Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Introduction

In 1976, the Indian Government passed the Equal Remuneration Act 1976 to bridge the wage
gap between men and women workers. The objectives of this Act was to provide equal wages
for men and women based on the nature of employment; to provide equality of opportunity in
employment; to protect persons against discrimination concerning employment or
occupation, and to ensure that no person shall be unfairly dismissed from work on grounds
only of sex. No woman shall be dismissed on grounds only of her sex. This Act facilitates
and ensures equality among all the sexes, whether it is male or female.

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

This Act covers age discrimination and gender discrimination. For purposes of this Act, the
following expressions shall have the meanings assigned to them hereunder: -

● Age means a person’s age as of the relevant date

● Child means a person under Eighteen years of age, either wholly or partially
dependent on others for support and maintenance
● Women means a female human being of any age
● Remuneration means the salary, wages, bonus, commission, and other types of
monetary consideration payable to a person in return for their services, whether
payable in cash or otherwise, including provident fund, pension
Objectives of the Equal Remuneration act, 1976

● To provide equal wages to men and women based on the nature of employment
● To provide equality of treatment in employment
● To protect persons against discrimination concerning employment or occupation
● To ensure that no person shall be unfairly dismissed from work on grounds only of
sex
The “Equal Remuneration Act 1976” extends to India except for the State Of Jammu And
Kashmir. It was enacted to make it illegal for employers to discriminate between men and
women employees on their pay scale.

I. Research and write each decided case for the objectives of the Equal
Remuneration act of 1976
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The Salient Features of Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

1. Remuneration to be paid in cash or in-kind at the same rate: Under section 2(e) of
the remuneration act, a woman shall not be paid a rate less than what is being paid to
male workers of a corresponding grade employed in the same establishment if the
nature of employment is not essentially different. Pay should be made differently
based on skills, capacity, and performance if employment is different.

II. Find the decided case Laws based on the above points and fill it here:

2. No discrimination in favour of men: Under section 3(1) of the remuneration act, no

employer shall discriminate between men and women in favour of men by paying
them fewer wages for the same work or employment. The definition provided under
section 2(h) says that any differential pay shall be justified and has to be on any one
or more of the following grounds: -

III. Analyse the case laws based on the headline “No Discrimination in
favour of men.”

3. Any other factor which is not prohibited under the provisions of this Act: Under
section 3(2) of the remuneration act, The employer shall not discriminate between
 men and women in favour of men by paying women fewer wages for the same work
or employment. The definition provided under section 2(h) says that any differential
pay that shall be justified must be on any of the following grounds. This is an addition
to the Act made in 1998 by introducing section 3(2).

4. No discrimination on the ground of sex: Section 4 of the remuneration act, 1976

prohibits discrimination and offers a guarantee against the exploitation of women
workers. It states that no woman shall be dismissed only one of her sex.

IV. Find the decided case and fill it in here:

5. No discrimination in employment: Section 5 of the remuneration act, 1976 prohibits

discrimination and offers a guarantee against the exploitation of women workers. It
states that no employer shall discriminate between men and women regarding
employment or any term or condition based on sex by paying them fewer wages for
the same work or employment.

V. Write the Conclusions and Suggestions: