THE EQUAL REMUNERATION ACT, 1976 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Act to have overriding effect. 

CHAPTER II 

PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION AT EQUAL RATES TO MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS 

AND OTHER MATTERS 

4.  Duty of employer to pay equal remuneration to men and women workers for same work or work 

of a similar nature. 

5.  No discrimination to be made while recruiting men and women workers. 
6.  Advisory Committee. 
7.  Power of appropriate Government to appoint authorities for hearing and deciding claims and 

complaints. 

CHAPTER III 

MISCELLANEOUS 

8.  Duty of employers to maintain registers. 
9.  Inspectors. 
10.  Penalties. 
11.  Offences by companies. 
12.  Cognizance and trial of offences. 
13.  Power to make rules. 
14.  Power of Central Government to give directions. 
15.  Act not to apply in certain special cases. 
16.  Power to make declaration. 
17.  Power to remove difficulties. 
18.  Repeal and saving. 

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THE EQUAL REMUNERATION ACT, 1976 

ACT NO. 25 OF 1976 

An Act to provide for the payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers and for the 
prevention  of  discrimination,  on  the  ground  of  sex,  against  women  in  the  matter  of 
employment and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

[11th February, 1976.] 

CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

1.  Short  title,  extent  and  commencement.—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Equal  Remuneration 

Act, 1976. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 

(3) It shall come into force on such date1, not being later than three years from the passing of this Act, 
as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification,  appoint  and  different  dates  may  be  appointed  for 
different establishments or employments. 

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a) “appropriate Government” means,— 

(i)  in  relation  to  any  employment  carried  on  by  or  under  the  authority  of  the  Central 
Government or a railway administration, or in relation to a banking company, a mine, oilfield or 
major port or any corporation established by or under a Central Act, the Central Government, and 

(ii) in relation to any other employment, the State Government; 

(b) “commencement of this Act” means, in relation to an establishment or employment, the date 

on which this Act comes into force in respect of that establishment or employment; 

(c) “employer” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (f) of section 2 of the Payment of Gratuity 

Act, 1972 (39 of 1972); 

(d) “man” and “woman” mean male and female human beings, respectively, of any age; 

(e) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette; 

(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 

(g) “remuneration” means the basic wage or salary, and any additional emoluments whatsoever 
payable, either in cash or in kind, to a person employed in respect of employment or work done in 
such employment, if the terms of the contract of employment, express or implied, were fulfilled; 

(h) “same work or work of a similar nature” means work in respect of which the skill, effort and 
responsibility required are the same, when performed under similar working conditions, by a man or a 
woman and the differences, if any, between the skill, effort and responsibility required of a man and 
those required of a woman are not of practical importance in relation to the terms and conditions of 
employment; 

(i) “worker” means a worker in any establishment or employment in respect of which this Act has 

come into force; 

(j) words and expressions used in this Act and not defined but defined in the Industrial Disputes 

Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act. 

1.  8th  March,  1976,  vide  notification  No.  S.O.  175(E),  dated  6th  March,  1976,  see  Gazette  of  India,  Extraordinary,  Part  II,       

sec. 3(ii). 

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3.  Act  to  have  overriding  effect.—The  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  have  effect  notwithstanding 
anything  inconsistent  therewith  contained  in  any  other  law  or  in  the  terms  of  any  award,  agreement  or 
contract  of  service,  whether  made  before  or  after  the  commencement  of  this  Act,  or  in  any  instrument 
having effect under any law for the time being in force. 

CHAPTER II 
PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION AT EQUAL RATES TO MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS  
AND OTHER MATTERS 

4. Duty of employer to pay equal remuneration to men and women workers for same work or 
work  of  a  similar  nature.—(1)  No  employer  shall  pay  to  any  worker,  employed  by  him  in  an 
establishment or employment, remuneration, whether payable in cash or in kind, at rates less favourable 
than those at which remuneration is paid by him to the workers of the opposite sex in such establishment 
or employment for performing the same work or work of a similar nature. 

(2) No employer shall, for the purpose of complying with the provisions of sub-section (1), reduce the 

rate of remuneration of any worker. 

(3)  Where,  in  an  establishment  or  employment,  the  rates  of  remuneration  payable  before  the 
commencement of this Act for men and women workers for the same work or work of a similar nature are 
different only on the ground of sex, then the higher (in cases where there are only two rates), or, as the 
case may be, the highest (in cases where there are more than two rates), of such rates shall be the rate at 
which  remuneration  shall  be  payable,  on  and  from  such  commencement,  to  such  men  and  women 
workers: 

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to entitle a worker to the revision of the rate 
of  remuneration  payable  to  him  or  her  with  reference  to  the  service  rendered  by  him  or  her  before  the 
commencement of this Act. 

5. No discrimination to be made while recruiting men and women workers.—On and from the 
commencement of this Act, no employer shall, while making recruitment for the same work or work of a 
similar nature, 1[or in any condition of service subsequent to recruitment such as promotions, training or 
transfer,] make any discrimination against women except where the employment of women in such work 
is prohibited or restricted by or under any law for the time being in force: 

Provided that the provisions of this section shall not affect any priority or reservation for Scheduled 
Castes  or  Scheduled  Tribes,  ex-servicemen,  retrenched  employees  or  any  other  class  or  category  of 
persons in the matter of recruitment to the posts in an establishment or employment. 

6. Advisory Committee.—(1) For the purpose of providing increasing employment opportunities for 
women, the appropriate Government shall constitute one or more Advisory Committees to advise it with 
regard  to  the  extent  to  which  women  may  be  employed  in  such  establishments  or  employments  as  the 
Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf. 

(2)  Every  Advisory  Committee  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  ten  persons,  to  be  nominated  by  the 

appropriate Government, of which one-half shall be women. 

(3)  In  tendering  its  advice,  the  Advisory  Committee  shall  have  regard  to  the  number  of  women 
employed in the concerned establishment or employment, the nature of work, hours of work, suitability of 
women for employment, as the case may be, the need for providing increasing employment opportunities 
for women, including part-time employment, and such other relevant factors as the Committee may think 
fit. 

(4) The Advisory Committee shall regulate its own procedure. 

(5)  The  appropriate  Government  may,  after  considering  the  advice  tendered  to  it  by  the  Advisory 
Committee and after giving to the persons concerned in the establishment or employment an opportunity 
to  make  representations,  issue  such  directions  in  respect  of  employment  of  women  workers,  as  the 
appropriate Government may think fit.  

1. Ins. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 2 (w.e.f. 16-12-1987). 

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7. Power of appropriate Government to appoint authorities for hearing and deciding claims and 
complaints.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification, appoint such officers, not below the 
rank of a Labour Officer, as it thinks fit to be the authorities for the purpose of hearing and deciding— 

(a) complaints with regard to the contravention of any provision of this Act; 

(b) claims arising out of non-payment of wages at equal rates to men and women workers for the 

same work or work of a similar nature; 

and may, by the same or subsequent notification, define the local limits within which each such authority 
shall exercise its jurisdiction. 

(2) Every complaint or claim referred to in sub-section (1) shall be made in such manner as may be 

prescribed. 

(3)  If  any  question  arises  as  to  whether  two  or  more  works  are  of  the  same  nature  or  of  a  similar 

nature, it shall be decided by the authority appointed under sub-section (1). 

(4) Where a complaint or claim is made to the authority appointed under sub-section (1), it may, after 
giving  the  applicant  and  the  employer  an  opportunity  of  being  heard,  and  after  such  inquiry  as  it  may 
consider necessary, direct,— 

(i) in the case of a claim arising out of non-payment of wages at equal rates to men and women 
workers for the same work or work of  a similar nature, that payment be made to the worker of the 
amount by which the wages payable to him exceed the amount actually paid; 

(ii) in  the  case  of  complaint,  that adequate  steps  be  taken  by  the  employer  so  as  to  ensure  that 

there is no contravention of any provision of this Act. 

(5) Every authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under 
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), for the purpose of taking evidence and of enforcing the 
attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents, and every such authority shall be 
deemed to be a Civil Court for all the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal 
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974). 

(6)  Any  employer  or  worker  aggrieved  by  any  order  made  by  an  authority  appointed  under            

sub-section  (1),  on  a  complaint  or  claim  may,  within  thirty  days  from  the  date  of  the  order,  prefer  an 
appeal to such authority as the appropriate Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf, and 
that authority may, after hearing the appeal, confirm, modify or reverse the order appealed against and no 
further appeal shall lie against the order made by such authority. 

(7) The authority referred to in sub-section (6) may, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented 
by  sufficient  cause  from  preferring  the  appeal  within  the  period  specified  in  sub-section  (6),  allow  the 
appeal to be preferred within a further period of thirty days but not thereafter. 

(8) The provisions of sub-section (1) of section 33C of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), 
shall apply for the recovery of monies due from an employer arising out of the decision of an authority 
appointed under this section. 

CHAPTER III 

MISCELLANEOUS 

8. Duty of employers to maintain registers.—On and from the commencement of this Act, every 
employer shall maintain such registers and other documents in relation to the workers employed by him 
as may be prescribed. 

9. Inspectors.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification, appoint such persons as it may 
think fit to be Inspectors for the purpose of making an investigation as to whether the provisions of this 
Act, or the rules made thereunder, are being complied with by employers, and may define the local limits 
within which an Inspector may make such investigation. 

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(2) Every Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the 

Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). 

(3) An Inspector may, at any place within the local limits of his jurisdiction,— 

(a)  enter,  at  any  reasonable  time,  with  such  assistance  as  he  thinks  fit,  any  building,  factory, 

premises or vessel; 

(b) require any employer to produce any register, muster-roll or other documents relating to the 

employment of workers, and examine such documents; 

(c)  take,  on  the  spot  or  otherwise,  the  evidence  of  any  person  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 

whether the provisions of this Act are being, or have been, complied with; 

(d)  examine  the  employer,  his  agent  or  servant  or  any  other  person  found  in  charge  of  the 
establishment or any premises connected therewith or any person whom the Inspector has reasonable 
cause to believe to be, or to have been a worker in the establishment; 

(e) make copies, or take extracts from, any register or other document maintained in relation to 

the establishment under this Act. 

(4)  Any  person  required  by  an  Inspector  to  produce  any  register  or  other  document  or  to  give  any 

information shall comply with such requisition. 

10. Penalties.—(1) If after the commencement of this Act, any employer, being required by or under 

the Act, so to do— 

(a) omits or fails to maintain any register or other document in relation to workers employed by 

him, or 

(b)  omits  or  fails  to  produce  any  register,  muster-roll  or  other  document  relating  to  the 

employment of workers, or 

(c)  omits  or refuses  to  give  any  evidence  or  prevents  his  agent,  servant,  or  any  other  person  in 

charge of the establishment, or any worker, from giving evidence, or 

(d) omits or refuses to give any information, 

he shall be punishable 1[with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine 
which may extend to ten thousand rupees or with both]. 

(2) If, after the commencement of this Act, any employer— 

(a) makes any recruitment in contravention of the provisions of this Act, or 

(b)  makes  any  payment  of  remuneration  at  unequal  rates  to  men  and  women  workers,  for  the 

same work or work of a similar nature, or 

(c)  makes  any  discrimination  between  men  and  women  workers  in  contravention  of  the 

provisions of this Act, or 

(d)  omits  or  fails  to  carry  out  any  direction  made  by  the  appropriate  Government  under            

sub-section (5) of section 6, 

he shall be punishable 2[with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend 
to twenty thousand rupees or with imprisonment for a term which shall be not less than three months but 
which may extend to one year or with both for the first offence, and with imprisonment which may extend 
to two years for the second and subsequent offences]. 

(3) If any person being required so to do, omits or refuses to produce to an Inspector any register or 
other  document  or  to  give  any  information,  he  shall be  punishable  with  fine  which  may  extend  to  five 
hundred rupees. 

1. Subs. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 3, for “with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees” (w.e.f. 16-12-1987). 
2. Subs. by s. 3, ibid., for “with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees” (w.e.f. 16-12-1987). 

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11.  Offences  by  companies.—(1)  Where  an  offence  under  this  Act  has  been  committed  by  a 
company,  every  person  who,  at  the  time  the  offence  was  committed,  was  in  charge  of,  and  was 
responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall 
be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of  the  offence  and  shall  be  liable  to  be  proceeded  against  and  punished 
accordingly: 

Provided  that  nothing  contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  any  such  person  liable  to  any 
punishment, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised 
all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any offence under this Act has been 
committed  by  a  company  and  it  is  proved  that  the  offence  has  been  committed  with  the  consent  or 
connivance of, or is attributable to, any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other 
officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty of 
that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. 

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,— 

(a)  “company”  means  any  body  corporate  and  includes  a  firm  or  other  association  of    

individuals; and 

(b) “director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm. 

STATE AMENDMENT 

Uttar Pradesh 

Insertion of section 11-A of Act No. 25 of 1976.—After section 11 of the Equal Remuneration Act, 

1976 the following section shall be inserted, namely:- 

11A. Composition of offences.—(1) Any offence punishable under this Act with fine only or with 
imprisonment up to one month or with both shall be compounded on the application of accused before or 
after institution of persecution by a competent authority notified by the State Government, after imposing 
50% of the fine for the offence as compounding fee along with the prescribed fine; 

Provided that remedy for compounding shall be available for the first offence only. 

(2)  Every  officer  referred  to  in  sub-section  (1)  shall  exercise  the  power  to  compound  an  offence, 

subject to direction, control and supervision of the State Government. 

(3)  Every  application  for  the  compounding  of  an  offence  shall  be  made  in  such  form  and  in  such 

manner as may be prescribed. 

(4) Where any offence is compounded before the institution of any prosecution, no prosecution shall 
be  instituted  in  relation  to  such  offence,  against  the  offender  in  relation  to  whom  the  offence  is  so 
compounded. 

(5)  Where  the  composition  of  any  offence  is  made  after  the  institution  of  any  prosecution,  such 
composition shall be brought by the officer referred to in sub-section (1) in writing to the notice of  the 
court in which prosecution is pending and on such notice of the composition of the offence being given, 
the person against whom the offence is so compounded shall be discharged.” 

[Vide Uttar Pradesh Act 17 of 2018, s. 2] 

1[12. Cognizance and trial of offences.—(1) No court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or 

a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this Act. 

(2) No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this Act except upon— 

(a) its  own  knowledge  or upon  a  complaint  made  by  the  appropriate  Government  or an  officer 

authorised by it in this behalf, or 

1. Subs. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 4, for section 12 (w.e.f. 16-12-1987). 

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(b)  a  complaint  made  by  the  person  aggrieved  by  the  offence  or  by  any  recognised  welfare 

institution or organisation. 

Explanation.—For  the  purposes  of  this  sub-section  “recognised  welfare  institution  or  organisation” 
means  a  social  welfare  institution  or  organisation  recognised  in  this  behalf  by  the  Central  or  State 
Government.] 

13.  Power  to  make  rules.—(1)  The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification,  make  rules  for 

carrying out the provisions of this Act. 

(2)  In  particular,  and  without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  power,  such  rules  may 

provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:— 

(a)  the  manner  in  which  complaint  or  claim  referred  to  in  sub-section  (1)  of  section  7  shall  be 

made; 

(b) registers and other documents which an employer is required under section 8 to maintain in 

relation to the workers employed by him; 

(c) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed. 

(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it 
is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty  days which 
may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the 
session  immediately  following  the  session  or  the  successive  sessions  aforesaid,  both  Houses  agree  in 
making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall 
thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that 
any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done 
under that rule. 

14.  Power  of  Central  Government  to  give  directions.—The  Central  Government  may  give 

directions to a State Government as to the carrying into execution of this Act in the State. 

1[15. Act not to apply in certain special cases.—Nothing in this Act shall apply— 

(a) to cases affecting the terms and conditions of a woman’s employment in complying with the 

requirements of any law giving special treatment to women, or 

(b) to any special treatment accorded to women in connection with— 

(i) the birth or expected birth of a child, or 

(ii)  the  terms  and  conditions  relating  to  retirement,  marriage  or  death  or  to  any  provision 

made in connection with the retirement, marriage or death.] 

16.  Power to  make  declaration.—Where  the  appropriate  Government is,  on  a  consideration  of  all 
the circumstances of the case, satisfied that the differences in regard to the remuneration, or a particular 
species of remuneration, of men and women workers in any establishment or employment is based on a 
factor  other  than  sex,  it  may,  by  notification,  make  a  declaration  to  that  effect,  and  any  act  of  the 
employer attributable to such a difference shall not be deemed to be a contravention of any provision of 
this Act. 

17. Power to remove difficulties.—If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this 
Act, the Central Government may, by notification, make any order, not inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act, which appears to it to be necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty: 

Provided that every such order shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of 

Parliament. 

18.  Repeal  and  saving.—(1)  The  Equal  Remuneration  Ordinance,  1975  (12  of  1975)  is  hereby 

repealed. 

1. Subs. by Act 49 of 1987, s. 5, for section 15 (w.e.f. 16-12-1987). 

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(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the Ordinance so repealed 
(including  any  notification,  nomination,  appointment,  order  or  direction  made  thereunder)  shall  be 
deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act as if this Act were in 
force when such thing was done or action was taken. 

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