bangladesh | Employment Law BD. [online]

Available at: <https://tahmidurrahman.com/employee-rights-labour-law-in-bangladesh/> [Accessed

4 September 2021].