Labour Ministry formalizes work from home for the services sector
The Ministry of Labour and Employment has formalized work from home for the services sector while leaving it on the employers in the IT sector to mutually decide the work hours for their employees. Notably, work from home has become popular across sectors since early last year as the COVID-19 pandemic led to closure of offices throughout the country. Here are more details.
In order to safeguard the IT industry, the Ministry has prescribed involvement in unauthorized access of any IT system, computer network of the employer, customer or client as a misconduct. This is the first time that the Ministry has brought out standing orders separately for the services sector under the New Industrial Relations Code, 2020.
"Pursuant to Section 29 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the central government has published the draft model standing orders for the manufacturing sector, mining sector and service sector," the Ministry said on Friday. "Keeping in view the needs of the services sector, a separate model standing orders for the services sector have been prepared for the first time," it added.
As per the draft standing orders, uniformity has been maintained in all the three model standing orders while providing some flexibility considering the requirements specific to the respective sectors. The government has invited public comments and suggestions on the standing orders over the next 30 days. "These model standing orders will pave the way for industrial harmony in the country," the Labour Ministry said.
For the unversed, standing orders are an employment contract that lay out the rules of conduct for employees in industrial establishments that have over 300 workers. Meanwhile, the Industrial Relations Code is one of the four labor codes for which the Ministry is finalizing the rules. The government plans to implement all the four codes, which amalgamate 29 labor laws, from April 1, 2021.
