The West Bengal Payment Of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1969

DOVE :YoM rcr OF WEST BENGAi:., 
Legistativa Department 
West Bengal Act XXXVIII of 1969 
THE WEST BENGAL PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE 
ALLOWANCE ACT, 1969. 
[Passed by the West Bengal Legislature.] 
[Assent of the President was first published in the Calcutta 
Gazette, Extraordinary, of the 7th February, 1970.] 
[7th February, 1970.] 
An Act to provide for payment of subsistence allowance to 
employees in certain establishments during the period 
of suspension. 
WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for Payment of 
subsistence allowance to employees in certain establish-
ments during the period of suspension and for matters 
connected therewith ; 
It is hereby enacted in the Twentieth Year of the 
Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as 
follows : — 
1. (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Pay-
inent of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1969. 
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal. 
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State 
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, 
appoint. 
2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in. D efinition" 
the subject or context,— 
(a) "employee" means any person employed  in or in 
connection with the work of any establishment 
to do skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled manual, 
supervisory, technical, clerical or any, other kind 
of work for hire or reward, whether the terms of . 
employment be express or 	 ; but does noIJ 
include any such person who is employed mainly 
in a managerial or an. administrative capacity 
or as an out-worker, that is to say, a person to 
whom any articles or materials are given out by 
or on behalf of the employer to be made up, 
cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, 
repaired, adapted or otherwise processed by such 
out-worker in any place not under the control and 
management of the employer; 
Price-20P: 
Short title, 
extent and 
commence-
ment. 
2 The West Bengal Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 
1969. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Section 3.) 
(b) "employer" means the owner of an establishment 
and includes any person responsible to the owner 
for supervision and control of the establishment; 
"establishment" means any place where any 
industry, trade, business, undertaking, manu-
facture, occupation or service is carried on but 
does not include any office or department of any 
Government or any establishment of any railway, 
major port, mine or oiLfield; 
(d) "period of suspension", in a case where express 
permission of the authority under sub-section (1) 
of section 33 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 
1947, is necessary before the employment of an 
employee can be validly terminated, includes the 
period until such permission is obtained and 
termination of service is effected; 
(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under 
this Act; 
(i) "suspension" means an interim decision of an 
employer as a result of which an employee is 
debarred temporarily from attending his office 
and performing his functions in the establishment 
where he is employed, such restriction being 
imposed on the employee on the ground either 
that a disciplinary proceeding has already been, 
or is shortly to be, instituted against him or that 
a criminal proceeding in respect of an offence 
alleged to have been committed by him is under 
investigation or trial ; 
(g) "wages" shall have the meaning assigned to it in 
clause (rr) of section 2 of the Industrial Disputes 
Act, 1947. 
(c) 
Aot 14 
of 1947. 
Payment 
of 
subsistence 
atiewanco. 
3. (1) An employee who is. placed under suspension 
shall, during the period of such suspension, be entitled to 
receive .payment from the employer as subsistence allowance) 
an amount equal to fifty per centurn of the wages which the 
employee was drawing immediately before such suspension: 
Provided that where the period of suspension exc eeds 
90 days the amount of subsistence allowance shall: be in-
creased after the expiry of 90 days to seventy-five per eentunt 
of the wages which the employee was drawing immediately 
before such suspension: 
Proivded further that an employee shall not be entitled 
to any subsistence allowance if he accepts employment 
during the period of -  suspension in any place other than the 
establishment, where he had been working immediately before 
his suspension. 
The West Bengal Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 3 
1.969. 
XXXV111 101 1969.] 
(Sections 4-7.) 
(2) An employee shall not in any event be liable to 
refund or forfeit any part of the subsistence allowance 
admissible to him under sub-section (1) but when an 
employee is exonerated of the charge which caused his 
suspension the subsistence allowance paid to him for any 
period shall be adjusted against the full wages admissible 
to him for the same period. 
4.. Where any money is due to an employee from an 
employer under this Act, the employee himself or an y other 
person authorised by him in this behalf, or, in the case of 
the death of the employee, his legal representative may, 
without prejudice to any other mod of recovery, make an. 
application to the State Government in such manner as may 
be prescribed for the recovery of money due to him, and if 
the State Government, after giving the employer an oppor-
tunity of being heard, in such manner as may be prescribed, 
is satisfied that any money is so due, it shall. issue a certi-
ficate for that amount to the Collector who shall proceed 
to recover the same in the same manner as an arrear of 
land revenue: 
Provided that every such application shall be made 
within one year from the date on which the money became 
due to the employee from the employer:. 
Provided further that any such application may be 
entertained after the expiry of the said period of one year, 
if the State Government is satisfied that the applicant had 
sufficient cause for not making the application within the 
said period. 
5. Nothing in this Act shall affect any right or privilege 
to which any employee is entitled on the date of commence-
ment of this Act under any law for the time being in force 
or under any contract, custom or usage which is more 
favourable to him than any right or privilege co nferred 
upon him by this Act. 
6.. The State Government may, if it thinks fit so to 
do in the public interest, by notification, in the Official 
Gazette, exempt, subject to such conditions, if any, as may 
be specified in such notification, from the operation of all 
or any of the provisions of this Act, any class or classe s o f 
-establishments, for such period or periods and for such 
reasons as may be specified in the said notification. 
7. The State Government may, by notification in the 
Official Gazette, direct that any power exercisable by it under 
this Act or the rules made thereunder shall, in relation to 
such matters and subject to such conditions, if any, as may 
be specified in such notification, be exercisable also by such 
officer or authority subordinate to the State Government as 
-m.ay be specified in the said notification. 
Recovery 
of money 
due 
from an 
employer. 
Saving of 
certain 
rights and 
privileges. 
Power to 
grant 
exemp-
tion. 
Delegation 
of powers. 
4 The West Bengal Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 
1969. 
[West Ben. Agt XXXVH; n? 1 4260,1 
(Sections 8--13.) 
Protection 	 8. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall of action lie against any person for anything which is in good faith taken 
under the done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or the 
Act. 	 rules made thereunder. 
Penalties. 	 9. Whoever contravenes any provision of this Act o r  any 
rule made thereunder shall be punishable with imprison-
ment for a term which may extend to three months or with 
fine which shall be not less than one thousand rupees or 
with both. 
Offence by 
Companies, 
etc. 
Cognizance 
of offence. 
10. Where a person committing an offence under this.  
Act is a Company or other body corporate or an. association 
of persons (whether incorporated or not), every director, 
manager, secretary, agent or other officer or person con-
cerned with the management thereof shall, unless he proves_  
that the offence was committed without his knowledge or 
consent, be deemed to be guilty of such offence. 
11. (1) No court shall take cognizance of any offence 
punishable under this Act, save on complaint made by or 
under the authority of the State Government. 
(2) No court inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate 
or Magistrate of the First Class shall try any offence 
punishable under this Act. 
Power to 
remove 
difficul-
ties. 
Power to 
make 
rules. 
12. If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the pro-. 
visions of this Act, the State Government may, by order 
published in the Official Gazette, issue such directions not 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to it 
to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty. 
13. (1) The State Government may, by notification in 
the Official Gazette, and subject to the condition of previous 
publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes of 
this Act. 
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality 
of the foregoing power such rules may provide for any 
matter which may be or is required to be prescribed. 
7WBGP-70171-65A-314 

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