Summary Of Employee Rights in Bangladesh

Summary Of Employee Rights in Bangladesh

This article about employee rights and labor regulations in Bangladesh will teach you everything you need to know about employment law.With a population of 168.1 million, Bangladesh boasts a 90 million-strong labor force that is both cheap and plentiful.

There are 30 million non-agricultural occupations and 60 million agricultural jobs, with the number of agricultural jobs expanding at a rate of one percent annually.

Agriculture is not a key industry for employment. Federal labor laws protecting employee rights include provisions for working conditions, working hours, salaries, leave policies, health insurance, and medical care for wounded workers.

The Bangladesh constitution guarantees freedom of association and the Employee Rights to join unions under the Employee Rights and Labour Law of Bangladesh. We can safely say that the Bangladesh Labor Act of 2006 is relatively progressive and comprehensive.

There are 25 existing laws consolidated and replaced by this law. An immediate indication of the law’s comprehensive nature is its coverage of conditions of service and Employee Rights, youth employment, maternity benefits, health hygiene, safety, welfare, working hours and leave, wages and payment.

Wide Range of Professions Complying With Rights

Any employee hired by an institution is divided into the following types based on the nature and circumstances of their work: apprentices, substitutes, temporary employees, probationers, permanent employees, and seasonal employees.

  1. Recruit: Received compensation as a trainee.
  2. Unassuming: Casual in appearance
  3. Definition: Temporary in nature and finished in a short amount of time
  4. An intern: Throughout his probationary period and after being hired permanently
  5. Indefinite: He has finished the trial period.

Employee Rights and Labour Law in Bangladesh

  • Employment Conditions   

Any establishment is permitted to have a service rule under the Bangladesh Labor Act as long as it complies with all of the Act’s rules.

The Chief Inspector will need to get a service rule. If it is not amended within 90 days after receipt, it must be accepted.

The individual who was wronged has the option to appeal to the Court within 30 days if the other party does not agree. After then, the Government will decide on such an appeal within 45 days, and its judgment is definitive. Without providing a letter of appointment and a photo ID card, no employer may engage a person.

  • Working Hours

Working time restrictions may be mandated by labor law regimes. It was designed to make your limitations mandatory in order to ensure adequate rest between shifts and a safe and healthy work environment.

Hour limitations are increasingly being considered as a way to achieve the additional goals of enabling employees to combine their paid job with family obligations and other elements of their lives, hence boosting productivity and lowering unemployment. 

The Labor Act in our nation specifies the daily and weekly working hours as well as the number of overtime hours and their associated remuneration. Working hours are established in accordance with Bangladesh’s Employee Rights and Labour Law as follows:

  1. Workday length: up to eight hours.
  2. Rest or Meal Interval: shifts more than six hours: an hour off
  3. Weekly working hours: 48 hours.
  4. Extra time: up to 60 hours each week, or 10 hours per day.

The annual cap on overtime for those employed in the road transportation sector is 150 hours. There must be a pause of 24 hours between each shift during the night shift.

  1. No shift between 10:00 pm and 6:00am without the approval of the female employees.
  2. Any employee is not permitted to hold two jobs at once.

3. Daily Limit For Workers

The Conventions No. 1 and No. 30 both stipulate an upper limit on the daily number of working hours of eight hours. There are no daily restrictions mentioned in Convention No. 47 or Recommendation No. 116 because the 40-hour workweek serves as a sufficient assurance that a working day is no greater than eight hours[1]. 

Within a 48-hour workweek, the international norms allow an average of 8 hours per day. This enables the 8-hour maximum to be increased to 9 hours for industry (Convention No. 1)19 and 10 hours for commerce (Convention No. 30). 

According to Labor Act section 100, if section 108 is met, an employee may work up to eight hours per day.

4. Bangladeshi Wages

 If the conditions of employment, whether express or implicit, were satisfied, wages would be paid to an employee for his or her employment, any work performed in that capacity, or any other additional compensation that would be received but not included-

  1. The cost of any housing, lighting, water, medical care, or other amenity or service not covered by a general or specific government mandate 
  2. Employer contributions to pension funds, provident funds, etc.
  3. A travel reimbursement calculated using the value of a travel concession
  4. The sum paid to the employee to offset any unique costs that he incurred as a result of his job.

Every employee’s wages must be paid by the end of the seventh day after the pay period’s last day. According to Employee Rights & Labour Law in Bangladesh, any employee whose employment is terminated by retirement or by the employer, whether by retrenchment, discharge, removal, dismissal, or otherwise, will have his earnings reimbursed by the end of the seventh working day following termination.

Easily Deal With Leaves & Holidays

The topic of “Leaves and Holidays” is relevant since it is a crucial and fundamental aspect of labor law. The following leaves are available to employees who have holidays:

  1. Saturday is a holy day.
  2. Absence on leave
  3. Absence on leave
  4. Holidays
  5. Vacations and leaves
  6. The Maternity Benefit Act of 1939 states  

Casual Leave in Bangladesh 

Circumstances like unexpected illness, minor accidents, or pressing needs can make someone eligible for casual leave. Such a request should be made in advance if there is no pressing matter. Casual leave is permitted in accordance with Section 115 of the Labour Act of 2006. It is provided for ten days at maximum pay per year, but it cannot be carried over.

A registered medical professional chosen by the employer, or any other qualified physician, must certify the worker is ill and requires sick leave for the duration stipulated by the employer before a leave of absence can be approved. 

These leaves cannot be carried over into the following year. If a worker takes sick leave for more than fourteen days in a year, they are entitled to full compensation, with the exception of newspaper employees.

Every year, employees are entitled to fourteen days of paid sick time equal to half of their average wage. In accordance with Section 16 of the Shops and Establishments Act of 1965, each employee is granted fourteen days of paid sick leave per calendar year; however, no more than twenty-eight working days may be carried over at once.

Annual Leave in Bangladesh with wages

The Labor Act of 2006’s Section 117 addresses annual leave. A person who has worked for an institution for a full year is typically permitted to leave with Wages for a specific number of days measured at a specific rate for the corresponding twelve-month period. Typically, the rate for adults is:

  1. Each 18 days you work as a shop owner, commercial establishment owner, factory owner, or road transport service owner, you get paid
  2. Every twenty-two days, if you are working on a tea plantation
  3. Every eleven-day period that the newspaper worker worked during the past twelve months is rewarded with a stipend.

In Bangladesh, firing employees is a common occurrence. The right to fire an employee belongs to both the employer and the employee. In the course of a termination, the Labor Act of 2006 stipulates different rules for the employer and the employee.

FAQ For Employee Rights

1. Can employers be sued?

Yes, you can sue your boss if he or she has done something illegal. It is critical, however, that you understand your rights as an employee before pursuing legal action.

2. What does a hostile workplace entail?

A hostile work environment is one in which any reasonable person feels intimidated, uneasy, or threatened to the point where it negatively impacts his or her job by an employer, supervisor, coworker, or many coworkers. Typically, this kind of conduct is severe and extensive.

3. What laws govern the hours and wages?

The Fair Labor Standards Act is the primary federal statute governing minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor (FLSA). The majority of employers, including the federal government, state and local governments, and most private firms, are insured. The FLSA excludes breaks, severance pay, vacation time, and sick leave.

4. How much are your services going to cost?

It mostly depends on the demands of the service. But you can get in touch with us for a thorough conversation.

Employer rights should be used to avoid legal trouble.