Nepali workers often face various problems in their workplaces, such as challenges to their regular payment and safety, which directly violate their rights as guaranteed by labor law. To protect labor rights, the government has issued numerous laws, directives, and circulars to regulate the labor market, with the Labor Act 2017 being the principal law. The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security is the concerned ministry in Nepal.
Here are some essential provisions of the Labor Act 2017, the primary labor law of Nepal, that every worker should know as they are directly related to their fundamental rights:
Working hours
Under Section 28 of the labor law, no employee can work for more than eight hours a day or 48 hours a week. For overtime, the employee cannot work for more than four hours a day or 24 hours a week.
Leave and holidays
Chapter 9 of the labor law has provisions regarding the leave and holidays to be provided to employees, as follows:
| SN | Leave | Annual allocations |
| 1 | Weekly off | One day every week |
| 2 | Public holidays | 13 days (14 days including International Women Labour Day for female employees) |
| 3 | Home leave | One day for every 20 workdays |
| 4 | Sick leave | Fully paid up to 12 days On a proportional basis for those employees who have not completed one year of service |
| 5 | Maternity leave | 14 weeks, fully paid for 60 days |
| 6 | Paternity leave | 15 days, fully paid |
| 7 | Mourning leave | 13 days, fully paid |
| 8 | Leave in lieu | For the labourers put in work on public holiday or weekly off |
Remuneration/stipend
According to Section 34 of the labor law, every worker is entitled to receive timely remuneration and benefits from the starting day of work. Section 107 of the labor law requires the government to fix the minimum remuneration as per the recommendation provided by the minimum remuneration fixation committee. As of now, the minimum remuneration is Rs 13,450/- per month, Rs 192/- for a day and Rs 26/- for an hour. Section 36 of the labor law states that an employee should be entitled to an annual increment of remuneration each year in an amount equal to at least half a day’s remuneration based on the monthly basic remuneration.
Terminal benefits
The labor law provides some terminal benefits for employees, as detailed below:
| SN | Benefits | Details |
| 1 | Provident fund | Contribution: 10% by the employer and 10% by the employee of the basic remuneration of the concerned employee Eligibility: permanent employee |
| 2 | Gratuity | Rate of Gratuity: 8.33% of basic remuneration Time of allocation: Every month (at the time of payment of the remuneration) Eligibility: Since the first day of employment |
| 3 | Leave encashment | Accumulation: Home leave up to 90 days, sick leave up to 45 days Encashment: At the time of discontinuation of service at the rate of last drawn salary |
