With a population of 168.1 million people, Bangladesh has a huge and cheap workforce of about 90 million, consisting of 60 million agricultural jobs (growing at one percent per year) and 30 million non-agricultural jobs (growing at six percent per annum). 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, leave policies, health and health conditions, and insurance for injured workers. Bangladesh constitution guarantees freedom of association and the right to join unions in it’s jurisdiction of Employee Rights & Labour Law in Bangladesh.

The 2006 Bangladesh Labor Act is relatively sweeping and progressive. The Act consolidates and replaces the 25 existing acts. The comprehensive nature of the law can immediately be gleaned from its coverage — conditions of service and employment, youth employment, maternity benefit, health hygiene, safety, welfare, working hours and leave, wages and payment, workers’ compensation for injury, trade unions and industrial relations, disputes, labour court, workers’ participation in companies profits, regulation of employment and safety of dock workers, provident funds, apprenticeship, penalty and procedure, administration, inspection, etc.

According to the Bangladesh Labor Act 2006,’ Worker’ means any person, including an apprentice employed in any establishment or industry, either directly or through a contractor, to carry out any skilled, unqualified, manual, technical, commercial promotional or clerical hire or reward work, whether the terms of employment are expressed or implied, but does not include a person employed primarily in a managerial or a clerical work. (Employee Rights & Labour Law in Bangladesh)

Bangladesh’s employment law is regulated by the 2006 Labor Act (“Act”) and the 2015 Labor Rules (“Rules”). The Act and Rules apply to employees (laborers) working in commercial and industrial enterprises. The laws and regulations prescribe working hours, weekly vacations, annual leave, medical leave. It also uses the company’s profits for gratuity benefits, provident funds and participation.

Workers employed in any institution are graded according to the type and condition of their work in any of the following classes: (a) Apprentice, (b) Substitute / Badli, (c) Casual, (d) Temporary, (e) Probationer, (f) Permanent and (g) Seasonal.

✔ Apprentice: As a trainee + Paid allowance only

✔ Substitute/ Badli: In the post of a permanent Worker or of a probation worker

✔ Casual: Casual in nature

✔ Temporary: Temporary in nature + finished within a limited period

✔ Probationer: In a permanent post + the period of his probation

✔ Permanent: He has completed the period of his probation

✔ Seasonal: Any work season and remain in employment up to the end of the season

It is given in the 2006 Bangladesh Labor Act that any establishment may have its own service rule, but the service rule must include all the regulations specified in the Act.The service rule will then have to be presented to the Chief Inspector. He must accept it if no change is made within 90 days of receipt. If he does not agree, however, the aggrieved person can pursue an appeal within 30 days to the Court. The Government will then dispose of such an appeal within 45 days and the Government’s order will be final.

No employer shall hire any worker without giving a letter of appointment to such worker and a photo identity card shall be given to each such employed worker.

Some labor law regimes require legislative working time limits. Originally, it was intended to enforce hour limits to ensure a safe and healthy working environment and sufficient rest or leisure time between shifts. However, over the past century, hour limits have become increasingly seen as a way to advance the additional policy objectives of allowing workers to balance their paid work with their family responsibilities and other aspects of their lives, promoting productivity and reducing unemployment. In our country, the 2006 Labor Act lists the daily and weekly basis of working hours, with the overtime hours and their payment.

Under the provisions of Employee Rights & Labour Law in Bangladesh, it is brought up the working hours of a worker, such as:

✔ Daily Working Hour: Up to 8 hours per day.

✔ Interval for Rest or Meal:

✔ Shift exceeding 6 hours: 1-hour break

✔ Shift of 5 hours: 30 minutes

✔ Shift of 8 hours: i) Two 30 minutes break, or ii) One 1-hour break

✔ Weekly Working Hour: Up to 48 hours per week.

✔ Overtime: Up to 10 hours per day and 60 hours per week.

On average 56 hours per week.

For road transport workers, 150 hours of overtime per year.

✔ Night Shift: A holiday for a whole day which means 24 hours break between each night shift has to be given.

✔ Limitation for Women Workers: No shift from 10.00pm to 06.00am without the woman worker’s consent.

✔ Restriction on Double Employment: Double employment is not allowed for any worker.

Daily working hour limits are a feature of Conventions Nos. 1 and 30, both of which provide for an 8-hour limit on normal hours. Convention No. 47 and Recommendation No. 116 do not provide for daily limits, the 40-hour week being considered an adequate guarantee of a working day of 8 hours or less[1]. Under the international standards, daily hours can be averaged within the 48-hour week, allowing the 8-hour limit to be extended to 9 hours in industry (Convention No. 1)19 and 10 hours in commerce (Convention No. 30).

The Labour Act, 2006: as per section 100, 8-hour day is the daily work limit but it may not exceed 10-hour day subject to the satisfaction of section 108.

Wages’ means any remuneration expressed in terms of money or capable of being so expressed that, if the terms of employment, expressed or implied, were met, would be payable to a worker in respect of his or her employment or work performed in that job, and includes any other additional remuneration of the aforementioned nature that would be so payable but not included-

✔ The value of any house accommodation, supply of light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of any service excluded by general or special order of the government,

✔ Any traveling allowance on the value of any traveling concession,

✔ Any sum paid to the worker to defray special expenses entitled on him by the nature of his employment;

✔ Every worker’s wages shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh day after the last day of the payable wage period.Where any worker’s employment is terminated by retirement or by the employer, whether by retrenchment, discharge, removal, dismissal or otherwise, the wages payable to him shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh working day from the day on which his employment is so terminated according to Employee Rights & Labour Law in Bangladesh. All salary payments shall be made on a working day.

✔ How ‘Tahmidur Rahman & Counsels Law Partners Associates’ helps the Employee/Employer according to Labour Law Provisions of Bangladesh.

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 holy day

✔ Personal leave

✔ Sick leave

✔ Festival leave

✔ Annual leave and

✔ Maternity leave with full pay as per the Maternity Benefit Act of 1939 (now abrogated).

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 casual leave. It is given for ten days in a year with maximum wages and will not be carried forward into the next year.

With lieu of a 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 is appointed by the employer, after review, any other registered medical practitioner certifies that the worker is ill and needs sick leave for cure or care for such time as may be specified by the employer. These 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 Sections 80 Provides as follows:

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

Again, Section 16 of the Shops and Establishments Act, 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 of such leave shall not exceed twenty-eight days at any one time.

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 work;

(c) In case of a newspaper worker, for every eleven days of work performed by him during the previous period of twelve months.

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